The Google Pixel 6 and Google Pixel 6 Pro are both among the best camera phones, but it looks like Google is taking a step back with the rumored Pixel Fold.

Digging into the code of the Google Camera app, 9to5Google has evidence that the main camera of the upcoming foldable will use the same IXM363 sensor that Google used in phones from 2018's Pixel 3 to 2020's Pixel 5 Discovery. If correct, this would be a 12.2MP sensor, a significant drop from the 50MP GN1 camera found in the new Pixel 6 line.

But it's not a complete setback; 9to5google's code research also shows that the Pixel Fold will likely have the same 12MP IMX386 ultrawide sensor as the new Pixel. There are also reports that it will have two front-facing 8MP IMX355 sensors.

If true, Google's apparent retreat to a three-year-old main camera sensor may be a practical decision, as the Pixel 6's camera rubber makes the bulky foldable even bulkier. Or it may be a cost-cutting decision. Foldable is already expensive, so any opportunity to save money would be welcome. Google arguably gets away with this more than any other company. Even the older Pixel phones punch above their weight in the photography arena, thanks to best-in-class image processing.

And it's unlikely that Google will be the first company to refrain from top-of-the-line cameras for its foldable devices. Samsung's Galaxy Z Fold 3 has weaker camera specs than the Galaxy S21 flagship, but is priced much higher overall.

The trick is to ensure that other specifications go some way to justifying the high entry cost of foldable handsets. Samsung has generally succeeded in this regard, but Motorola brought back the Razr in 2019, with the same Qualcomm Snapdragon 710 processor as Google's $399 Pixel 3a, but for $1,500.

It seems unlikely that Google will make such a mistake. Now that the company is producing its own Tensor chip, it is not hard to imagine the Pixel Fold being the next destination for Google's silicon, and the chip is holding up very well against the competition.

Previous reports suggested that the Pixel Fold could be one of a number of foldables in 2021, but now it appears to be looking at a 2022 launch. the Pixel 6 event didn't even get a teaser of Google's foldable future. The fact that we didn't almost confirms that the company's mobile ambitions for this year are over, and a 9to5Google code analysis found a reference labeled "isPixel2022Foldable."