Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold Review: Twice as Nice, High Price

Front surface feels similar a mean phone. 8-inch interior surface looks spectacular and is large for split-screen apps. Thinner and lighter (but inactive a spot heavy). Good performance, astute software, and reliable artillery life.

Missing features from the Pixel 9 Pro. Might not enactment connected your wireless charger. Annoying sounds. Stupid expensive.

If you spend $1,800 connected the Pixel 9 Pro Fold, you astir apt expect it to person everything and much implicit the single-screen $999 Pixel 9 Pro, right? I mean, you're spending astir doubly arsenic much. Unfortunately, that's not wholly the case. Google's second-generation folding smartphone sits determination betwixt the Pixel 9 and the Pixel 9 Pro successful specs. You get a similar acquisition arsenic a Pro Pixel, but look intimately and you'll wonderment wherefore this isn't the implicit champion Pixel of them all.

Some of it doesn't matter. After all, you're paying this overmuch for the benefit of a mini tablet the size of a emblematic smartphone, and determination are immoderate existent improvements to this acquisition successful this iteration. The hardware feels overmuch much polished and durable than the original, and the 8-inch show is spectacular erstwhile unfolded (among the largest you'll find successful a book-like folding device).

I won't regale you with the caller Pixel 9 bundle features, artificial quality features, oregon adjacent the caller camera tricks successful this review—I spent a bully woody of clip connected them successful my Pixel 9 and Pixel 9 Pro review a fewer weeks agone and galore of those aspects are identical to the Pixel 9 Pro Fold. Instead, I'll beryllium focusing connected the Fold-specific features of this device. TL;DR? It's a coagulated folding phone, but naturally, determination are quirks. It's besides a whopping $1,800.

Big Flex

The biggest alteration implicit the archetypal Pixel Fold is the full phone's dimensions. No longer is it abbreviated and wide; the Pixel 9 Pro Fold has the aforesaid 6.3-inch exterior surface size arsenic the Pixel 9 Pro. This means it precise overmuch looks and feels similar a “normal” telephone erstwhile you usage the exterior display. And judge me, you'll usage that exterior show a lot.

This much accepted taller size delivers invaluable results successful that you tin acceptable much connected this surface implicit the predecessor. Combined with the information that this is 1 of the thinnest book-like folding phones connected the marketplace (just 2.54 mm thicker than the Pixel 9 Pro) makes it each the much easier to usage erstwhile the telephone is folded up. Remarkably, Google has shaved disconnected astir 25 grams from the original, and portion the 9 Pro Fold is inactive 60 grams heavier than the Pixel 9 Pro, the other value is manageable.

Seriously, I spent astir 80 percent of my clip utilizing the phone's exterior surface due to the fact that it each felt normal. This is simply a bully happening due to the fact that it's not similar you're going to beryllium unfolding the telephone to usage the elephantine interior surface for each azygous situation. Fair warning, my hands are ample truthful your acquisition mightiness vary.

The full instrumentality sits wholly level erstwhile it's open. Everything suggests a premium physique … until you commencement proceeding the sounds. Shake the telephone a small spot from beforehand to backmost and you'll perceive thing rattling successful the camera module. This is owed to a constituent successful the telephoto camera—most phones with these kinds of cameras rattle a bit erstwhile you shingle them—but the Pixel 9 Pro Fold's rattling is somewhat louder (this seems to beryllium the lawsuit with the full Pixel 9 Pro series). It's not a problem, conscionable thing I can't unhear now.

More annoyingly, erstwhile you unfastened up the device, it makes a crackling dependable akin to the knees of idiosyncratic implicit the property of 30 (just me?). It's similar unraveling a integrative film, and it's caused by the show opening up. This dependable doesn't beryllium connected Samsung's Galaxy Z Fold6 but does connected Motorola's folding Razr—it truly shouldn't amusement up connected a instrumentality that costs this much.

Barring those audible issues, the telephone truly shines erstwhile you unfastened it up. The 8-inch OLED show feels expansive and the surface prime is excellent. You tin spot and consciousness a crease successful the mediate erstwhile you look astatine the telephone from an angle, but consecutive on, it's not obvious. It astir feels similar 2 full-size phones attached unneurotic with a hinge, truthful erstwhile you're utilizing split-screen mode, the contented hardly ever feels constrained by the app sizes.

There are a fewer caller features that instrumentality vantage of each the screens. Made You Look, for example, plays a cute animation of animals connected the outer show successful the hopes that your kid volition look astatine the camera and smile. I bash not person a kid to effort this connected but it's cute. As usual, you tin usage Dual Screen Preview to amusement the camera's preview connected the interior and outer screens, truthful whoever is posing successful beforehand tin marque adjustments to their airs earlier you snap. And Rear Camera Selfie lets you instrumentality a selfie with the overmuch amended rear cameras portion looking astatine a preview connected the outer screen, alternatively of utilizing the Fold's inferior selfie cameras.

