Google’s foldable phone plans include two devices, Android version 12.1.

A Google Pixel Fold is pretty much inevitable. Samsung’s push on the hardware front is making foldables the next big Android form factor, and the Android team has already started thinking about foldables by incorporating basic support into Android 10 for the Galaxy Fold’s first launch. Part of the whole point of Google phones is giving the Android team in-house hardware to experiment with and build the next version of Android. So if foldables are going to be the next big thing, Google is going to have to make one.

That’s pretty much what the rumor means, with Google planning to combine the best of both worlds currently available on the market: Samsung-style foldable hardware with an iPad-OS-style dock interface for easier multitasking.

First, the hardware: the Pixel 6 is a good frame to consider when thinking about the next Pixel foldables. Google’s next slab smartphone is very Samsungy, with a new “Google Tensor” SoC co-developed with Samsung’s Exynos division and a Samsung modem with mmWave – the Galaxy S21 doesn’t even use a Samsung mmWave modem. There’s a 50MP Samsung GN1 as the camera’s new main sensor, and the 120Hz screen will no doubt be made by Samsung as well. Foldables will likely have a similar makeup: a metric ton of Samsung hardware DNA with Google software.

Looks like that’s what we’re getting: Google versions of Samsung’s two big foldable styles, the Galaxy Z Fold and Galaxy Z Flip phones. Google’s Galaxy Fold device, a phone that opens up to a larger screen tablet, has long been popularized under the code name “Passport”. We’ve seen reports saying the device will open to a 7.6-inch display (the same as the Fold 3), and there have been several “Passport” references spotted in the Android codebase.

Recently, there hasn’t been a lot of news about the Pixel Passport (not the final name), and there has never been any live images or design leaks of the device, so we were starting to ask us if the device was still working. And with the global chip shortage still causing all kinds of chaos, it wouldn’t be entirely unexpected for Google to push back some of its experimental devices to a later date. The latest news from the legendary leaker Evan blass claims the passport is still coming out this year, however:

I heard from someone I trust that the Foldable Pixel – code name: Passport, Trademark: unknown – will actually be launched before the end of the year. Apparently, they’ve been working on this device for over two years, and if the P6 is any indication, it’ll be worth a look.

– E (@evleaks) September 20, 2021

Google’s other foldable news comes from 9to5Google, which says a second foldable, named “Jumbojack” is on the way. Along with the Passport-style Fold, which is a phone / tablet hybrid, this device would look like the Galaxy Flip, a full-size smartphone that folds in half like an old-fashioned flip phone. 9to5Google says it has found “multiple instances of Jumbojack used as a test device” for the various special folding modes of devices like the Galaxy Flip.

On the software side, XDA Developers reports that the Android team is apparently preparing an Android out-of-cycle update, which would focus on foldable features. We have no idea what it would be called, but the community started calling it “Android 12.1” because it would land between Android 12 and Android 13. Part of the foldable software push would be a bar interface. iPad OS style tasks, which would display frequently used and recently used apps. XDA’s Mishaal Rahman already enabled the feature in Android 12 Preview 2, but the feature hasn’t improved since then, apparently because it’s being pushed into this mid-cycle version. As Rahman writes:

Google’s internal AOSP codebase contains several enhancements to the currently barebone taskbar functionality. The code changes that implement the taskbar tutorial describe some of its intended functionality. First, entering the tutorial will display an animation described as a “wave” in which the icons scale and translate up, then down. The tutorial then explains how you will be able to launch two apps in split screen mode by dragging an app icon to one side of the screen, tap and hold to hide the taskbar at any time (docking) and add your apps. favorite / planned applications in the taskbar. Once configured, the taskbar stays at the bottom of the screen but hides automatically when an app goes full screen.

It all looks a lot like an iPad, which I think is great. IPads completely dominate the tablet market and the new dock / taskbar interface is ideal for multitasking productivity. Keep in mind that this is on a foldable telephoneSo Google is trying to cram iPad-style multitasking in your pocket.

Rahman even found a small image of the feature in Google’s codebase:

It’s unclear when “Android 12.1 ″ will be released, but it’s safe to assume that Google is releasing the Foldable Pixels and its foldable software in one large version. If all of this is happening at the same time, probably after the launch of Pixel 6 and Android 12, there aren’t many months left in the year. Maybe we’ll put it in pencil for December?