Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold Is a Big Step Forward for Foldable Devices
The Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold currently lays claim to being the best foldable phone on the planet, while also being arguably the best phone Google has ever made—perhaps even better than the Pixel 9 Pro . However, whether this is the best phone for you depends on what you intend to use it for and how deep your pockets are.
Now that Samsung is releasing its sixth series of foldable devices , and alternatives like the OnePlus Open are also impressing reviewers, the Pixel 9 Pro Fold becomes the successor to the 2023 Google Pixel Fold and part of the Pixel 9 series (hence the rather clunky version). Name).
I’ve been testing the phone for four weeks now and there’s a lot to talk about. If you’re just looking for headlines: this is a foldable phone that, when closed, works great as a standard phone and opens up to a square 8-inch tablet-style display that’s really good for certain apps. Yes, and you’ll need at least $1,799 to buy it.
What’s new in 2024
One of the most difficult aspects of writing a review like this is trying to reach all readers: those who already own a foldable phone and those who don’t; those familiar with Pixel phones and those who are not; those who use an iPhone and think they might not want to wait for Apple to get around to making a foldable device… the list goes on. Depending on where you’re from, you may have different questions about the Pixel 9 Pro Fold.
If you’re part of the small group of people who own a Google Pixel Fold and are wondering if this is a significant upgrade, the answer is a resounding yes. It’s faster, thinner and lighter, with a bigger, brighter main screen. The cameras haven’t changed much, but otherwise it’s a much better phone, and that’s before you even get to Pixel 9-exclusive software like Pixel Screenshots .
It also offers a much better experience when using a standard phone when closed than its predecessor. This is made possible by a thinner and lighter form factor, as well as a move to a more standard 20:9 aspect ratio for the external 6.3-inch display. Most of the time I used the Pixel 9 Pro Fold, it was folded up and masquerading as just another smartphone, and you can do it in public without drawing attention to yourself (which I was pleased about).
The redesign continues with the rear camera module being squeezed into the corner of the back panel, which I don’t mind, and I liked the overall finish and feel of the phone (even if it’s not ideal for laying flat): it feels like a premium device. As with the original Pixel Fold, you can choose between obsidian (black) or porcelain (a pale cream shade), although at the time of writing the latter option doesn’t appear to be widely available.
Camera, performance and battery life
You get a 48MP wide-angle + 10.8MP telephoto + 10.5MP ultra-wide-angle rear camera with 5x optical zoom, as well as a 10MP selfie camera on both the main and home screens – this beats the Pixel 9, but not quite up to par. Pixel 9 Pro standard. Comparisons aside, it’s capable of capturing great photos and videos with crisp detail and natural colors across the board.
As is now expected from Pixels, low-light performance is also excellent (thanks to the Night Sight feature), and the same applies to zooming and macro photography. There are certainly no compromises here in terms of images and video, and that’s before I even get to all the included AI enhancement features (more on which in a moment).
The Google Tensor G4 and 16GB combination won’t break any GeekBench 6 records: 1939 single-core and 4307 multi-core, by the way, in my testing. However, the phone does handle almost all tasks very quickly, without any noticeable lag or stuttering. Even demanding games like Genshin Impact didn’t cause any problems, so I can confidently say that this is more than enough power for most people.
When it comes to battery life, the Pixel 9 Pro Fold matches almost any phone out there (or at least that’s how it feels): a good full day of use and maybe a little more depending on how you use it , but you will want to charge it overnight. From what I’ve seen, it’s quite common in this regard, although if you’re going to be playing on such a large screen most of the time, your results may of course vary. (Our sister site PCMag calls battery life ” average .”)
Camera samples
Two screens for (double) the price of one
Assuming all the basic and key specs are in order – and in fact they are more than good – we come to the question of whether the Pixel 9 Pro Fold is worth the high price tag for a foldable phone. While the phone costs the same as the Galaxy Z Fold 6, it costs a lot more than the Pixel 9 Pro (or iPhone 16 Pro Max), so you’ll want to be absolutely sure you can take full advantage of this form factor. before spending your hard earned dollars.
The folding screen at least feels well-built and durable – as far as I can tell from four weeks of use – although the crease in the middle remains very noticeable (no phone maker has addressed this issue yet). In terms of brightness, color and clarity, the main 8-inch display is a real star, if you can forgive the small inverted bump in the middle.