One of the champion additions is Dual Screen connected Meet, which works erstwhile you are connected a video telephone with successful Google Meet. You tin instrumentality vantage of each the cameras and screens and person the idiosyncratic you're talking to amusement up connected the outer surface truthful that radical astir you tin spot them excessively alternatively of crowding astir your phone. And the idiosyncratic connected the telephone tin spot the presumption from some the interior and outer cameras, truthful you don't person to support twisting your telephone to marque definite they tin spot Grandma. I was capable to effort this during a briefing and it worked excellently, but this diagnostic did not popular up connected my reappraisal unit, truthful I wasn't capable to effort it much extensively.

Some games present instrumentality vantage of the larger surface existent property and tin customize your gaming acquisition accordingly. For example, successful Disney Speedstorm, erstwhile you space the telephone successful scenery presumption to “tabletop” mode (like astatine 135 degrees), the apical portion of the app volition amusement your gameplay and the bottommost volition amusement a mini map. Even the controls are connected the bottommost truthful your fingers ne'er get successful the mode of gameplay. It mimics the acquisition of utilizing a handheld similar the Nintendo DS. The occupation is the database of games that enactment this is precise small.

Most of the time, it's conscionable bully watching shows and playing games connected the monolithic 8-inch screen. Just cognize that immoderate apps volition request to beryllium resized successful the phone's settings. Sonic 2, for example, tried to instrumentality vantage of the full surface and parts of the crippled were chopped off; I couldn't commencement playing due to the fact that the statesman fastener was off-screen. Resizing it fixed it rapidly and it was inactive bully and ample than connected a emblematic phone.

Battery beingness is solid, I usually extremity a time with astir 30 percent near successful the tank. This volition alteration if you usage the 8-inch surface much often.

Pro Fold?

The split-screen acquisition is excellent, arsenic is the quality to propulsion up the taskbar portion successful immoderate app truthful you tin multitask quickly. But I truly privation Google took a leafage from OnePlus and offered different ways to spot much apps astatine a glance. I similar OnePlus' Open Canvas system, which lets you spot 2 apps broadside by broadside and 1 app beneath hidden away; a elemental scroll up brings that 3rd app into full-size view, allowing you to enactment with 3 apps seamlessly and quickly. There's nary specified capableness connected the Pixel.

Worse yet, Gmail present requires you to spell into scenery predisposition if you privation to instrumentality vantage of the two-pane view, which lets you spot emails connected the near and the email's contents connected the right. This wasn't an contented connected the OG Pixel Fold, but due to the fact that the caller telephone isn't arsenic wide, you volition perpetually person to rotate your telephone to alteration this basal functionality. It's weird due to the fact that astir of Google's apps amusement a two-pane presumption conscionable good successful the modular orientation, and I fishy Gmail would relation perfectly OK too, but you'll conscionable person to woody with this limitation.

There are immoderate unusual omissions connected this instrumentality compared to the Pixel 9 Pro. The exterior surface (the 1 you'll usage the most), does not feature LTPO technology, which allows the show to dynamically ratchet from 1 to 120 Hz. This is simply a much battery-efficient process, but instead, the Fold volition lone spell from 60 to 120 Hz. This is nitpicky, but again, you're spending $1,800 lone to find this flagship diagnostic is not available. (It is disposable connected the interior screen.)

On different Pixel phones, you tin apical up different devices—like your earbuds' charging case—wirelessly with a diagnostic called Battery Share. I person ne'er felt the request to usage this feature, but it's not disposable connected the Pixel 9 Pro Fold. Also, immoderate camera features don't exist, similar Cinematic Blur, which adds a representation mode effect to your videos. Oh and don't hide this instrumentality is rated IPX8, truthful it's good to submerge it successful a pool, but beryllium cautious with particulate (avoid the beach!).

The astir annoying flub is wireless charging. It's supported connected this device, but it doesn't enactment with Google's precise ain Pixel Stand Gen 2 wireless charger due to the fact that the coils bash not align. (Google says the Pixel Stand is discontinued but … it's inactive selling the charger connected its storefront.) Curiously enough, I tried to spot if wireless charging worked connected a fewer different charging stands I had lying astir and the reply was no. Well, benignant of. It works connected immoderate if you enactment the telephone successful scenery orientation, but not if you spot it successful representation connected a stand. You'll beryllium amended disconnected utilizing a charging pad that sits flat.

Overall, the camera strategy is akin but not identical to the Pixel 9 Pro, and portion the results are mostly great, I person noticed images from the ultrawide and telephoto cameras are noticeably not arsenic crisp successful low-light conditions compared to the cheaper sibling. I besides don't similar the information that the selfie camera connected this telephone doesn't diagnostic autofocus. It's bully that you tin instrumentality selfies with the superior rear cameras, but sometimes you don't privation to unfold the full thing, and past your photograph isn't arsenic crisp arsenic what you get with the Pixel 9 Pro.

It's these types of small things that adhd up to marque the Pixel 9 Pro Fold consciousness a spot … weird. It does its occupation good if a mini tablet is what you want—I similar utilizing it implicit the Galaxy Z Fold 6—but Google needs to enactment connected its diagnostic parity truthful that you don't consciousness similar you're missing retired connected the latest and top erstwhile you person the company's astir costly portion of hardware successful your hands.