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3 months with my Pixel 9 Pro Fold: The biggest generational upgrade in years (is not enough)

By Martin Filipov

Published: Nov 26, 2024, 9:17 AM

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Editorials Google

This article may contain personal views and opinion from the author.

3 months with my Pixel 9 Pro Fold: The biggest generational upgrade in years (is not enough)

I’ve been a Pixel 9 Pro Fold user for almost three months now, and it won’t be a stretch to say Google’s second attempt at a foldable might just be one of the biggest generational upgrades in the world of phones.

To be fair, in my humble opinion, Google didn’t set the bar too high at all, which makes the leap from the first to the second Pixel Fold a bit less impressive. However, it’s a fact that the second iteration Pixel Fold is a dramatically more refined phone than last year’s model.

For one, it’s far lighter and thinner, which makes it way easier to carry around and hold, and that’s (without a doubt) the biggest upgrade we got. Then, while I don’t think my Pixel 9 Pro Fold’s form-factor is ideal (more about that in a bit), the original Pixel Fold might just be even more awkward to use as a foldable due to the relatively small inner display with large bezels.

Speaking of displays, from arguably the worst folding screen on the original Fold, Google has gone to what might be the best folding screen on the market. In fact, I’d go as far as to say the super-bright and smooth cover and inner screens on my Pixel 9 Pro Fold are the only class-leading piece of hardware on this phone.

And while this is subjective, I find the aesthetic design of the Pixel 9 Pro Fold to be quite nice - especially in the white/beige color I have here (officially called Porcelain). Meanwhile, while not special, the cameras and speakers are also pretty good - especially for a folding phone.

Now, let's get to my actual experience and takeaway from using the Pixel 9 Pro Fold for roughly three months...

The Pixel 9 Pro Fold did what the Galaxy Z Fold failed to do years ago - I’m now (also) a folding phone user

But more importantly, and beyond the comparison to last year’s mode, the biggest “W” for the Pixel 9 Pro Fold is that it managed to turn me into a folding phone user… for the first time ever.

The Galaxy Z Fold 3 failed to achieve this years ago, but I did give foldables a second chance, and I can confidently say I enjoy using the Pixel 9 Pro Fold on a daily basis.

The biggest game-changer (pun intended) is the big 8-inch screen on the inside, which basically gives me two normal sized Pixel 9 displays, which is super-useful for watching videos, but especially for multitasking.

Whether it’s having Amazon and Chrome open at the same time so I can do my research on Chrome and look up items on Amazon, or the Calculator in combination with any other app, my iPhone 13 simply can’t give me the same level of flexibility. In fact, having to jump between several apps when I’m trying to do something in all of them now feels a bit ancient on my iPhone.

On top of that, the actual viewing experience in apps (if they are optimized!) can be so much better and easier on the eyes compared to a “normal phone” with a normal size screen.

For example, scrolling through YouTube, which (as a Google app) is fully optimized for the Pixel 9 Pro Fold gives me a mini-tablet experience, which is just awesome. Same for Gmail, and many other Google apps you’d expect to see look nice on Google’s own foldable.

No phone is perfect, and the Pixel 9 Pro Fold isn’t either - here are the things Google must change to make the Pixel 10 Pro Fold a killer upgrade

And before I jump into the (perhaps surprising) verdict after my 3-month-long adventure with the Pixel 9 Pro Fold, let’s quickly break down the practical imperfections about this otherwise great phone.

Because no phone is perfect and the Pixel 9 Pro Fold isn’t either…

Starting on the outside, I’ve said it before, but the front of the Pixel 9 Pro Fold (when closed) looks extremely dated - the thick bezels and even thicker frame on the left side make the phone unnecessarily wide and bulky, and that’s definitely something I’d love to see change on the Pixel 10 Pro Fold (or whatever the name is)

The Pixel 9 Pro Fold is much light-er than its predecessor, but compared virtually all other foldables, it is not quite “light”, and you can feel this while using the phone; I still switch hands when I need to use it for longer periods of time, and while the phone is more than pocketable, you’ll absolutely feel it in your pants (what?!)

