Google's Revolutionary Pixel Fold: Is it Worth the $1,800 Price Tag for the Ultimate Folding Phone Experience?

 With the release of the Pixel Fold, a gadget that can fold in half to morph between a conventional smartphone and a small tablet, Google is finally providing Samsung with some competition in the folding phone market.

Google's Pixel Fold, the company's first folding device, has been officially announced after literally years of rumors and leaks. Preorders for the $1,799 Fold, which will begin shipping to customers in June, are open today, May 10. It will compete with Samsung's Galaxy Z Fold 4.

Despite being Google's first try at a folding phone, there are many positive aspects to this device. The Pixel Fold is quite wonderful as a general gadget or product that you hold and handle in your hands – the hinge is firm but not bulky, the screens look fantastic, and it feels like the costly object that it is. It seems to run Google's software and apps effectively, and it's likely that any upcoming Android capabilities for folding phones will be developed with the Pixel Fold in mind

However, this is an attempt in the exact opposite way — an expensive, probably niche product that pushes the boundaries of what a mobile phone can be. Google has seen much of its success with the low-end Pixel series of phones and with their cameras. Although Google has entered this market after others, it is still early enough to make a significant impact, particularly given that it continues to control the Android platform.

The Pixel Fold is one of the two types of folding gadgets we are familiar with: a compact flip that opens to a regular-sized phone or a regular-sized phone that opens into a small tablet. Thanks to its flexible screen and hinge, it converts from a small, 5.8-inch phone into a 7.6-inch tablet, giving you a roomy screen to run apps, watch videos, play games, or do anything else you could want to do with a mobile device.

This kind of device design allows a great deal of versatility, as I've said before. It's pretty convenient to be able to switch between a phone that fits comfortably in one hand and one that offers a large screen for reading, using apps, or watching videos. Once you've used a folding gadget of this kind, it's simple to understand that someday all phones will be like this. While still being as portable as your current phone, it can replace a number of the devices in your life. A foldable tablet has a certain wow effect that a rectangular slab phone simply can't match. In addition, it's plain cool.

The Pixel Fold has two OLED screens with 120Hz refresh rates, and the inner screen is protected by ultrathin glass (plus a screen protector that was put on at the manufacture but isn't really designed to be removed). Both of the screens should be pretty useful outside because the 1080 x 2092 pixel outside screen can reach up to 1550 nits of brightness and the 2208 x 1840 pixel interior display can reach up to 1450 nits. It's good that neither display really compromises when compared to conventional slab smartphones, but it's reasonable to anticipate that from a product that costs close to $2,000 in the first place.

The Tensor 2 CPU and 12GB of RAM in the Pixel Fold are same to those in the Pixel 7 and 7 Pro as well as the Pixel 7A and Pixel Tablet, which were also unveiled today. You can choose between 256GB and 512GB of storage, but there is no way to add more later.

The Pixel Fold's about 4,800mAh battery arrangement, which is divided into two cells, one in each half, is said to provide "beyond 24 hours" of battery life, according to Google. The Pixel Fold can be wirelessly charged using a conventional Qi charger or fast charged at a rate of up to 30W. Unfortunately, the smartphone does not come with either charger.

The Pixel Fold has a total of five cameras. In addition, there are three cameras in the back: a 48-megapixel optically stabilized main camera, a 10.8-megapixel ultrawide camera, and a 10.8-megapixel 5x telephoto lens. There are two 8.3-megapixel cameras: one on the outside for selfies and another above the internal display for video chats. Google was unable to put the larger sensors of the 7 Pro in the Fold's thin body, thus the camera's features and capabilities are different from those found on the Pixel 7 Pro.

The Pixel Fold cannot be discussed without reference to the Samsung Z Fold 4. Although the two devices are largely extremely similar, Google deviated from Samsung on a number of fronts. The outside screen is shorter and wider than the oddly tall and thin Z Fold 4 screen, which is the most visible difference between the two screens in terms of aspect ratio. Because of this, the Pixel Fold behaves and feels more like a typical smartphone when it is closed. This makes it easier to type on and prevents odd stretching or compression of apps.

Similar to how the Z Fold 4's internal display is more geared toward portrait mode, the Pixel Fold's internal display has a 6:5 landscape aspect ratio. This aspect ratio provides the Pixel Fold a substantially larger screen inside than the Samsung, despite both devices having "7.6-inch" screens listed on their spec sheets. On the inner screen of the Pixel Fold, programs typically display better too, especially when using split-screen multitasking to run two apps simultaneously.

Like Samsung's folding phones, the Pixel Fold has a hinge that can fold entirely flat, so there is no space between the screens when it is closed. When the Pixel Fold is opened, there is a noticeable crease, but it isn't something that would likely obstruct usability - in the limited time I spent with the device before today's presentation, I only noticed it when I was explicitly looking for it.

In addition to folding fully flat, the Pixel Fold is very thin; the Google execs who showed it to me said that each half is "about 2/3s the thickness" of a Pixel 7 Pro. That is actually less than six millimeters thick, making it significantly slimmer than the Galaxy Z Fold. The Pixel Fold is around 12mm thick when closed, which is thicker than the average phone today but not by much enough to prevent it from fitting in most pockets or feeling awkward. A closed Z Fold 4 is almost 16mm thick in contrast.

According to Google, the stainless steel hinge can withstand up to 200,000 openings and closes. You can use the Pixel Fold as a little laptop if you'd want (or, more likely, just watch videos on it without holding it) because it can keep its position wherever you left it. With an IPX8 classification for weather protection, the Pixel Fold can endure exposure to water but not dust. You won't want to bring this to the shore.

Unsurprisingly, Google and Samsung differ from one another in terms of software and feature count. Both stylus input and output to an external display are supported by the Galaxy Fold 4, however neither is offered by the Pixel Fold. Samsung allows you to run three apps on the screen at once and then add another floating window on top of that for the most chaotic multitasking experience conceivable. The Pixel Fold can only run two side-by-side apps at once. When the Galaxy Fold is linked to an external screen, you can even obtain a full desktop environment.

Instead, Google offers current Pixel owners a focused and comfortable experience that also supports the company's most recent Material Design style. According to the developer, more than 50 of its apps have been enhanced to make the most of the Pixel Fold's huge inner display. You may even use some sneaky techniques to start using an app on the outside display and then launch it immediately when the phone is opened. The Pixel Fold comes pre-installed with Android 13. Later this year, it will receive an update to Android 14 with extra capabilities that take advantage of its distinctive hardware. Five years' worth of software and security updates are guaranteed by Google.

I was an early adopter of folding phones, so I'm glad that Samsung is now facing some competition in the US market. Many of my issues with the Galaxy Z Fold's peculiar design are addressed by the Pixel Fold, and I'm hoping that it has a better camera system than the Samsung.

The Pixel Fold may revolutionize the perception of folding phones among the general public, but I'm not yet sure of that. Even with preorder incentives like strong trade-in values and freebies, the price is still prohibitive for many consumers, so I'm not sure how much effort Google will put into putting the Pixel Fold into people's hands. Even while Samsung runs nearly regular marketing for the comparably priced Z Fold 4, it's still a specialized product that few consumers have ever tried.

Due to its relative tardiness in releasing the Pixel Fold, Google has the advantage of being able to learn from Samsung's mistakes and hopefully avoid making the same ones. However, we won't truly understand how the Pixel Fold will perform in terms of things like durability and compatibility for third-party apps until actual users have had a chance to use it for several months.