It’s too late for a Google Pixel flip phone

Just think about it: A Google Pixel Flip. Honestly, it sounds like my dream phone. It’d combine my favorite form factor with my favorite Android skin, and I’d never need to recommend anything else again. I’d have Google’s top-notch image processing to balance out the often-limited flip phone cameras, years of updates to look forward to, and a cover screen experience that only needs a proper app drawer to leap ahead of Samsung’s Flex Window.

And yet, I can’t shake the feeling that Google has already missed its flip phone opportunity. It feels like it’s given Motorola and Samsung too much of a head start, and I fear it means I won’t see a Pixel Flip any time soon. Here’s why.