While decent, the battery life on the Pixel 9 Pro Fold is only satisfactory for light use - if you’re a heavy user, forget about rocking the phone from dusk till dawn without needing to recharge it; in the age of huge Si/C batteries in Chinese flagships, as well as super-fast charging, the battery experience on the Pixel 9 Pro Fold is definitely not flagship-grade - not even close

Surprise, surprise, the Tensor G4 is another hardware competent that doesn’t belong in a flagship phone, let alone one that costs $1,800; Tensor is not and never will be a flagship chip good enough to carry the Pixel through “7 years of OS updates”, and while daily operation is super-smooth, tasks like photo and video editing will quickly make the Pixel Fold look like a $400 mid-range phone next to an iPhone

I sort of alluded to that above, but unfortunately, many apps aren’t properly optimized to work on the otherwise stunning 8-inch screen of the Pixel Fold, which to be honest, I find rather shocking given that folding phones have been around for so long - what are we waiting for? Oh, wait… for the folding iPhone…

While the Pixel 9 Pro Fold gives me much better multitasking, that’s only compared to my iPhone; in fact, the dual-app multitasking capabilities of the Pixel Fold are quite basic compared to (say) the Galaxy Z Fold, which lets you run three apps side-by-side, and a fourth app as a floating window; and yes, I’ve run into scenarios when I felt like being able to open three apps simultaneously would’ve been useful

I won’t make this one too long since I’ve covered it in a whole separate story, but I find the Pixel 9 Pro Fold’s almost square aspect ratio to be very impractical, and I prefer Samsung’s rectangular aspect ratio, which makes typing, browsing, viewing, and holding the mini tablet much easier

Finally, there’s no other way to say it - the Pixel 9 Pro Fold is (still) extremely expensive; if you (like me) thought we would have more affordable (tablet-style) folding phones in 2024-2025, that’s not exactly the case; wasn’t the point to make foldables cheaper, Google? Samsung? Anyone?

Thanks and sorry, Google! The Pixel 9 Pro Fold changed my view on folding phones but it’s not the foldable I’d buy (again)

Pixel 9 Pro Fold next to Galaxy Z Fold 6.

As a second-time folding phone user, the Pixel 9 Pro Fold is a phone I would use on a daily basis even if it’s clearly imperfect. However, I don’t think it’s the best folding phone on the market. Oops.

In the end, the multimedia and multitasking capabilities I get with the Pixel 9 Pro Fold (compared to my iPhone) make me want to keep using folding phones, which is an achievement for the Pixel 9 Pro Fold. However, the key phrase here is “compared to my iPhone”.

Because when compared to other folding phones like the Galaxy Z Fold 6, I find the Pixel 9 Pro Fold to get some basic things wrong. And that’s a dealbreaker for me, which is why I probably wouldn’t buy the phone (again).

I must note that the Pixel 9 Pro Fold isn’t my only phone. I still use my iPhone 13 mini as my primary device, which goes with me everywhere, while the foldable is what I usually use at home, which feels like an unnecessary luxury, and something I probably wouldn’t do if I didn’t have access to the Pixel Fold thanks to my job.

I’ve discussed this in a different story but I find the rectangular form-factor offered by other foldables like the Galaxy Z Fold 6 to be much more practical for virtually every day-to-day scenario. Samsung’s foldable also supports the (now) userful S Pen, and it’s lighter, which I value more over the thinner profile of the Pixel.

In other words, Google did not make the best/perfect foldable, and shouldn’t sleep on the competition. I hope Sundar Pichai & Vo are already making a much better Pixel 10 Fold - now expected to boot a Qualcomm chip for the first time in years.

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Martin, a tech journalist at PhoneArena, brings a unique blend of humor and insight to his work. His fascination with smartphones began with a Galaxy Young and evolved through a series of trades and upgrades, making him a self-proclaimed smartphone nerd. Martin's content often combines current analysis of market trends with historical references and future predictions. Whether it's a deep dive into technical issues or a first-person commentary on industry events, Martin's articles are designed to inform and engage. His critical perspective is driven by genuine curiosity and a desire to keep readers informed, not by any corporate sponsorship.