Google foldables: rumours surface about two new devices

By now, Pixel 6 leaks have moved out of the spotlight. But that hasn’t stopped the Google smartphone rumour mill from churning. Over the past few days, various tech portals have reported that, in addition to the anticipated Pixel 6, the California tech giant is developing two foldable models.

Codename: Passport

There are two leak trails: the first stems from last year and concerns a mysterious Google smartphone codenamed «Passport». Lines of code discovered in the Android 12 beta provide solid evidence of its existence.

Yesterday, the leaker Evan Blass, who's known to be reliable, announced a time frame for the launch of the Passport phone on his Twitter profile. According to Blass, it's likely to be announced before the end of 2021. He also notes that Google has been working on this foldable device for over two years.

This last claim certainly seems to hold true; in 2019, Pixel hardware team leader Mario Queiroz confirmed to CNET that Google had already been working on the «foldable form» for a «long time».

However, there were no plans to go to market at the time. This may well have changed since then, because although it’s still in its infancy, the competition is increasingly relying on the foldable form in smartphones.

Introducing: Jumbojack

In addition to Evan Blass’ claim that the Passport foldable may be announced soon, 9to5Google has released reports of another Google foldable phone.

According to the online magazine’s sources, an upcoming release of Android 12 includes details about the foldable smartphone. Its codename is reportedly «Jumbojack».

However, aside from the existence and name of the device, not much is known. There is speculation that Jumbojack might only be a test prototype, i.e. a device solely used for the internal testing of software.

Why two foldables?

It is currently unclear why Google is working on two different foldable devices. Should both devices actually make it to market, it’s conceivable that Google will follow in Samsung’s footsteps and release both a horizontally and vertically folding Pixel.

However, the timeline for a Google foldable device to make it to the international market remains unclear. It seems unlikely that the California tech giant would undermine the launch of its new Pixel 6 flagship with the launch of a foldable phone.

Narrow time frame

Current tech press speculations point to a Pixel event on 19 October. In the United States, the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro are already being featured on billboards and in TV commercials.

If Blass’ predictions are correct, the launch of the Pixel Passport would have to take place sometime between October and December. This would be quite surprising, not least because Google drummed up the Pixel 6 through all manner of advertising before its release – unlike in the case of the Passport.

On the other hand, how the Jumbojack model will develop – and whether it will at all – is still up in the air.