Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold Review: The Foldable That Finally Nails the Trick
Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold offers a big, bright display, AI features, and a sleek design but lags in charging speed and camera quality.
Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold feels like a magic trick—at first, it looks like a regular phone, but unfold it, and you get a full tablet. It’s the first foldable that truly gets this right. The front screen is the same as the Pixel 9, not smaller or adjusted like other foldables. It’s bright, colorful, and looks like a standard phone except for a slightly bigger hinge bezel.
When unfolded, you get an impressive 8-inch screen, even larger than an iPad mini’s usable space. Plus, it’s the slimmest foldable you can buy, at just 10.5mm thick when closed—almost as thin as the Galaxy S24 Ultra. However, the Honor Magic V2 is slightly slimmer, but it’s not widely available.
The Pixel 9 Pro Fold comes packed with AI features, making tasks like photo editing more immersive with its big screen. Some games also take advantage of the foldable design, but there aren’t many unique software experiences yet. Right now, it feels like a phone and a small tablet—but it needs more to justify its high price.
On the bright side, Google promises seven years of updates, so future improvements might make better use of its dual screens. However, there’s a durability concern—I noticed screen damage after using a lens wipe, raising questions about its build quality. While it’s an exciting foldable, it still has room for improvement.
Table of Contents
Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold Specification
| Feature | Details |
|---|---|
| 📅 Release Date | September 04, 2024 |
| ⚖️ Weight | 257g (9.07 oz) |
| 📏 Thickness | 5.1mm (unfolded), 10.5mm (folded) |
| 📱 Operating System | Android 14, upgradable to Android 15, 7 major upgrades |
| 💾 Storage Options | 256GB / 512GB (no card slot) |
| 📺 Main Display | 8.0″ Foldable LTPO OLED, 120Hz, HDR10+, 2076×2152 pixels |
| 📟 Cover Display | 6.3″ OLED, 120Hz, HDR, 1080×2424 pixels, Gorilla Glass Victus 2 |
| 🔧 Chipset | Google Tensor G4 (4nm) |
| ⚙️ CPU | Octa-core (1×3.1 GHz Cortex-X4 & 3×2.6 GHz Cortex-A720 & 4×1.92 GHz Cortex-A520) |
| 🎮 GPU | Mali-G715 MC7 |
| 🚀 RAM | 16GB |
| 📸 Main Camera | 48MP (wide) + 10.8MP (telephoto, 5x zoom) + 10.5MP (ultrawide) |
| 🤳 Selfie Camera | 10MP (wide) |
| 🔎 Cover Camera | 10MP (wide) |
| 🎥 Video Recording | 4K@24/30/60fps, 1080p@24/30/60/120/240fps, 10-bit HDR, gyro-EIS, OIS |
| 🔊 Loudspeaker | Stereo speakers |
| 🎧 3.5mm Jack | No |
| 📡 Network | GSM / HSPA / LTE / 5G |
| 🆔 SIM | Nano-SIM + eSIM |
| 💦 Water Resistance | IPX8 |
| 📶 Connectivity | Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 5.3, NFC, GPS, USB Type-C 3.2 |
| 🔋 Battery | 4650mAh |
| ⚡ Charging | 21W wired, 7.5W wireless, bypass charging option |
| 🔐 Security | Side-mounted fingerprint sensor |
| 🎯 Other Features | UWB support, Satellite SOS, Circle to Search |
| 🎨 Colors | Obsidian, Porcelain |
| 🆔 Model Numbers | GGH2X, GC15S |
| ⚠️ SAR (EU) | 0.98 W/kg (head), 1.39 W/kg (body) |
| 💰 Price | $989.95 / £1,749.00 / €1,397.21 |
| 📊 Benchmark Scores | AnTuTu: 1,222,228 (v10), GeekBench: 4783 (v6), 3DMark: 2620 (Wild Life Extreme) |
| 🔆 Display Brightness | 2199 nits (measured) |
| 🔈 Speaker Performance | -24.1 LUFS (Very good) |
| 🕒 Battery Life | Active use score: 11 hours 54 min |
Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold Review: Price and Availability
Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold is priced at $1,799 / £1,749 / AU$2,699 for the 256GB model. Priced at $1919 / £1,869 / AU$2,899 for the 512GB model. There are only two storage options (256GB and 512GB) and two colors available.
This foldable feels much more premium than its predecessor and its slim design and durability make it stand out. However, at this price, it’s a bit steep. If Apple had made this phone, there’d be no question about its value. Despite being one of the best-designed foldables, it still feels like it needs more software features to justify the high cost.
For comparison, the Galaxy Z Fold 6 offers more productivity options, including a stylus (though sold separately), while Google’s Pixel 9 Pro Fold doesn’t take full advantage of its large screen. The Google foldable does have unique features like dual-screen translation, but there’s still a lack of truly innovative experiences.
If you buy a Pixel 9 for $799 and an iPad mini (2021) for $499, you’d save around $500 while still getting a similar experience (except for portability).
Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold Design
- Thinnest foldable (except for Honor Magic V3)
- Biggest inner display on a foldable phone
- Concerns over durability after a review unit broke
Google claims the Pixel 9 Pro Fold is the thinnest foldable available (except for Honor’s Magic V3, which isn’t sold in many markets), has the largest inner display, and is the most durable Pixel Fold yet. However, that last claim is questionable.
