New leaks about Google’s upcoming foldable, the Pixel Fold 2, point to the device skipping out on the Tensor G3 chipset in favour of the Tensor G4.
According to the leak from Android Authority, which says it received the information from an unnamed source, the Pixel Fold originally had the codename ‘Zuma,’ but that has changed in favour of the codename ‘Zumapro,’ as the device now has the unreleased Tensor G4 chipset.
A change during development isn’t unprecedented, as the Pixel Tablet was rumoured to sport the original Tensor chipset but launched with the Tensor G2 instead. At that time, the Pixel Tablet had the codename ‘Tangor,’ which changed to ‘Tangorpro.’
However, if the foldable does launch with the Tensor G4 chipset, we’ll have to wait longer for the handset. Last year, the Pixel Fold launched at Google I/O in May. If the foldable features the G4 chip, we won’t see it until later this year with the Pixel 9 and Pixel 9 Pro launch. If Google reveals the Pixel Fold at I/O 2024, the handset will likely feature the Tensor G3 chipset.
Android Authority says the Pixel Fold 2 is currently in the Engineering Validating Test (EVT) stage, which means it’s still several steps away from mass production and less likely to launch at Google I/O 2024.
According to the leak, the Tensor G4 chipset will come with a mix of ARM’s Cortext-X4, A720 and A520 CPU cores, and Samsung will continue to develop the chip.
The handset is rumoured to sport 16GB of LPDDR5 RAM and 256GB of UFS 4.0 storage compared to last year’s Pixel Fold with 12GB of RAM and 256GB of UFS 3.1 storage. This would be Google’s first handset with that much RAM. However, with rumours of a new on-device AI assistant named Pixie, it makes sense that the foldable would need more RAM.
We’ll learn more about the upcoming Pixel Fold 2 in the coming months. The Pixel Fold was one of my favourite phones last year, so I’m eagerly waiting for this handset; however, if Google wants to launch the Fold 2 with an improved Tensor G4 chipset, new Pixie AI and 16GB of RAM, I don’t mind waiting until October (hopefully, the handset launches in Canada this time).
Source: Android Authority
