Google phones have literally been spotted on planes, trains, and automobiles ahead of their official unveiling. The latest example of this are blurry shots of what’s possibly a Pixel Fold, thus making this the first live leak.
A Redditor yesterday said they saw the Pixel Fold on a New York City subway, and took four shots. The first three images are quite blurry, though the best one in the set lines up with a folded device that’s being held in landscape orientation with the hinge facing the sky.
In the bottom-right corner, we can make out the curve of the screen. Up top, we can roughly see the outer display’s edge and then a metallic/reflective hinge. This appears to be the black model, with previous leak renders showing lighter and darker variants.
Top comment by Omega192
For those who didn't check the source link the OP explained, "The pics are terrible since the train was moving and I didn’t want him to catch me taking a picture of him." In the comments they also said that, "He got on at 14th street where the Google offices are located" and that he seemed to be trying really hard to hide the rear of the device with the distinct camera bump. It's entirely plausible this was in fact a Googler assigned to field test the device.
Also for those claiming this was a marketing stunt I think you vastly overestimate how long blurry pics last in the rapid media cycle and how much interest they actually spur. Renders and dimensions of the device have already been reported on. I can't imagine these pics are going to draw in anyone that wasn't already paying attention. Google has already demonstrated with the 6th and 7th gen Pixels that if they want to drum up interest they'll just tease it early and publish high quality images rather than pay some random redditor to post some blurry pics that provide no new info. If this device is indeed launching in October I fully expect them to do the same thing they did with the 7th gen and watch at last year's I/O.
The fourth shot shows the screen in full, though the top edge is covered and we don’t see the front-facing camera, which should be at the right in the pictures. In-person, the bezels are said to be rather thin.
Credit: u/onetaketeo
Besides these shots, the Redditor says they saw the camera bump/bar, which is the most distinctive aspect of modern Pixel phones.
If this is actually a Pixel Fold leak, this is the second time — at least — that an unreleased Google phone has been spotted on a subway. The Pixel 4 made an appearance on the London Underground, as well as an airplane in 2019. Meanwhile, there was the time a Pixel 3 XL was left in the back of a taxi.
More on Pixel Fold:
- Source: Google’s Pixel Fold is heavier than Galaxy Fold 4, but has a larger battery
- New Google ‘phone’ shows up at FCC, likely Pixel 7a or Pixel Fold
- Google I/O 2023 takes place May 10
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