Google Pixel Fold puts Samsung on notice with periscope camera and live Dual Screen translation
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The first foldable phone from Google has finally arrived, after literally years of speculation. Google took its time but the end result - the Pixel Fold - seems to have been worth the wait as it introduces what might be the best camera on a foldable phone to date, and a tailored Android interface for multitasking that only the OG can pull off.
Can it take on Samsung's storied Galaxy Z Fold line and the onslaught of even more formidable competitors from Oppo, Vivo, Huawei, Honor, and more?
Google's cutsy design screams Pixel Fold
The Pixel Fold colors are Obsidian black and Porcelain white-ish, and the rear camera strip screams Pixel as it is the same design language available on Google's latest few series of non-bendy phones.
With a 7.6-inch main and 5.8-inch cover screens, the Pixel Fold will be battling the likes of Oppo Find N2 for the king of compact foldables title. In folded state it is just 5.5 inches tall, 3.1" wide, and half an inch thick. Not bad, even though the Find N2 is more compact overall, while the Mate X3, for instance, is thinner and lighter.
Both screens offer smooth 120Hz refresh rate and wide color gamut coverage. Covered by Gorilla Glass Victus, the cover screen is one tough noogie, while the main Pixel Fold screen is layered with ultrathin glass on top for added durability.
Google offers the usual array of design advantages that foldables offer, such as the table mode where it can be set as a tiny laptop of sorts, or the rear selfie camera mode that allows you to take a quality one with the main camera.
The Google Pixel Fold camera(s) takes foldables to the next level
Yes, yes, the main display can bend like Gumby, is bright, and has a high refresh rate, but we already expected that from a modern foldable. What we were most curious about, however, is whether the rumors about the excellent camera kit on the Pixel Fold would turn out to be true, as that is currently the weak spot of foldable phones, barring Huawei's creations like the Mate X3 that sport a periscope zoom lens but are more expensive.
Pixel Fold zoom camera samples
Well, the Pixel Fold also has a 5x periscope zoom camera and here are its first camera samples:
The main Google Pixel Fold camera runs on a 48 MP 1/2" image sensor with Quad PD autofocus and OIS. While not that great of a hardware in this day and age of 1-inch mobile sensors, Google's computational photography chops make up for the hardware deficiency and then some, plus it introduces the Rear Camera Selfie option on the Pixel Fold, where you can catch a great 48MP selfie by using the exterior screen as a viewfinder. Last but not least, there is a 10MP ultrawide camera that also does its photography duties with aplomb:
Needless to say, you get all the Pixel 7 Pro camera bells and whistles, too, such as 10-bit HDR video recording, Super Res Zoom, Real Tone for colors, Night Sight and Portrait photography, and the handy Magic Eraser and Photo Unblur tools for editing your photos on the fly.
Tensor power, enough storage, ho-hum charging
Google's latest Tensor G2 processor is powering the Pixel Fold as it is the Pixel 7-series. While not the fastest out there, Google has tweaked it for AI and imaging computations with great results.
The Pixel Fold storage memory configurations include a base 256GB model and a 512GB version, while both sport 12GB of RAM. As for the Pixel Fold battery life, the 4821 mAh unit speaks for itself in screaming full-day battery, but then this joyful cry gets a long interruption by the mere 30W charging speeds.
Pixel Fold, the great multitasking interpreter
Not before Android 14, though. Google is seemingly keeping its best take on a foldable phone interface for the Pixel Fold for when Android 14 lands on it and will, for example, introduce its great Dual Screen interpreter mode idea only then. With Android 14, the Pixel Fold will help you translate to and from foreign languages by simultaneously using the main and cover screens to translate live conversations for a more natural experience.
At present, Google has optimized its famous app suite to take advantage of the big 7.6-inch main screen that can serve as a Pixel Tablet of sorts when open. You can actually use a dedicated Taskbar to switch between your apps or enter split-screen mode to multitask with two apps at once.
That interaction includes dragging and dropping files between the two apps directly, too, and, when not in use for multitasking, the Taskbar will fade away from your precious screen real estate.
Google Pixel Fold pricing and release date
- Pixel Fold price: $1799 (256GB)
- Pixel Fold release date: June 27
Google will release its first foldable phone in June, but the Pixel Fold preorders are opening today at a rather serious $1799 price point for the base version with 256GB storage, or $1919 for the 512-gigger.
Priced around Samsung's Galaxy Z Fold 4, the Pixel Fold offers a way better camera and more compact design, plus Google vowed to enhance its multitasking abilities with the arrival of Android 14 later this summer. Now, which color would you get?
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