The phone looks sleek and feels less bulky than an iPhone 15 Pro Max with a case. The front display is the same size as the Pixel 9, making it feel like a regular phone. The inner screen has a noticeable crease, like all foldables, but the hinge design is one of the best.
The color options are limited to Obsidian and Porcelain—safe choices for such an expensive phone.
However, a major issue arose when my review unit’s inner display broke after cleaning it with a Zeiss Lens Wipe. A black blob appeared, suggesting an internal failure. While other review units haven’t had this problem, this raises concerns about durability. I’ve reached out to Google for comment and will update once I know more.
If this was just a rare defect, the phone remains an impressive design achievement. But if durability proves to be an issue, it could be a serious drawback.
Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold Display
The Pixel 9 Pro Fold has a cover display that feels just like a regular phone—it’s the same as the Pixel 9. This makes a huge difference in daily use since you don’t always need to unfold the device. The cover screen is bright, colorful, and comfortable to use, making it feel just as good as a standard phone.
The inner display is stunning. It’s almost square, which means movies don’t always fill the screen perfectly, but everything else—videos, web browsing, and maps—looks fantastic. The real highlight is photo editing, where the large display makes fine adjustments easier and AI-powered tools more intuitive.
In bright outdoor settings, the Pixel 9 Pro Fold stands out. Compared to other foldables, its cover display is the easiest to see in direct sunlight and smartly adjusts brightness when needed.
Pixel 9 Pro Fold offers the best display experience on a foldable phone, both inside and out. It’s bright, clear, and enhances everything from daily tasks to creative work.
Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold Software
The Pixel 9 Pro Fold includes all the AI features found in other Pixel 9 phones. Pixel Studio lets you create images from scratch, though there are some limits on human-like images. Google’s AI suggestions can be hit or miss, but when they work, they look great.
The Reimagine tool in Google Photos is even more impressive. It allows you to edit photos in ways that were once only possible with Photoshop. For example, I turned a train track into a pond with a swan—except the train track itself was also AI-generated. Google’s AI added realistic details like shadows, making it hard to tell what was real.
The downside is that AI-generated images are not labeled. They look like regular JPEG photos with no sign they were created by AI. This could raise concerns, but there’s no doubt that the AI tools on the Pixel 9 Pro Fold are powerful and fun to use.
Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold Cameras
The Pixel 9 Pro Fold’s cameras are not as good as those on the regular Pixel 9. While the Pixel 9 has a large camera sensor, the Pro Fold uses a much smaller one, which affects photo quality. A bigger sensor captures more light and detail, making it the most important factor in camera performance.
That said, the photos are still impressive in some areas. Macro shots look great, and Night Sight panoramas are far better than what most other phones can capture. Phone also has a 5x optical zoom, which is better than 3x zoom on the Galaxy Z Fold 6.
Image quality is weaker than Pixel 9 and not as good as Galaxy Z Fold 6 which has the best camera on a foldable phone. Video Boost, a feature that improves video quality, is helpful but frustrating—it turns off every time you close the Camera app, making it easy to forget.
Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold Performance
The Pixel 9 Pro Fold isn’t the fastest phone, but it’s good enough for a foldable. The Tensor G4 chipset handles daily tasks and AI tools well, though it may feel slow if you try to multitask heavily. Games run smoothly, and apps look great on both screens.
Compared to other foldable phones, the Galaxy Z Fold 6 is faster with its Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 processor, while the OnePlus Open, using last year’s chip, is sometimes faster, sometimes slower than the Pixel.
In benchmark tests, the Pixel 9 Pro Fold was faster than the OnePlus Open in general performance but slower in graphics. The Galaxy Z Fold 6 was the fastest overall.
For now, the Pixel 9 Pro Fold performs well, but with seven years of Android updates ahead, it might struggle as AI features become more demanding. Fortunately, it has 16GB of RAM, which should help it last longer. Still, a little more speed would have been nice from the start.
Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold Battery
The Pixel 9 Pro Fold has the smallest battery of any Pixel 9 phone and charges the slowest. It only supports 21W charging, while the Pixel 9 Pro XL reaches 37W.
Battery life is decent but not the best. In tests, it lasted about an hour longer than the Galaxy Z Fold 6, but two hours less than the Pixel 9 Pro.
If you use outside screen more during the day, it lasts the entire day. However, the battery drains more quickly and you might not be able to make it to dinner if you rely on the large interior display.
The slow charging is disappointing, especially for an expensive phone. Even after 30 minutes of charging, the battery didn’t reach 50%.
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Pros and Cons of Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold
| ✅ Pros | ❌ Cons |
|---|---|
| 🔆 Bright, vibrant display | 📏 Thick bezels, polarizing design |
| 📱 Large main screen with a smaller crease | ⚡ Slow charging |
| 🔋 Good battery life | 📷 Camera quality isn’t top-tier |
| 🔊 Loud and clear speakers | 🚀 Tensor G4 chip is slower than rivals |
| 🔄 7 years of Android updates + AI features | 💰 Expensive at launch |
Conclusion
Pixel 9 Pro Fold is my favorite foldable because of its sleek design and thin, lightweight feel. It looks like a regular phone but unfolds into a fun, big-screen experience. The AI features are impressive—maybe too powerful—and the large inner display is perfect for Pixel Studio and Reimagine photo editing. While it’s not as good as the Pixel 9 Pro in some areas, its built-in tablet makes up for it.
