Google has cracked the foldable formula at its second attempt, creating a slightly chunkier Pixel 9 Pro that opens up on the inside to offer a large 8-inch tablet screen. With this, Google has beaten Samsung at its own game.
Compared to previous projects, from the squat and thick Pixel Fold in Fitted to Samsung’s many long and thin Galaxy Z Folds, the new Pixel’s simple shape feels so familiar and user-friendly that you wonder why it took so long for someone to try it.
While it might seem odd to praise a cutting-edge £1,749 (€1,899/$1,799/A$2,699) device for resembling a “normal” phone that costs half as much, the shape and size of the various foldables’ internal screens has never been an issue. Instead, the closed form has always felt like a huge compromise.
Smaller rivals like the OnePlus Open and Honor’s Magic V series come close, but the Pixel outdoes all the others. You can just forget that it’s anything but a slightly heavy, run-of-the-mill 6.3-inch phone and go about your day until you need the good-looking 8-inch tablet screen inside.
The square shape of the tablet’s screen makes it ideal for using two apps side by side, but is less well suited to widescreen video due to the need for large black bars at the top and bottom. The crease required to allow the screen to fold in the middle is less noticeable than previous versions, but is still a compromise common to all foldable displays, alongside their softer, less durable materials. Otherwise, the display is sharp and smooth, rivaling the best on the market. The very high brightness makes it much easier to use outdoors than previous versions.
The Fold has the Tensor G4 chip and 16GB of RAM from the other Pixel 9 Pros and offers similar performance. It’s snappy in operation and handles two apps on the screen at once with ease, but can’t match the raw power of Android rivals running Qualcomm’s top chips.
Battery life varies more than a regular phone because of the two screens, but the Fold lasts about 40 hours if you charge it every other day. While that’s not as long as Samsung’s best, it’s eight hours longer than the original Pixel Fold. A full charge takes about 97 minutes with a 45W USB-C charger (not included).
Technical data
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Outside screen: 6.3-inch FHD+ 120Hz OLED (422ppi)
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Interior screen: 8 inch 120 Hz OLED (373 ppi)
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Processor: Google TensorG4
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R.A.M: 16 GB
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Storage: 256 or 512 GB
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Operating system: Android14
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Camera: 48 MP wide angle, 10.5 MP ultra wide angle, 10.8 MP 5x telephoto lens; two 10 MP selfie cameras
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Connectivity: 5G, E-SIM, USB-C, WLAN 7, NFC, Bluetooth 5.3, UWB, GNSS
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Water resistance: IPX8 (1.5 meters for 30 minutes)
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Dimensions folded: 155.2 x 77.1 x 10.5mm
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Dimensions unfolded: 155.2×150.2×5.1mm
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Weight: Pork ham approx. 257g
AI multitasking
The Fold ships with Android 14 and seven years of software support, including an upgrade to Android 15 in the fall, matching rival Samsung.
The big new features for the Pixel phones this year are all AI-based. The new Gemini Live experience is the highlight for fully conversational experiences, enabling fluid discussions back and forth, such as suggestions for stage names or the best park runs for personal bests in your area. The required £19-per-month Gemini Advanced subscription is included with the phone for a year.
The Fold can run the Gemini app in parallel with another app, so you can have a rich discussion with Google while doing something else, like taking pictures in the Pixel Studio app or checking for tickets in the AI Screenshots app.
Google Photos’ Magic Editor, which lets you “reframe” or completely redesign a photo or insert objects using text prompts, is also easy to use on the big indoor screen.
Google takes a simpler approach to multitasking on the tablet screen than its competitors, limiting it to running only two apps on the screen at the same time.
A new option that lets you resume using an app on the inside screen after closing the phone by swiping up on the outside screen works well. Pairs of split-screen apps can be saved as an icon on the home screen for instant access, while apps can be resized to better fit the tablet screen. Many more apps are already optimized for the larger screen, including some games.
But there are still many apps that open as simple, stretched-out phone versions that don’t look or work well on the big square screen. Others require you to rotate the screen to see the tablet versions. This is a common problem that Android hasn’t solved yet.
camera
The camera setup on the new Fold is similar to that of its predecessor: three cameras on the back, a 10MP selfie camera in the outer screen and another in the inner screen. Both selfie cameras are pretty good, but are mainly used for video calls, as the main cameras can be used for selfies and are far superior.
The 48MP main camera takes great photos in a range of lighting conditions, the 10.5MP ultra-wide camera is solid, and the 10.8MP 5x telephoto remains unrivaled on a foldable. All three cameras are similar but not quite as good as Google’s non-foldable 9 Pro phones, for example the 5x camera is softer on details, especially in low light. But the Fold still makes the most of difficult shots and beats all other foldables.
There are also plenty of modes to try out, including macro photography for close-up shots and the ability to shoot while open or closed. New this year is the standard 9 Pro’s “Add Me” group photography feature, as well as its many AI-powered features.
The most interesting addition is the “Made You Look” feature, which displays various animated characters on the external screen when taking photos to attract the attention of children or pets. It’s a smart and useful feature that solves a real problem, but it uses the selfie camera on the external screen, so it’s best used in bright light.
sustainability
Google doesn’t specify an expected battery life, but it should last over 500 full charge cycles at at least 80% of its original capacity. The phone is repairable by Google and third-party repairers. Genuine replacement parts are available from iFixit. The cost to repair the internal screen is over £550.
The Pixel 9 Pro Fold is made from at least 18% recycled materials, including recycled aluminum, plastic, rare earths, and tin. The company breaks down the phone’s environmental impact in its report. Google recycles old devices for free.
Price
The Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold starts at £1,749 (€1,899/$1,799/A$2,699).
For comparison, the Pixel 9 Pro costs £999, the Pixel 9 Pro XL costs £1,099, the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 costs £1,799, the OnePlus Open costs £1,499 and the Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max costs £1,199.
Verdict
The Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold is the best foldable phone-tablet hybrid design yet and represents a huge step forward over its predecessor.
It’s so close to the size and shape of a regular phone that using it to send messages and do other normal things while closed seems so natural that you can easily forget the Pixel is even open, which isn’t the case with any of its other competitors.
Opening it up reveals the amazing interior screen, which is super bright for easier use outdoors. Its square shape makes it ideal for using two apps side by side, which is especially handy when using AI apps along with a web browser or messaging app.
The fingerprint scanner in the power button and 2D face unlock are fast and accurate. Battery life is solid and the controls feel snappy. The cameras are class-leading, even if they’re not quite as good as those on Google’s top regular phone.
The Pixel is still a little heavier than ideal and suffers from the drawbacks inherent in all foldable devices, such as a lack of dust resistance and a delicate internal display that leaves a big question mark over its long-term durability. Taking out accident insurance may be a good idea.
It’s also extremely expensive. But if you can stomach the price, the Pixel 9 Pro Fold is the book-style foldable you should buy.
Advantages: a phone and tablet in one, feels like a big regular phone when closed, great tablet screen, good performance, solid battery life, class-leading cameras with 5x zoom, waterproof, packed with AI and one year of Gemini Advanced included, seven years of software updates.
Disadvantages: extremely expensive, much more fragile and expensive to repair than a regular device, not dustproof, heavier than a regular phone, 2D face unlock not as secure as Face ID, fewer power user features than the competition.
