The foldable phone market has been dominated by Samsung for four generations now with its excellent phones, but that’s about to change this year. Many Chinese manufacturers, who previously only released folding devices in their domestic market, are bringing their handsets to international waters. Google is also slated to release a foldable of its own, with ‘Google Pixel Fold’ being the most likely name. The latest leak about it tells us that it might be one of the heaviest foldables yet, though this could mean a bigger-than-usual battery.

According to a report from 9to5Google, the Google Pixel Fold is supposed to be heavier than the 263g Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4. The publication doesn’t offer a number, but it says that it might feel more like a small tablet than a phone due to its weight. The Galaxy Z Fold 4 is also among the heavier foldables out there, with competitors like the Oppo Find N2 coming in at only 237g.

We need to keep in mind that the Google Pixel Fold is slated to be bigger than many of its competitors, so it’s just logical that it will be heavier. It follows the same form factor as the Oppo Find N, which offers an almost phone-like screen on the outside and a landscape orientation on the inside. The Pixel Fold expands on this idea with a few centimeters, as Android Police alumna Rita El Khoury showed on Twitter. The Pixel Fold is bigger than the Galaxy Z Fold 4, too, though it’s harder to see given the different aspect ratios.

9to5Google further says that the big weight also entails a bigger battery. The publication doesn’t provide any numbers here either, but it claims that the battery is “meaningfully” larger than competitors’. It’s supposed to be “closer to, but still well below, 5,000mAh.”

Given that the 261g heavy Honor Magic Vs, slated to launch in global markets at MWC 2023, comes with a 5,000mAh battery, we’re not quite sure if the Pixel Fold’s additional weight is actually necessary to provide a bigger battery, though. At 267g, the Magic Vs is also about the same weight as the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4, but still significantly bigger than it.

If previous rumors are to be believed, Google will release the Pixel Fold sometime in the third quarter of 2023, meaning that it will either launch in July or August with its own event, or it might be revealed alongside the Pixel 8 and 8 Pro. Given that Pixel flagship phones have usually been released at the beginning of the fourth quarter in October, we might not have to wait as long. Hopefully, we'll have actual numbers on weight and battery size before then thanks to more comprehensive leaks.