Forget all you know about Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold 2024. The new—deep breath—Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold has one thing in common with its predecessor: The word ‘Fold’, which is a good thing. The Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold makes the first Fold seem like a prototype at best.
The aspect ratio that didn’t work for several popular applications like Instagram, the excessively big black bezel around the primary screen (all to fit the selfie camera) and the phone’s inability to lay totally flat when unfurled are all gone.
Google’s new Fold is taller slimmer and much lighter than its last try. Whereas the Pixel Fold reminded me—and not in a good manner—of Microsoft’s failed Duo gadget the new Pixel 9 Pro Fold reminds me of the Pixel 8 flagship. In fact, the 6.3-inch cover screen is identical to
The one on the upcoming Google Pixel 9. It’s more than just a screen. When folded and flipped on its side, the Pixel 9 Pro Fold is just 2mm thicker than the Pixel 9. The Pixel 9 Pro Fold is 5.1 mm thick when unfolded, which is the same as the iPad Pro 13-inch and 0.5 mm thinner than the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6. It weighs just 257 grams, which is 27 grams less than the Pixel Fold (but heavier than the Galaxy Z Fold 6).
If there is one drawback to that gorgeous touch-and-hold frame. It is that the battery capacity is lowered from 4727 mAh to 4650 mAh, which is a little loss. I won’t know the significance of that loss until I’ve had a chance to test the Pixel 9 Pro Fold for an extended length of time.
Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold Release Date
The buttons are all crisp, brushed metal, with the power button also housing a fingerprint reader. The phone may now also be unlocked using face recognition. Face Unlock was not featured on the original Google Pixel Fold On August 13, Google launched the Pixel 9
Fold Pro along with the Pixel 9, Pixel 9 Pro and Pixel 9 Pro XL. It is now pre-sale and will hit store shelves on September 4, 2024.
Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold Price
It begins at $1,799 or £1,749 for a 256GB model with 16GB of RAM and comes in Obsidian and Porcelain (off-white). I favor the Obsidian which provides a deep, inky black that can only be described as seductive.
These prices make Google’s new foldable less expensive than the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 but only somewhat. For the foreseeable future, a multi-purpose foldable phone will be a desirable investment.
Google clearly understood the message: it’s not only specifications that win the game but also eye-catching, appealing design. The Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold has it in spades. If the original Fold had a little plasticky appearance and feel, the redesigned model emphasized high-quality materials, smooth surfaces and modest design elements.
Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold Display
The clean and crisp appearance is the result of a successful mix of recyclable aluminum, Corning Gorilla Glass Victus 2, and a multi-alloy steel hinge. It is more than simply the appearance. I could tell from the minute I opened the Pixel 9 Pro Fold that Google had entirely redesigned the hinge technology.
When Fold the phone’s two parts rest flush against one another leaving just a little space between them. I could open the phone from practically any angle and when I did, it snapped flat, which was wonderful.
However, if you recall the Pixel Fold and its inability to lay flat, you’ll see why this is significant. In terms of durability, the phone has an IPX8 classification, indicating that it can withstand being dropped into a few feet of water for 30 minutes. There is no indication of a dust or debris rating, so take additional precautions if you want to carry it to the beach.
The flexible Actua (a marketing name for Google’s dazzling OLED screen technology) display unfolds as smoothly and reliably as you would expect.
When the massive 8-inch display is flat,
it appears to have the finest crease in the industry. I mean, it’s almost invisible. Still, I’ll need to compare it to the other top foldable phones to see whether my first opinion holds up. Eight inches is the biggest folding phone screen
on the market, and Google accomplished this by placing the camera behind the screen (with an uncovered punch hole) and returning to an aspect ratio (20:9) that more closely resembles rivals like Samsung and OnePlus. The original Fold had a 6:5 aspect ratio, which did not work well with several popular applications.
The more squarish aspect ratio ensures that regular applications seem normal and are not chopped off on the main display, while the bigger main screen size also benefits the cover display. It’s full-flagship size at 6.3 inches and although I adore the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6.
Which also has a 6.3-inch screen but is taller and narrower, having the additional cover display width makes using the screen more delightful, and I anticipate it to make typing simpler.
It also makes the Fold 9 Pro seem virtually identical to a standard smartphone. Looking at the screen from the front, the only indication that it’s foldable is the squared-off left side, which fits the hinge, while the right side is curved it’s a fascinating asymmetry.
