Smartphones from Google can now be recognized quite well in everyday life. So far, this is mainly due to the unique, continuous camera element of the current Pixel series, which sets it apart from the competition. But other optical peculiarities could soon be added: Today, a patent has become public that shows a foldable smartphone from Google.
You are probably wondering now: So what? What’s supposed to be different about it than the Samsung Fold 4 and other devices?
Let’s anticipate so much: Google seems to have thought of something special for this smartphone too. But let’s start at the beginning.
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Foldable pixel smartphone – the state of affairs
There have already been rumors in the past about Google’s potential folding smartphone, but these have mainly dealt with the size and the cameras. All in all, not much is known about the Google offshoot. Incidentally, the new device could be named Pixel-Fold
or pixel notepad
wear, as speculated on the internet.
However, a supposed detail now seems to be true: namely the placement of one of the cameras. According to a patent, Google wants to place the selfie camera on the front edge of the display. This can be seen in the official drawings published today on the WIPO website.
What is the WIPO? The abbreviation stands for World Intellectual Property Organization
. This is a world intellectual property organization. It was founded on July 14, 1967 based on the Convention Establishing the World Intellectual Property Organization
. As you can already guess, this organization aims to promote intellectual property around the world. The number of members amounts to 193 countries (May 2021).
What makes this placement of the camera so special? Foldables from the competition like the Z Fold 4 from Samsung work with the so-called Under-Display-Camera
(UDC). This is also on the front of the smartphone, but below the display – as the name already tells you.
However, the quality of this type of camera still leaves a lot to be desired and is more functional in use. We could imagine that the search engine giant is not yet satisfied with the technology of these UDCs. At least one could conclude that based on the patent drawing.
Do you already want a Google phone? Here’s the Pixel 6a:
The front of the foldable Google phone, along with the hinge, is also noteworthy. Apart from the thicker display edges, it bears a certain resemblance to the Samsung Fold 4. Whether and when the folding offshoot from Google will appear remains to be seen. An official date has not yet been set. The latest rumours around the device assume a release in 2023.
Smartphones from Google usually stand out with their very good camera. Our hobby photographer Sören had the opportunity to test the Pixel 6a. And now guess what: he was particularly impressed by the quality of the recordings:
Google Pixel 6a in the test: good mid-range smartphone with flaws in the software
What do you think of the Google foldable patent shown? Do you already use a foldable smartphone from Samsung or another manufacturer? Write us your opinion in the comments!
