Google's foldable Pixel is stillborn, foldable screens are destined to be a business for big players

      Pixel Fold is a phone full of Wong Kar-wai style: it is like a bird without feet, it will only land once in its life, and that is when it 'dies'.

　　In the digital circle, there have been endless rumors about Google's entry into the foldable screen mobile phone market. After Google announced this year that it would launch Android 12L, which is more suitable for large-screen interaction, the relationship between Google and foldable screens has become more ambiguous.

　　And last month, Google also used Samsung's foldable screen phones Galaxy Fold3 and Galaxy Z Flip3 to shoot a promotional advertisement called "The future has begun", showing that Google applications are well adaptable to foldable screen phones, which aroused more people's imagination.

　　Just as people were speculating whether the rumored Pixel Fold really exists, consulting firm Display Supply Chain Consultants (DSCC) gave a credible analysis based on its supply chain sources: the good news is that the Pixel Fold really exists; the bad news is that Google has now abandoned this project.

　　Ross Young, CEO of DSCC, said in an analysis report that Google has decided not to bring Pixel Fold to the market and has stopped purchasing folding screen-related parts from the supply chain, so it is expected that this rumored "folding son" will not appear on the market before the first half of 2022.

　　According to the DSCC report, the reason why Google chose to be conservative is probably because the sales of Samsung's two new foldable screen products were better than expected, and the competition in the foldable screen market is more difficult than expected.

　　In the traditional smartphone market dominated by Apple and Samsung, Pixel phones still have little influence and Google is facing many difficulties. Instead of fighting on two fronts, Google chose to focus more on promoting the Pixel series.

　　To everyone's surprise, the rumored Pixel Fold was not realized because the development project was canceled. Even though Google was willing to believe that foldable screens would be the future, the door to the future did not "open" for Google.

　　Would the Pixel be better if it were folded?

　　The appearance of Pixel Fold has always been a mystery. Currently, any design details about Pixel Fold largely come from some design patents applied by Google for foldable screen mobile phones.

　　For example, a patent from Google shows a device with an outward-folding structure similar to the first generation Huawei Mate X. When unfolded, the outside of the body is a large screen.

　　The other patent adopts a three-section structure, and the two screens can be unfolded at the same time to obtain a larger field of view. We have seen similar products in the presentations of manufacturers such as CSOT.

　　However, these designs may not eventually become a reality, as these patents may just be reserving space for future product development. This patent strategy is not uncommon.

　　Combining these patents and supply information, the Pixel Fold is most likely to be equipped with a horizontally folded 7.6-inch display, just like the Galaxy Fold3.