I also noted that the bezel surrounding the Pixel Fold 9 Pro’s cover screen is significantly thicker than the Pixel 9. However, this does not reduce the screen size.
In my quick hands-on session with the phone. I only spent a few minutes investigating each main function, but I held onto and played with the gadget for more than an hour and didn’t want to put it down.
If there is one drawback to the Pixel 9 Pro Fold’s new design. It is its new camera array. I’ve never been a fan of the Google Pixel Fold’s metallic camera band,
but I like the new Pixel 9 Pro Fold’s brushed metal camera array box less. The curved rectangle is too large and lacks the beauty of the rest of the gadget, although this is a minor issue. Speaking of cameras, I utilized all five of them, but not enough to form any conclusions.
Here’s what comes with the Pixel 9 Pro Fold:
- Main Wide: 48MP f/1.7 Quad PD.
- Ultra-wide: 10.5MP, f/2.2, Dual PD 127 FoV
- Telephoto: 10.8 MP, f/3.1
- Front camera: 10 MPf/2.2.
- Inner camera: 10MP Dual-PD
I understand, that’s a lot of cameras. I like that Google did not scrimp on the main-screen camera 10 MP is more than twice as many megapixels as the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 main-screen camera.
When asked why we had such unusual telephoto and ultra-wide pixel counts. Google would only that it made some adjustments for squeezing the cameras into what is undoubtedly a tiny device.
Still, none of these values represent significant improvements over the prior camera array. The cover and main-screen cameras received a minor MP increase. The ultra-wide angle increases the field of view from 121 degrees to 127 degrees. I’m also delighted Google didn’t reduce the 5x optical zoom to 3x.
I quickly tested all of these lenses and the photographs seemed good, but I’ll have more to say when. I do a comprehensive review. We did, however, get to sample one of the new photo-editing gimmicks Google is promoting for the whole Pixel line: ‘Add me’. It allowed me to take photos of two other TechRadar team members before adding myself.
After taking the first shot, all I had to do was move into the frame and with the help of someone snapping the photo (and an on-screen augmented reality assist) position myself correctly. The end result looks like I was in the original photo. I believe Pixel 9 Pro Fold customers would like this. I also saw a demonstration of the Fold-specific camera function, ‘Made you look.’
The idea is simple: put something distracting or intriguing on the cover screen for your subject (usually a youngster) to look at while you attempt to photograph them. When you choose this option in the camera app, an animated image of joyful cartoon birds shows on the cover screen.
Yes, the picture makes you grin, and that is the objective. A youngster will look at it and giggle, and you will get an excellent shot of them. Meanwhile, the primary screen on the other side remains a large, clear viewfinder. It’s a small, but intelligent and entertaining photographic piece.
At this point, I don’t have much to say about performance, as I do about most of the other fundamental aspects. The Pixel 9 Pro Fold has Google’s latest Tensor G4 processor.
Google says the processor is capable of 45 ToPs (tokens per second) and is 20% quicker for web surfing and 17% faster for app startup. Benchmarks will allow me to compare it against Apple’s A17 Pro processor in the iPhone 15 Pro and Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 in the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6. I am thrilled that Google has packed in 16 MP of RAM particularly because a portion of it seems to be dedicated to managing onboard AI duties.
One of these AI responsibilities will be to power Google Gemini, particularly services such as Gemini Live (accessible with the Gemini Advanced. This includes a conversational AI chatbot that can answer queries in a natural voice and manage interruptions better than some humans I know.
In our conversation, I questioned Gemini about having better sleep and how coffee use would affect my sleep. As it responded, I interrupted to ask whether I may have a Coke. It said I could, but advised me that Coke contains caffeine, and consuming it would interfere with my sleep.
The phone has a USB-C connector. However, you will need to provide your own adaptor. The smartphone also supports Qi wireless charging. The dual-SIM (nano and eSIM) 5G phone supports Bluetooth 5.3 and more importantly, up to WiFi 7 for some future-proofing.
The name of this phone may seem lengthy and unmemorable but I believe it is true. This is a foldable premium/Pro phone. The Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold blends in with the rest of the Pixel 9 series rather than striking out.
The cameras are decent, if not groundbreaking, but as an overall dual-purpose package with a lot of baked-in AI, the Pixel 9 Pro Fold will probably appeal to a lot of would-be foldable phone buyers, who should keep an eye out for trade-ins and other deals that will lower the entry-level price.
