Google isn’t a company to shy away from innovation when it comes to smartphones.

The Google Pixel 10, for example, is filled with a bunch of fancy new AI features that, while a bit underdeveloped in 2025, have a promising future in changing how we use smartphones.

Still, I don’t need AI chatbots to achieve my perfect smartphone experience. I need a clamshell-style foldable phone from Google, and I need it more than I need to breathe clean air.

Now, you may think this headline is hyperbole, that I’m just being dramatic about a smartphone I really want just to make a point.

However, my desire for a clamshell foldable phone from Google trumps my necessity for oxygen, because at least I can hold my breath for a few minutes, and I can’t stop needing the Pixel Flip for even a second.

I absolutely need this phone

And I need it to be from Google

To be clear, I know clamshell-style foldable smartphones exist.

The Moto Razr and the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip both represent viable options in this space, with both now featuring all the features you need to make this kind of phone really work for you.

They have the big display on the folded edge, so you don’t have to open it for every little thing. They have high-quality hinges, so your phone doesn’t snap in half after extended use.

And they’ve mostly caught up to the battery life and camera quality of non-foldable phones.

Still, that’s not enough for me. I’ve been a Pixel loyalist since before they even existed.

After my Samsung Galaxy S5 got stuck in back-to-back boot loops in 2014, I decided that Google was the way to go for my smartphone needs, acquiring the Google Nexus 6p as quickly as possible.

After the rebrand was complete and the Pixel launched in 2016, I quickly embraced my new favorite smartphone.

All that to say, I’ve become far too used to the convenience and intuitiveness of the Pixel experience over the last decade to endure a Samsung or Motorola at this point in my life.

The Pixel Flip hasn’t even been teased yet

Forget an announcement, I’ll take a rumor

Leaks and rumors fuel the smartphone industry in 2025.

If you regularly read Android Police, you know that smartphone manufacturers like Google and Samsung are always seeing their plans prematurely announced online, either by accident or sometimes on purpose.

Unfortunately, the rumor mill hasn’t been churning out much in regard to the Pixel Flip, with Google not making anything resembling an official statement about the development of such a device.

The best we’ve ever had was a Pixel product manager noting that the company is “definitely considering it” during an interview at Google I/O… in 2023.

The more frustrating aspect of this lack of announcement from Google is that Samsung was on the ball with announcing both styles of foldable phones almost immediately.

After launching the Galaxy Z Flip in February 2019, Samsung quickly turned around just 18 months later to launch the Galaxy Z Flip.

Alternatively, Google launched the Pixel Fold in June 2023, and we’re sitting here in August 2025 without so much as a whisper about this ethereal device.

Seriously, Google, what the heck is the hold up?

I won’t hold my breath

Even if I can

The few rumors about the Pixel Flip that were out there pointed to a 2025 announcement, but with the Made By Google event now in the rearview mirror, it’s safe to assume that we’re not going to hear anything about the Pixel Flip this year.

Given the company’s focus on its AI offerings, I’m currently assuming that this kind of innovation is far on the back burner, with tech companies of all shapes and sizes prioritizing artificial intelligence over pretty much everything.

That doesn’t mean all hope is lost, though.

The market is clearly there for clamshell-style foldable phones, with the Galaxy Z Flip and the Moto Razr both deep into their respective lineups.

Whether it’s the desire for a small device or that early 2000s nostalgia, the market has been steadily on the rise, even if the devices represent a little more than a single percent of the smartphone industry.

Simply put, I’m going to stop holding my breath for a Pixel Flip announcement. While I need this phone more than I need oxygen, it doesn’t look like I’m going to get it any time soon.