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Pixel 9 Pro Fold
A more refined offering
Google’s Pixel 9 Pro Fold aims to solve the original Pixel Fold’s key issues thanks to its thinner and lighter design, Tensor G4 chip and more fluid hinge.
Pros- Improved hinge
- Better overall build-quality
- Sleeker looking
Cons- Still a pricey smartphone
- Still has a visible crease
- Doesn’t have the same camera setup as the Pixel 9 Pro
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Pixel Fold
Google’s first foldable
Google’s first foldable is a solid device that’s unfortunately held back by software issues and minor build-quality complaints.
Pros- A great first foldable
- Cover display is a great size
- Great camera results
Cons- Software and build-quality are lacklusture
- It’s expensive
- Middling battery life
At its recent Made by Google hardware keynote, the eponymous tech giant unveiled its second-generation stab at the foldable phone market, which it’s calling the Pixel 9 Pro Fold. This new device supersedes the original Pixel Fold from last year, and it’s now available for pre-order for an eye-watering $1,700.
Google’s new pocketable tablet isn’t officially being marketed as the Pixel Fold 2, but it’s very much a direct successor product. With that in mind, let’s compare both generations of Google foldables, and see exactly where the company has made changes for this year’s offering.
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Price, specs, and availability
All the fundamentals
The Pixel 9 Pro Fold is priced at $1799, and is slated to ship in September 2024. It comes with the new Tensor G4 processor and 16GB of RAM. The original Pixel Fold, by contrast, was launched in May 2023, and runs using the older Tensor G2 chip and 12GB of RAM.
Both foldables launched at the same price point, and offer 256GB of storage in the base configuration. IPX8 water resistance, ultra-wideband (UWB), and NFC are present on both models, but only the newer Pixel 9 Pro Fold comes with the iPhone-esque Satellite SOS support.
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Pixel 9 Pro Fold Google Pixel Fold Brand Google Google SoC Tensor G4, Titan M2 security processor Google Tensor G2 Display Internal screen – 2076 x 2152 pixel resolution OLED at (373 PPI), external display – 1080 x 2424 pixel resolution OLED (422 PPI), 1800 nits (HDR), 2700 nits (peak brightness) 5.8-inch, OLED, 2092 x 1080, 120Hz (cover) / 6.7-inch OLED, UTG, 2208 x 1840, 120Hz (main) Battery 4650 mAh 4821mAh, 30W fast charging, Wireless charging Operating System Android 14 Android Front camera 10-megapixel f/2.2, 10-megapixel inner camera 9.5MP, f/2.2 (cover) / 8MP, f/2.0 (main) Rear camera 48-megapixel f/1.7 wide, 10.5-megapixel f/2.2 ultrawide, 10.8-megapixel f/3.1 telephoto 48MP f/1.7 main, 10.8MP f/2.2 ultra-wide, 10.8MP f/3.05 telephoto Dimensions Folded – 155.2 height x 77.1 width x 10.5-inches depth, Unfolded – 6.1 height x 5.9 width x 0.2-inches depth 139.7 x 79.5 x 12.1mm (folded), 139.7 x 158.7 x 5.8mm (unfolded), 283g Colors Obsidian, procelain Obsidian, Porcelain Weight 9.1oz (257g) 283g
Design and build
The Pixel 9 Pro Fold hardware makes the original Pixel Fold look like a beta release
As a book-style foldable phone within the broader Pixel 9 lineup, the Pixel 9 Pro Fold looks and feels the part to a tee. The general Pixel design language is intact here, and the device closely resembles the original Pixel Fold for the most part.
As with the other new Pixel 9 handsets, there’s a focus on angularity and an overall sharper build than what we’ve seen in the past. The camera array remains distinctly ‘Pixel’ in appearance, but the lenses are now separated into two distinct sections that resemble more of a rectangle than a traditional bar shape.
The Pixel 9 Pro Fold launches in Obsidian and Porcelain colorways, matching that of the first-generation Pixel Fold. Unfortunately, more expressive Pixel colors like Bay Blue or Coral Pink are not on offer at this time.
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Display
Google’s new foldable is brighter than the previous generation
The Pixel 9 Pro Fold’s inner and outer displays are similar to those of the original Pixel Fold from a technical perspective. The internal OLED screen comes in at a 2076 x 2152 pixel resolution, with the external OLED coming in at 1080 x 2424 pixels. These are slightly different panel resolutions than the outgoing model, which has an 1840 x 2208 internal display and a 1080 x 2092 cover display. Overall, pixel density is roughly comparable across both devices.
Google quotes a peak of 2700 nits of brightness for the main display, which is up from the peak of 1450 nits in the outgoing model. This will likely be the most striking change when looking at both displays side-by-side.
Without even turning on the display, however, the biggest change that’s immediately noticeable is the dramatic reduction in display bezel size. The Pixel Fold has relatively large bezels when compared to other foldables on the market, such the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6, so these new slimmer ones are a massive step up in both esthetics and screen-to-body ratio.
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Internals
Google’s new Tensor G4 processor launches with the Pixel 9 Pro Fold
Google/Pocket-lint
For $1,799, the Pixel 9 Pro Fold ships with 256GB of storage, 16GB of RAM, and the new Google Tensor G4 chip that it shares with the other new Pixel 9 handsets. As mentioned, last year’s Pixel Fold runs on the older Tensor G2 paired with 12GB of RAM.
We’ll have to test the G4 out in the real world, as well as using simulated benchmarks, to get a better idea of how much more performant it is compared to last year’s chip. Unfortunately, from a brute hardware perspective, it doesn’t look like Google’s processor will be entirely competitive with the strong competition from both Qualcomm and Apple.
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Cameras
Even with ‘Pro’ in its name, the camera hardware remains a step down from the company’s slab phone offerings
The Pixel 9 Pro Fold is fitted with a triple rear camera setup, just like the original Pixel Fold. Specifically, we’re getting a 48-megapixel wide, 10.5-megapixel ultrawide, and 10.8-megapixel telephoto setup here, which closely matches the camera hardware featured in last year’s model.
As with the original Pixel Fold, it remains disappointing that Google isn’t putting its top-of-the-line camera hardware into the package, instead reserving it for the Pixel 9 Pro and Pixel 9 Pro slab-style phones. Internal space constraints are likely to blame here, but considering the asking price, it’s still less than ideal.
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Verdict: Is the Pixel 9 Pro Fold a worthy successor to last year’s Pixel Fold?
Value proposition
At a starting price of $1,799, Google’s new Pixel 9 Pro Fold isn’t cheap in the slightest. Thankfully, the price hasn’t risen when compared to last year’s Pixel Fold, but it also hasn’t decreased at all.
Top Pick
Pixel 9 Pro Fold
Google’s Pixel 9 Pro Fold aims to solve the original Pixel Fold’s key issues thanks to its thinner and lighter design, Tensor G4 chip and more fluid hinge.
Best Value
Google Pixel Fold
The Pixel Fold takes Google’s phones in a new direction, embracing the next-gen screen tech and presenting a premium Pixel option. It’s a great quality phone, but it’s clear there’s still work to be done on app optimisation to enhance the experience.
For foldable Android phones to truly take off, it’s abundantly clear that prices need to come down by a good margin. With this being Google’s second generation Fold product, the company appears to be emphasizing polish and quality of life improvements absent from the original Pixel Fold release.
Hopefully, once Google begins to hit something of a stride within the foldable market segment, we’ll see prices gradually decrease. For the time being, the Pixel 9 Pro Fold looks to be a solid improvement over the Pixel Fold, evoking a sense of physical refinement over the company’s previous offering.
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