The Google Pixel 10 Pro Fold is here and it provides updated changes from the Pixel 9 Pro Fold released last fall. Here are three ways the phone is different to last year’s model.
Some things haven’t changed: the price is still high, starting at $1,799 (£1,749 in the U.K.), nearly identical dimensions (so it’s not as thin as some folding rivals), same size screen.
The IPX8 rating on the Pixel 9 Pro Fold is now an IP68 rating, which means there’s more tangible protection against dust. Part of that is down to the first change, the new hinge.
Google Pixel 10 Pro Fold: The Gearless Hinge
Google is claiming this as a major update saying it was a chance to push engineering capabilities. Gears in hinges like these — and let’s remember that hinges are still a new development in the smartphone world as they just weren’t needed at all a few years ago — can be damaged or clogged with dust, which makes it difficult to fold or unfold the phone. CAMs were the answer, Google says, and provided the opportunity to redesign things in the phone.
This has meant that although the internal display remains at 8 inches, the external display is fractionally bigger than before, thanks to the smaller bezels the new hinge made possible.
The new hinge is still shiny, not matte, something Google says it has chosen because it elevates the look rather than letting it blend in.
Google Pixel 10 Pro Fold: New Battery
The redesign also allowed for a new battery which is bigger than before, and the biggest yet on a Google foldable. Where last year’s model has a 4,650mAh cell, this one is right up to 5,015mAh. Google says it lasts up to 30 hours, which feels about right in tests.
The truth is that however good a phone is, extra battery life is what everyone — everyone — wants.
Google Pixel 10 Pro Fold: Pixelsnap
Pixelsnap means the new Pixel phones are compatible with Qi2 wireless charging systems. It’s MagSafe in all but name and it means that if you have a MagSafe charger it’ll work on the Pixel. Of course, Google makes its own charger as well, if you prefer that, but the versatility of the wireless charging stand has reached the world of Pixel now.
Note that while the Pixel 10 Pro XL can manage wireless charging speeds of 25W, this tops out at 15W.
