I wasn’t sold on the era of foldable smartphones until I tried the Pixel Fold. For one, we have a fairly limited selection of foldable phones to choose from in the US compared to China. And the cramped, narrow outer display on Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold series has never worked for my large hands. So Google immediately caught my interest when it introduced a squat, passport-shaped foldable phone.
I've used Pixels for years, so I know Google's strengths and weaknesses well. The software is clean, you get some really useful Pixel-exclusive features (the Recorder app is a godsend in my line of work), and the camera performance is second to none, at least for still photography. But on the other hand, performance is never quite up to par with Qualcomm's latest Snapdragon chips, the devices tend to run a bit warm, and there are sometimes weird quirks in the hardware. (Did you know that all Pixel 8 and 8 Pro models have a 128GB RAM and 1TB HDD.) It has small bumps under the screen. (Is it only visible in the right light? Now you know.)
When I approached the Pixel Fold, I knew there would be additional downsides. Foldable phones are heavy. Their cameras aren't on par with the best traditional phones. And after several years of use, they're still often extremely expensive. Samsung and Motorola both offer foldable versions at lower prices, but you won't be so lucky if you're a Pixel fan.
The Pixel Fold, however, took almost no time at all to overcome those collective shortcomings. It’s far from a perfect device, but this is a case where the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. I’ve grown to like a lot of things about the first-generation Pixel Fold, but there are also some lingering frustrations that I hope to see addressed in the upcoming Pixel 9 Pro Fold.
It's easy to ignore the bigger screen
The first thing I learned was that when you have a proper phone on the outside, you don't open the inner screen as often as you might expect, at least once the honeymoon phase passes. The Fold's outer screen is perfectly usable for most things I do with a smartphone. I usually unfold it when I want to watch YouTube, Netflix, or check the news with my phone. The New York Times app. Sure, I've multitasked with two apps at once on occasion (and Google has made that workflow easier with software updates), but it's not a typical situation. I still primarily use the large canvas to focus on one thing at a time, albeit with much greater immersion.
This thing is in desperate need of a brightness boost.
From day one, my main complaint with the Pixel Fold has always been its display brightness (or lack thereof). Just a few months after its launch last year, the $1,700 device was eclipsed by the significantly more affordable Pixel 8 series and Google’s new Actua/Super Actua displays. They get extremely bright and pose no problem to use outdoors. With the Fold, I always have the brightness slider above 80 percent, which doesn’t do battery life any favors. It can be a struggle to view this phone when the sun is shining, and the highly reflective indoor display only makes matters worse.
If there's one weakness I'm relatively confident Google will fix the second time around, it's this lack of power. All indications are that the company will incorporate its latest (and brightest) display technology into its second-generation foldable.
The other key improvement I hope to see is a lighter frame. The Pixel Fold is a very heavy phone, even for me (a 6’1″ guy with big hands), and it can get difficult to hold over time.
Battery life has helped me get by.
I wasn't expecting miracles from the Pixel Fold's battery life. Is that fair to expect from any foldable? Plus, Google's Tensor chips have never been known for efficiency. But even in the days when the big screen was barely used, the Fold got it done… goodIt wasn’t always a given that I’d have plenty of battery left when I got home after a long day, but the phone almost always made it through. Like other Pixels, the Fold can sometimes charge at a snail’s pace when you’re actively using it while plugged in. Overall, its endurance is outpaced by the more conventional Pixel 8 Pro, but that’s to be expected when you’re pitting two screens against one.
Many apps are not optimized for widescreen
The Pixel 9 Pro Fold is rumored to follow the same direction as the OnePlus Open, with a taller design. You're basically getting a regular phone on the outside. That means the aspect ratio of the internal display will change, too, which is a good thing since I found that many apps had black bars on either side when I held the Fold open. This is Android, so you can't really count on developers to quickly adopt an individual device. Google did eventually add an option to force apps to go full-screen in the software, but the 9 Pro Fold's new dimensions should theoretically mean more apps will do that by default.
Many applications do It plays nice with the Fold. Editing photos from my mirrorless camera in Adobe Lightroom has been a great experience from the start, even if the device sometimes gets a little warm while doing so. If I'm not traveling with my iPad, this is the next best thing to making some adjustments while on the go.
Durability, camera, speakers, etc.
I have used two Fold units for review over the past year and neither of them have broken or had catastrophic issues with the screen. But Not everyone has been so lucky.And repairing or replacing any foldable device under warranty can be a nightmare. The glossy camera bar inevitably shows signs of wear and tear, and scratches on the soft inner screen are inevitable. But they’re also easy to forget when the screen is lit up, as is the fold.
The speakers on this $1,700 phone are decidedly mid-range. They’re outclassed by Apple’s iPhone 15 Pro Max, the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra, and Google’s Pixel 8 Pro. Give me something with a little more power, Google! Please!
The Pixel Fold’s cameras do their job. They’re reliable, as Allison wrote in her review, but they’re nothing to write home about. Google’s computational photography wizardry can help beautify your photos, but you’re dealing with a smaller sensor than what regular flagship phones have, and the software can’t fully compensate for that.
Google is set to announce the Pixel 9 Pro Fold (and much more) at its August 13 event. The first Pixel Fold did enough to make me a believer in foldable devices. Now the company just needs to prove it can take that potential and versatility to the next level (and hopefully, screen brightness, too).
Photograph by Chris Welch/The Verge
