The Google Pixel Fold was finally unveiled at Google I/O earlier this month and will go on sale on June 27. However, it turns out that the phone was not necessarily planned to appear on its own. According to Google, a second Pixel Fold device was also planned, but was canceled because it wasn't good enough.

The news came from Ivy Ross, Google's head of hardware product design, in an episode of the official "Made by Google" podcast. Apparently a second foldable was in development, but according to Ross, Google "had the discipline to be patient and say, 'No, it's not good enough,' and really wait until we felt we could do something that was good enough or better than what was already out there."

Ross did not elaborate on what shape or form this second foldable device could take. If we had to guess, it would be a flip-style device like Samsung's Galaxy Z Flip 5 or Motorola's Razr.

We already know that Google is exploring the possibility of making a Pixel Flip and that the company is open to other foldable form factors. The fact that there are already competing foldable flip phones and the relative simplicity of the design make this an obvious choice. Besides, Samsung has previously stated that the Z Flip will account for 70% of folding shipments in 2021.

This assumes, of course, that no other foldable designs were tinkered with behind the scenes. It is less clear what such a phone would look like, but that does not mean that it was not a possibility.

The question is, what is it about this foldable that was not good enough to release? Without additional information, the problem could be one (or more) of a multitude of issues. Is it the hinge, the flexible screen, battery life, software issues, or something else entirely? It is unlikely that we will find out anytime soon.

If the Pixel Flip is the case, expect it to appear fairly soon. Until then, you can read our hands-on with the Google Pixel Fold for more on Google's upcoming foldable device.