After a surprise teaser last week, Google has officially announced its first foldable phone, the long-awaited Pixel Fold. This unique device has a sleek and compelling design, high-end features, and a big price tag to match.

The Pixel Fold debuted at Google's I/O 2023 developer conference alongside the Pixel 7a and Pixel Tablet.

We've already seen plenty of the new Pixel Fold, showcasing its exciting new design that's wider than the Galaxy Z Fold, even if those were all unofficial leaks. Now that it's real, here's what you need to know about the thinnest foldable and Google's most expensive flagship phone.

Pixel Fold: Release Date and Pricing

Google randomly revealed the Pixel Fold on May 4th, 2023, but that was just a teaser. The company listed the upcoming smartphone on its website and, as promised, revealed everything about the phone today at Google I/O.

First things first, when can you get your hands on Google's first foldable phone? Well, pre-orders go live starting today exclusively on the Google Store. However, if you want to order one through a carrier, you must wait until June 20th. Then, Google revealed the official release date isn't until later next month. That said, the website confirms it'll ship starting June 27th.

Google took most of its time on stage to show off the impressive design and hinge mechanism. The search giant claims the Pixel is the thinnest foldable on the market, with the best camera, and the latest software, all in a sleek package that gets all-day battery life.

As for pricing, all those leaks and rumors from Front Page Tech were accurate, as the Google Pixel Fold will start at an eye-watering $1,799 for the 256GB in White or Black color options. That's the same price as Samsung's Galaxy Fold 4. Additionally, you'll be able to get a 512GB Pixel Fold in Black for $1919.

The Design: Well, It Folds!

After years of speculation, it's finally here and exactly as we all expected. The Pixel Fold looks similar to Samsung's Galaxy Z Fold 4, though it has a few Google-centric quirks, including the camera visor that's featured in the Pixel 6 and Pixel 7 smartphone lineups.

As for the screens, we're getting a 5.8-inch OLED "cover" screen on the outside and an even bigger 7.68-inch OLED screen on the inside once you fold it open. And yes, both screens offer a 120Hz refresh rate. You'll notice a rather large bezel around the inner screen, which appears quite a bit larger than some of the folding competition.

The Pixel Fold is about 9mm wider than Samsung's phone, has larger bezels around the screen, and folds completely flat. How that'll affect the crease remains to be seen. Additionally, the Pixel Fold's camera visor, which houses three sensors, is quite large. The area around this camera is about 8.33mm thick, which sticks out a bit further than the Galaxy Z Fold 4's camera hump.

And, like Samsung's Galaxy Z Fold, the Pixel Fold doesn't have an under-display fingerprint sensor. Instead, it uses a side-mounted fingerprint scanner to keep things as thin as possible and save space for the huge battery. However, this makes sense, as you can easily unlock it without opening the phone.

Related: Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 Review: An Enthusiast's Dream

Eagle-eyed viewers will notice the phone has a sleek design, top and bottom mounted speaker grills, and is rather stunning from all angles. Again, Google says it has the most durable hinge of any foldable, and when it's shut, it's the thinnest foldable around.

We love the Porcelain White color option, but the Black looks great too. Obviously, we'll need to get our hands on it before saying anything further. But if it's anything like the new Pixel 7a, we'll like it.

Google Pixel Fold Specs

• Outer Display: 5.8-inch Quad-HD AMOLED 120Hz refresh rate (2092 x 1080)
• Inner Display: 7.68-inch Quad-HD AMOLED 120Hz refresh rate (2208 x 1840)
• Processor: Google Tensor G2
• Storage/RAM: 12GB RAM with 256GB or 12GB RAM with 512GB
• Operating System: Android 13 (Android 14 coming soon)
• Rear Cameras: 48MP primary f/1.7 aperture camera with OIS, 10.8MP Ultra-wide, 10.8MP telephoto (5x optical and 20x Super Res)
• Front Selfie Camera: 9.5MP ultrawide
• Inner In-Display Selfie Camera: 8 MP f/2.0 fixed lens
• Battery: 4,821 mAh with 30W charging (vs Z Fold 4 at 4,400 mAh)
• Wireless Charging: Yes
• Dimensions: 158.7 x 139.7 x 5.7mm
• Fingerprint Sensor: Side-mounted scanner
• Networking: 5G sub6/mmWave, Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.2, NFC, GPS
• Headphone Jack: Nah
• Protection: Corning Gorilla Glass Victus, Stainless Steel Hinge
• Colors: Obsidian Black or Porcelain White

The Processor: Tensor All the Way!

Leaks suggested that the Pixel Fold would use a Tensor 2 chipset, a processor designed in-house by Google, but I was hoping for the G3. Sadly, that'll have to wait until the Pixel 8 later this year. However, this is the same chipset that Google uses in the Pixel 7, which is more than capable.

On the one hand, Tensor 2 is fairly powerful and enables some awesome AI features, including Live Translate. On the other hand, by the time the Fold arrives in late June, the Tensor G2 will be about a year old and will likely get replaced by the 3rd-Gen chip soon.

That all aside, the current chipset is plenty powerful, and we got a glimpse of that up on stage. Google gave us a quick glance at the software, and so far, it's pretty impressive. Full of large-screen apps, drag-and-drop options, and more. For example, the Pixel Fold will get a neat new dual-screen live translation mode later this fall using AI. You can see the speech in your language on one screen, while someone on the other side in another language gets the same info in their native language. It's pretty neat.

With the all-new Google Pixel Fold running the latest Tensor G2 chipset, it'll have all the benefits we already know and love from Pixel devices.

The Cameras: Middle of the Pack

Most foldable phones have disappointing cameras. It's just a fact of life---and yes, even the Galaxy Fold 4's cameras fall short of what you get in a traditional flagship phone. Don't get me wrong, they're not awful, but they're not "flagship" cameras as you'd get with the Pixel 7 Pro or Galaxy S23 Ultra.

Related: Google Pixel 7 Review: It's a No-Brainer

However, Google quickly mentioned that its Pixel Fold has the best cameras of any foldable device. That's thanks to the power of Google Camera, AI, and upgraded sensors. Several leaks suggested older 12MP cameras throughout, but that's not the case.

Instead, the Pixel Fold has a capable  48MP primary camera with OIS, an f/1.7 aperture, and should capture stunning photos and video. We're also getting a middle-of-the-pack 10.8MP Ultra-wide lens and a similar 10.8MP telephoto shooter with 5x optical zoom and Google's and 20x Super Res mode. Again, that's not as good as the Pixel 7 Pro, but it's more than enough for most.

The primary camera will likely be on par with the 50MP shooter from the Pixel 6 series, which we loved. Then, you'll notice a decent 9.5MP front camera on the smaller cover display and an 8MP camera hiding under the inner 7.6-inch tablet screen.

Overall, the specs are a bit better than many expected. The Pixel Fold has two stunning screens, one of the biggest battery packs of any foldable, and a trio of capable cameras around the back.

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In closing, this is the first folding phone engineered by Google, and we're hopeful it'll deliver an excellent experience. From everything we saw today, it'll undoubtedly give the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 a run for its money, something no other foldable has done thus far.

Again, the all-new Google Pixel Fold is available today for pre-order starting at $1,799. It's a bit expensive, and you can expect orders to start shipping on June 27th. Reserve your pre-order from the link below and get folding as soon as possible.