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Google wants us to know that it takes the Pixel Fold seriously this time

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3 months ago

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Google wants us to know that it takes the Pixel Fold seriously this time

The Google event for the new Pixel phones is mere days away, and we already have some idea of what will be released. Actually, Google itself was happy to reveal that the new Pixel Fold will be called “Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold”. Wow, that’s a mouthful.

But wait, why not Pixel Fold 2?

Funny thing, right? Last year, we had a Pixel Fold, now it’s suddenly called Pixel 9 Pro Fold. What gives?

I think Google wants to send us a message — subtly and not so subtly — that the new Pixel Fold will be “taken seriously” and not swept under the rug this time around. What do I mean, though?

Well, last year’s Pixel Fold launched at the start of summer, for the magnificent price of $1,799. However, the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro were released — as usual — in October. OK, nothing out of the ordinary.
Then came the December feature drop for the Pixels. Oops, scratch that — I meant to say the Pixel. A lot of AI features with Gemini became available… to the Pixel 8 Pro. Not the Pixel 8, and certainly not the Pixel Fold.

Which was kind of ridiculous, right? And I haven’t missed an opportunity to take a jab at that decision. Imagine this — you are an avid Google supporter and bought the OG Pixel Fold in June 2023, for the price of $1,799. Six months down the line, Google pushes out a massive feature drop with its cutting-edge AI developments… exclusive to a Pixel phone that costs almost half the price of your “premium” foldable!

I am pretty sure I am not the only one that noticed this — Google probably heard it from users and people close to the company, maybe it was even argued internally.

In any case, I am pretty sure that giving the new foldable a “Pixel 9 Pro” moniker is meant to signify — and to make sure that we understand — that this won’t happen this year. So… uh, let’s buy a Pixel Fold, I guess!

It’s good to know that it’s an actual flagship this time around

The release cadence of last year’s Pixels did put the OG Fold in a weird spot. It launched four months before the Pixel 8 family, so it was stuck with an older generation chipset — the Pixel Fold had the Tensor G2, which powers the older Pixel 7 phones, whereas the newer Pixel 8 family launched with the Tensor G3.

So, again, it was awkward to try and make a buying decision between the super-premium Pixel Fold, with older-gen tech, and the “normal” flagship Pixel 8 Pro with the newest hardware inside.

It’s a very good move from Google to just launch all Pixel 9 phones at the same time — we will get Tensor G4 in all of them, and you won’t be forced to make compromises or weird choices with your cash. And, again, Google is reinforcing this with the slight rebrand — it’s not a Pixel Fold, it’s a Pixel 9 Pro (but also it) Fold(s).

Which makes me wonder… will the cameras on the Pixel 9 Pro and Pixel 9 Pro Fold be the same? Welp, we’ll know in a couple of days!

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