The Pixel Fold was released last summer, a few years after competing models such as the Galaxy Z Fold and Z Flip hit the market, but rumors that Google was developing its own foldable phone have been circulating for some time.

A prototype was even available a year before the Fold was launched, but Google's Ivy Ross confirmed on the Made by Google Podcast in 2023 that it had been scrapped. Now we have our first look at that prototype, and it has one important feature that was not in the final product.

A photo of a Pixel Fold-like device, which was designed in the Pixel 6 era, was recently posted in a thread on the XDA forum. The original image has since been removed, but an anonymous source inside Google confirmed to Android Authority that it was an image of the canceled Pixel foldable, codenamed "Pipit."

Another Pixel foldable, rumored to be codenamed "Passport," was first rumored in 2020, but apparently started as a separate device before the two projects were internally combined into one device known by the name "Pipit." It seems.

Most interestingly, Google supported a stylus in the Fold prototype: according to Android Authority, "The last prototype containing this concept was the "PIPIT EVT 1.0 Stylus", while other versions of the device were much later advanced to the DVT stage". The stylus functions similarly to the S Pen in Samsung's Galaxy Fold series, presumably with a retractable tip to prevent users from putting too much pressure on the delicate inner screen of the foldable device.

In terms of design, there are no significant changes between the Pipit and the original Pixel Fold; the Pipit's outer display measures 66 x 128 mm, slightly smaller than the Pixel Fold's 67 x 130 mm. The canceled Pixel Fold borrows some design cues from the Pixel 6 series. For example, a single sheet of glass with metal rails at the top and bottom spans the entire width of the device. The camera rubber is also closer to the Pixel 6 configuration than the final product.

According to specs shared with Android Authority, both share the same Sony IMX363 12MP lens and lack the telephoto lens that was exclusive to the Pixel 6 Pro. Specs-wise, the prototype had a first-generation Tenser and Exynos Modem 5123 instead of the Tensor G2 and Exynos Modem 5300 found on the Pixel Fold.

It is not immediately clear from these images and specs why Google shelved the Pipit prototype. Still, this is an interesting look at the Pixel Fold that could have been.