This large screen lends itself very well to running apps at the same time, using messaging apps (as long as they include dual-pane mode), and playing games optimized for the larger display (such as Alto’s Adventure and SimCity BuildIt, a full assessment). . I also think the split keyboard is preferable for reading web pages, documents and e-books, and once you get used to it, it becomes easier to type on.
However, not everything is great. Because the screen’s aspect ratio is square (almost exactly 1:1), videos in apps like Netflix leave huge letterbox strips at the top and bottom—in which case it’s actually better to use an external display. At least on YouTube you get playback controls at the bottom when you fold the device halfway, but again, the video itself is no bigger than you’d normally find on a traditional phone.
There are also a significant number of apps and games that are simply not made for a square 8-inch display: they work fine and look fine, but they’re either stretched out or smaller than they should be. Also, I’m not a big fan of having to keep my fingers on the external display when I’m holding the phone fully open with both hands, but it’s hard to avoid with a foldable device like this.
The form factor has other advantages too, such as the use of a superior rear camera for selfies, as you can see yourself on the display lid. Google actually developed a feature along these lines called Made You Look, which displays cute animations on the external display while you’re trying to take a photo of your little ones – the idea is that they’ll look at you and at the camera.
Android and all that stuff with artificial intelligence
Google phones no longer use stock Android but use Pixel Android, which means the usual array of exclusive benefits – from a quick home screen widget to an audio-to-text app. There’s also a brand new and very well done Weather app for the Pixel 9 series, including radar maps and precipitation warnings, as well as satellite SOS connectivity, which is also available on the Pixel 9 series – a feature that can rightfully be called a potentially life-saving feature life.
If you’ve been keeping up with Google’s announcements lately, you also know that there’s a ton of AI in here: some of it is exclusive to the Pixel 9, and some (like the Gemini capabilities ) are available on older Pixels as well. We previously tested many of these features in our review of the Pixel 9 and Pixel 9 Pro , but received mixed results. Personally, I find the aforementioned Pixel Screenshots app to be the most useful, offering automatic sorting and deep searching of your screenshots so you can quickly bring half-forgotten receipts, shopping ideas, social media posts, and more to the surface.
I also like the Audio Magic Eraser, which can erase background noise (like cars or wind) from video clips, as well as the Zoom Enhance feature in the Camera app, which uses artificial intelligence to increase detail at higher zoom levels. These features, like Night Sight for low-light photography, are truly useful applications of AI that deliver value without veering into territory that feels a little weird or just plain pointless.
On the other hand, I don’t particularly want a Gemini to write my emails or messages for me, and I also don’t need the AI image creation tools in the Pixel Studio app beyond a few minutes of playing with theirs—your mileage may vary. Meanwhile, the Magic Editor and Add Me tools for manipulating photos and adding new people to them seem a bit hit and miss in their results, and frankly, I’d rather just keep my photos as they were taken.
Is the Pixel 9 Pro Fold worth buying?
Here’s the case with the Pixel 9 Pro Fold: you get a phone that’s almost as good as the Pixel 9 Pro, but that also has a second 8-inch screen that you can open up and use for gaming, messaging, and multitasking. And here are the arguments against: you pay almost twice as much money for it. This is a simple calculation that you do with this phone.
For me personally, right now, that big screen doesn’t offer enough to make me want to part with $1,799 (or more if you want 512GB of storage rather than 256GB). It’s worth noting that the reaction from family and friends I showed the phone to was almost always the same: they were very impressed with the folding screen and dual displays, but were very put off by the price. Once they got over the wow factor, they weren’t sure they’d use the 8-inch screen that much anymore.
Plus, while foldable phones are long past the point where we have to worry about them breaking in half after six months, it’s still a more fragile gadget than a regular phone. There are cases available for the phone, but they don’t cover the hinge and since this is my everyday phone, I would be a little worried about taking it out and carrying it around. If you buy this, you can also buy phone insurance.
Still, despite my doubts, this is a fantastic phone. Well built, rugged, with super smart built-in software, AI stacks, and tools for taking great photos and videos. I definitely see a future where every phone is like this, as these foldable devices become thinner and (eventually) cheaper: most of the time it’s a standard phone and a tablet screen if you need one. With the Pixel 9 Pro Fold, Google takes that future a big step closer.