Earlier today, we reported on rumours of the Pixel Fold 2 arriving later this year with a Tensor G4 chipset. Hence, the second-generation model will miss the current Tensor G3 that powers the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro. Allegedly, all this information coincides with a codename change, equivalents to which occurred with the original Pixel Fold and the Pixel Tablet.
To recap, Google publicly confirmed in June 2023 that it had cancelled several Pixel Fold prototypes before settling on the design that it currently sells. For reference, Google codenamed the final Pixel Fold 'Felix', but there was evidence of two codenames existing before Felix. In short, Google was prototyping 'Pipit' before Felix, itself a replacement for 'Passport', another prototype that Google hoped to release in Q4 2022.
Similarly, Google was originally working to deliver the Pixel Tablet as 'Tangor' with a Tensor G1 SoC. However, it eventually switched development to 'Tangorpro', thus sparking speculation that there could also be Pixel Tablet Pro. Until now, it had been assumed that Google was developing the Pixel Fold 2 as 'Comet', references to which 9to5Google discovered within Pixel Buds app code in October 2023.
This time, Mishaal Rahman alleges that while Google remains committed to Comet, its chipset's codename has recently changed. Previously, Comet was seen alongside 'zuma', the codename for the Tensor G3. Now, an unnamed source claims to have spotted 'zumapro' associated with Comet, which Rahman insists applies to the Tensor G4. Moreover, this new chipset codename coincides with other upgrades over the original Pixel Fold, including 16 GB of RAM, which remains LPDDR5 instead of the faster LPDDR5T and LPDDR5X varieties.
Reportedly, this 4 GB of RAM uplift will be joined by UFS 4.0 flash storage, up from UFS 3.1 in the current Pixel Fold. It appears that this year's base model will still ship with 256 GB of storage though, unlike the global version of the Magic V2. Rahman adds that Comet remains an Engineering Validation Test (EVT) unit, an early prototyping stage that lends itself to the notion that the Pixel Fold 2 will not be ready until fall 2024.