New details indicate Google’s foldable might adopt the camera used in the Pixel 5, rather than the more high-end camera seen in the recently released Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro.
9to5Google shared details, having discovered them within a Google APK teardown. The teardown identifies the Pixel foldable under the codename “Pipit” with Google apparently having changed it from the prior codename “Passport.” It details that the foldable will use a 12.2-megapixel Sony IMX363 lens. This lens is not only the one featured as the main lens on the Pixel 5 but is the same main camera Google has used since the Pixel 3.
The publication expects the lens might also be the main lens on the Google foldable, which is currently being called the Pixel Fold.
Other lenses discovered in the teardown include a Sony IMX386 ultrawide lens and two 8-megapixel IMX355 sensors, which 9to5Google suspects might be used as dual selfie-cameras on the foldable. These sensors have previously been used as selfie cameras on both the Pixel 5 and currently on the standard Pixel 6.
Meanwhile, Google introduced the Samsung GN1 50-megapixel sensor as its main lens on the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro, two devices that are marketed specifically for their photography ability, and one, the Pixel 6 Pro, which is slated as Google’s flagship.
Some pundits have called Google reusing its lenses, especially the Sony IMX363, a downgrade; however, camera quality is often not the prime feature on foldables no matter the brand. Other reports have indicated that Google is developing an Android update called Android 12L, which will overall optimize the foldable experience on Android.
Even brands like Samsung, with several foldable models on the market, continue to focus on display quality and UI experience for the larger foldable display, more so than on camera. Upgrades to the camera remain the territory of the slate smartphone.
Camera hardware has been tweaked mildly between the original Galaxy Fold to the Galaxy Z Fold 3, with much of the upgrades likely taking place on the software side. Google will likely do the same with the Pixel Fold, being the originator of computational photography among the smartphone makers. The Pixel Fold will be getting the latest design and software, so less attention to perfectly functioning hardware specs such as camera lenses makes sense.
Reports suggest that the Pixel Fold might launch in early 2022, possibly in March.
