Google Pixel Fold

Google’s Pixel foldable rumored to skip camera cutout on inner display, adopt Pixel 7 design

Ben Schoon | Aug 5 2022 - 8:42 am PT

Google Pixel 6 Pro in front of the foldable Galaxy Z Fold 3

Despite a lot of delays and wild rumors, Google is still working on a foldable smartphone, and this week we’re getting a few more details about the Pixel foldable in terms of its cameras and design language.

According to Digital Chat Station on Weibo, Google’s foldable Pixel will look a lot like the Oppo Find N, as we previously reported. That includes a smaller design that has an outer display that unfolds along a vertical axis to unveil a larger display.

What’s new in this latest leak, though, is regarding the camera array.

Apparently, the Pixel foldable will skip a camera on its inner display, instead having a full canvas that has no hole-punch. Samsung has long opted to include a selfie camera on the inner display, with a sizeable notch in the original Galaxy Fold, a hole-punch in the Galaxy Z Fold 2, and an under-display camera in the Fold 3. The Oppo Find N also has an inner camera, but it’s in the top left corner of the display.

This, of course, means that Google’s phone wouldn’t be able to take a photo or join a video camera from the inner display. The outer display will still have a hole-punch selfie camera, apparently centered like Google’s other Pixel phones.

Notably, this also might line up with our recent discovery of work on the Pixel foldable within the Google Camera app. Kyle Bradshaw found evidence of a special mode of this device that could result in the phone prompting users to flip it over when trying to take a selfie when the phone is unfolded. The Galaxy Z Fold 3 offers a feature that uses the rear-facing cameras in parallel with the outer display to take better selfies, and it seems that Google might be doing the same thing.

This icon was found in the Google Camera app

It’s also worth noting that originally, we found evidence suggesting there would be an inner camera, but with Google’s delays, it’s very possible the company has changed up its design.

However, it’s unclear if Google will be skipping on an inner camera entirely. Also mentioned is an “ultra-micro” hole camera in the frame of the Pixel foldable. It’s unknown what this could mean at this point, unfortunately, but it could be a sort of selfie camera for the inner display.

Finally, the post also mentions that the Pixel foldable is set to adopt the design language of the Pixel 7 series, which comes as no surprise. The Pixel 7 evolves on the look of the Pixel 6 with new colors options, the removal of the matte black frame, and also a new camera bar that’s covered in aluminum, something we think might be good for camera performance.

We’ll still have to wait and see exactly what Google has in store for its first foldable, but it sounds like there might not be too much longer to wait. Meanwhile, Samsung is set to unveil its next batch of foldable phones next week, with reservations open now.