There have been plenty of leaks over the past few weeks showing off every angle of Google’s Pixel 9, 9 Pro, and 9 Pro XL. But so far, the company’s second-generation foldable phone has managed to stay under wraps ahead of next month’s product event. So much for that! As reported by Android Authoritynew regulatory photos from Taiwan’s National Communications Commission (NCC) have Pixelfold 2 Pixel 9 Pro Fold display.
The images confirm that Google is moving away from the short, squat, passport-style design that helped distinguish the original Pixel Fold from Samsung’s tall, narrow Galaxy Fold. Now, we get something closer to the OnePlus Open. The outer display still looks very usable in terms of how much screen real estate you have to work with, but it’s certainly taller than before.
Around the back, these photos also confirm that the 9 Pro Fold will ditch the camera bar that has become one of Google’s signature hardware elements. This time around, it will be… well, I’m not entirely sure what you’d call this style of camera housing. It looks large enough to keep the phone from wobbling annoyingly when placed on a table. As for the internal display, the screen-to-body ratio is again noticeably taller and narrower compared to the original Fold, and it looks like Google has managed to slim down the bezels a bit.
The trade-off is that the internal camera is now a hole-punch cutout in the top-left portion of the display, whereas last time around it was part of the bezel, giving you an uninterrupted screen. I think I prefer the latter approach, but it is what it is. Another thing I’m a little wary of is the battery. Google is apparently going with a slightly smaller capacity this time around (4,560mAh), and the first Pixel Fold (4,727mAh) wasn’t exactly what I’d call a longevity champion. Perhaps the company’s latest Tensor processor will make up for that with some efficiency gains.
I’ve been using the Pixel Fold as my daily driver for much of the past year, and there’s just something about it that continues to feel special. Sure, it was quickly surpassed by the Pixel 8 and 8 Pro in terms of screen brightness, its speakers sound pretty terrible, and many app developers never really bothered to optimize their software for the device. Let’s hope this second attempt can correct some of those drawbacks for a better overall package, even if it will likely still cost north of $2,000.