This year, Google expanded the availability of its Pixel series to include many new regions, including India, and unveiled its first foldable gadget. Known as the Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold, this book-style foldable is not unusual in terms of form factor, but its improved artificial intelligence (AI) features and design bring something new to the table. But is it still the greatest foldable on the market? Let’s investigate:
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The Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold offers a design that is both innovative and practical, balancing the usual difficulties associated with foldable devices. Even while it looks heavier and thicker than bar-shaped smartphones, it nevertheless has a reasonably small profile for a foldable smartphone.
Weight: The Pixel 9 Pro Fold weighs 257g, which is a typical amount for a foldable smartphone, but it can take some getting used to for anyone switching from lighter models.
Materials: Aluminium was used in the phone’s construction, which adds to its toughness.
Hinge: The hinge design stands out in particular because it provides flexibility and guarantees a seamless folding and unfolding process. The phone’s two sides shut fully and without any spaces between them.
Protection: It has an IPX8 rating, which means that it is water resistant but not dust resistant. Those who are looking for outdoor use could find this concerning.
Design of the rear camera: The design of the rear camera module is divisive; some users may find it attractive, while others may not.
Display
The larger inward-bending display and a cover display are included with the Pixel 9 Pro Fold.
A 6.3-inch fullHD AMOLED panel with adjustable refresh rates (60Hz-120Hz) serves as the cover display. It provides a conventional smartphone experience, staying close to bar-shaped smartphones in terms of size and aspect ratio.
Main Display: Adaptive refresh rates ranging from 1Hz to 120Hz are available on this foldable 8-inch full-HD AMOLED LTPO display. Its almost square aspect ratio makes using it in either portrait or landscape position more consistent.
Both screens have good colour accuracy and brightness. With Google’s UI optimised to manage numerous windows and programs, the foldable screen improves multitasking abilities. The foldable experience, however, still lags behind Chinese and Samsung foldable devices despite these efforts.
App Experience: Gmail, LinkedIn, WhatsApp, and other apps have been optimised by Google for the larger foldable screen. These applications allow for seamless multitasking, app switching, and drag-and-drop functionality by presenting distinct interfaces for the cover and main display.
But Samsung and other makers of foldables provide a more sophisticated multitasking experience, especially with their user interfaces made especially for foldables.
Camera
The Pixel 9 Pro Fold has a multifunctional camera setup.
The rear camera setup consists of a 10.8MP 5x telephoto lens with optical image stabilisation (OIS), a 10.5MP ultra-wide-angle lens, and a 48MP main sensor.
10MP sensor for the cover display camera.
10MP sensor for the primary display camera.
Although the primary sensor performs well in a range of lighting scenarios and provides good natural depth-of-field, there are trade-offs with the ultra-wide and telephoto lenses. While the telephoto lens performs well during the day but struggles in low light, the ultra-wide lens softens edges and struggles.
Although the foldable device’s camera performance is respectable, it falls short of high-end bar-shaped smartphones like Google’s Pixel 9 Pro XL in terms of photographic quality.
Software
Operating system upgrades and security patches will be provided for seven years for the Pixel 9 Pro Fold, which is powered by Android 14. You can read a detailed evaluation of the Pixel 9 Pro XL here. The UI is akin to the Pixel 9 series, with a notable focus on artificial intelligence. The experience is largely similar to that of conventional smartphones, however there are no AI functions designed specifically for foldables.
App Optimisation: Because it is not a native solution and can lead to inconsistent results across apps, Google’s attempt to manually configure app aspect ratios through the display settings is inadequate.
Google is much behind its rivals in this area, as they have been developing software specifically for foldable devices for years. In this sense, Samsung’s One UI and foldable optimisations much outperform Google’s.
Performance
With 256GB of storage, 16GB of RAM, and Google’s Tensor G4 CPU, the Pixel 9 Pro Fold can easily manage daily tasks, multitasking, and AI features. Under most circumstances, the device stays cool, yet power-hungry operations may cause a small amount of warmth near the hinge and display regions.
Rechargeable
The Pixel 9 Pro Fold really excels when it comes to battery life. It may easily last the entire day with varied usage, with a screen-on duration of about seven hours. It is compatible with any Qi-based wireless charger and offers quick charging via wired and wireless means. But the charging pace isn’t really quick enough to be called that.
Conclusion
The Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold’s tiny, light design, high-quality construction, superb display quality, and durable battery provide a distinctive folding experience. Though its hardware design is excellent, it falls short when compared to other foldables on the market, particularly those made by Samsung and other Chinese companies, in terms of software and camera capabilities.
The Pixel 9 Pro Fold is one of the priciest foldables available in India, costing Rs 1,72,999. There are better options (such the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold series or devices from Vivo and OnePlus) for this price that provide foldable-specific software and functionality.