Official Pixel Fold images show off big bezels, inner display

The Pixel Fold is a real device that is quickly approaching its release date. The Google I/O developer conference is next week, on May 10, where we hope to learn more about the Pixel Fold. But before then, Evan Blass has posted the official pictures of the device. Blass' account is private, but the pictures are re-hosted in several places now, like The Verge.

The most interesting picture shows the inner display in its 7.6-inch glory. Compared to the designs of Samsung, Huawei, Xiaomi, and Oppo, Google made many unique and interesting design decisions here. The first was the decision not to use an in-screen camera like basically all other foldables and instead to shrink the screen, creating a large top bezel for the camera. There seems to be nothing else in that bezel other than that tiny circle, though, which is a huge waste of space.

The bottom bezel is also supersized compared to other devices on the market. The faint outline in the bezel represents the raised, plastic part of the bezel. Foldables have a raised rim all along the edge of the display to keep the display connected to the phone (foldable displays, since they have to fold, are not entirely bonded to the body) and to prevent the two halves of the display from rubbing against each other. It feels weird to dust off bezel complaints in 2023, but foldables are devices with significant size and weight concerns since they are supposed to fit into a pocket, and this is already a clear area where Google could improve. Foldables becoming lighter and more compact will be a big battleground in the future.

OnLeak's December Pixel Fold renders were so spot-on that there's not much new in these official renders. The Pixel's distinctive camera bar is back, and the Fold's camera bar has a huge array of holes on the back. Presumably, they are for the video recording microphone, but that's usually a single hole, not the 19-hole array Google uses here.

Other than that, the device looks great. Rumor has it the price will be around $1,700, which is normal for a foldable, and it will come out in June. We would also like to see if Google has any software surprises, since this is the first Pixel foldable. The device also landed at the Federal Communications Commission.

Listing image by Evan Blass