Google’s Pixel Foldable Won’t Have the Super Fancy Pixel 6 Camera

For foldable devices in these early days, the companies making them appear to be willing to lower the quality of the camera systems they include, likely as a bit of a trade-off for the super cool foldable technologies they’ve prepared to “wow” the world with. I say that because the Galaxy Fold line from Samsung never quite matches the high-end camera systems used in devices like the Galaxy S Ultra range. Instead, as an example, Samsung has tossed in three solid 12MP shooters on the Fold 3 that can get the job done, just not on the level of a phone like the Galaxy S21 Ultra.

For Google’s upcoming Pixel foldable, they are reportedly taking a similar approach. According to 9to5Google, who dug deep into a Google Camera app, Google won’t match the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro’s camera systems and will instead use their famous 12MP camera that was featured in the Pixel 3 through the Pixel 5.

The files they dug into revealed a Pixel foldable codenamed “Pipit” that is expected to use that familiar Sony IMX363 sensor, as well as a Sony IMX386, which is an ultra-wide lens. That could mean a rear camera setup on the Pixel foldable that’s very similar to what we saw on the Pixel 5. Since that camera is absolutely capable, this isn’t the worst news.

There are other references to a Sony IMX355 camera being used in two places. Those two places should be on a front cover or “outer” display and on an internal or “inner” display, so we’re talking about 8MP selfie shooters here.

And finally, all of this fun camera info has been spotted alongside a reference of “isPixel2022Foldable.” In case you are having trouble reading that, this wording appears to confirm that Google will release a Pixel foldable in 2022. That shouldn’t surprise you knowing that they just announced Android 12L, a version of Android built for foldables, and plans to release Android 12L “early next year, in time for the next wave of Android 12 tablets and foldables.”

To recap, the Pixel foldable codenamed “Pipit” sure looks ready for a release in 2022, but don’t expect it to have the fancy camera system Google released with the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro. Instead, expect a camera system closer to the Pixel 5.