Google has radically redesigned the Pixel 9 Pro Fold when compared to its predecessor. Aside from the cumbersome name, the final result is an overall success.
The new cover display is the size and shape of a regular phone (it’s identical to the base Pixel 9) while the device itself is surprisingly small and light. I often forget I’m holding a foldable phone.
But camera technology that doesn’t match the Pixel 9 Pro, some AI quirks and a high price tag means that this phone is reserved for dedicated foldable lovers only. For everyone else, you can get much more smartphone for your money from any other regular shaped flagship handset.
Pixel 9 Pro Fold Tech Specs
Price $1,799.00 | Cameras: 48MP wide, 10.8MP telephoto with 5x optical zoom, 10.5MP ultrawide | Processor: Tensor G4 (4 nm) | Cover Display: 6.3-inch 120Hz, OLED, 1080 x 2424 pixels, 1800 nits| Storage: 256GB-512GB internal | RAM: 16GB | Battery size: 4650 mAh | Dimensions folded: 155.2 x 77.1 x 10.5 | Dimensions unfolded: 155.2 x 150.2 x 5.1 mm | Weight 257g
A New But Familiar Shape
The 9 Pro Fold’s cover screen is essentially the same size, shape and aspect ratio as the base Pixel 9. After using it for several weeks, and spending the last year with the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 and Fold 6, it’s clear that a larger cover display on a folding phone should be the standard.
It’s not a tall, svelte shape that’s unusual to most smartphone users, which is partially the case with Samsung’s Fold line. This has been my single major gripe with Samsung’s folding phone for a while—the slimline cover screen feels unnatural and frustrating to use. The P9PF doesn’t have that problem and it is a major advantage over the Korean company’s tech.
The P9PF feels like two phones in one. It turns out that was exactly Google’s intention. “Even though people are interested in the new form factor and want the added bonus of the tablet-like experience, people also want to use their foldable like a regular smartphone.” A Google blog explained.
There are subtle differences between the Galaxy Z Fold 6 and P9PF that have a large impact on the experience. For example, the matte glass back feels good to touch but doesn’t look as premium as Samsung’s Fold 6—this is entirely my preference.
The Pixel phone is also surprisingly thin for a foldable phone. Unfurled, the Google handset is slimmer than the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 (5.1mm versus 5.6mm). Folded, the Pixel 9 Pro Fold registers a thickness of 10.5mm compared to the Fold 6’s 12.1mm.
The Google handset is only 2mm thicker than the Pixel 9 Pro XL, whereas the Samsung device is 3.6mm bulkier than the Pixel 9 Pro XL and 3.5mm heftier than the Galaxy S24 Ultra. It is unexpectedly compact and you have to really look at it to see that this is a foldable phone.
However, the squat shape and rounded corners of the P9PF means there’s a hefty bezel on the left-hand side where the square edge of the hinge resides. It looks a bit clunky and less polished against Samsung’s completely squared-edged handset.
The Biggest Screen On The Block
One clear difference between the P9PF, Samsung’s handset and the original Pixel Fold is the large inner display. The Pixel’s big outer screen means a big inner-display too, which measures at 8 inches compared to Samsung’s 7.6-inch panel. Google says this is the biggest ever on any available folding phone. It feels it too, in both good and bad ways.
The downside is reachability. This is a phone for big hands and even my large paws struggle when typing messages on the unfolded screen. My thumbs struggle to type when the split keyboard option isn’t enabled, or if I have to reach for anything in the middle of the screen.
On the Fold 6, when held one-handed, my thumb can reach far more of the display than it can on the Pixel device. It’s here we see two different visions of what a foldable phone should be. This is likely why Samsung has resisted making a wider Galaxy Fold for six straight iterations.
The upside is media consumption. When I’m watching content the enlarged display is extremely immersive. On the rare occasion I watch a 4×3 aspect ratio video, like the early seasons of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, I really see the benefit of owning a folding phone.
If you want to go on a retro TV series binge then you don’t find a better device to do it on than the P9PF. Games like Asphalt Legends, NBA Infinite, or Candy Crush Saga also use the full foldable display.
For power users, the person who appreciates their phone time and wants the maximum possible display experience at the expense of other features, such as battery life and camera quality, there is no better phone shape.
That is aided by the display itself being excellent. The 2076 x 2152 OLED foldable panel looks great and it reaches an impressive brightness at 2700 nits. The crease isn’t obvious and the 120Hz refresh rate smooths everything out.
The colors don’t pop like they do on Samsung’s Fold 6, but that’s the case for all Samsung phones against Pixel devices. Some people prefer that more natural look to the vibrant Samsung displays, but to my eyes the Galaxy device’s sharper and more vibrant screen looks markedly better.
Intelligent Frustrations
Google’s Pixel 9 series has leaned further into AI than any other Pixel. That’s clear in how Gemini is used throughout the Pixel 9 Pro Fold, which is now accessed by holding down the power button that launches a floating Gemini portal.
You can ask about what’s on the screen, which works well if you need a web page summary. Or if you ask it to add all ingredients from a recipe site to your Google Keep shopping list. This is incredibly useful and a genuine time saver. It doesn’t always work, you may have to prompt the AI more than once, but the functionality is there. It just needs refinement.
Through launching Gemini with the home button, it can interact with Google Workspace apps. For example it will find emails and summarise for them for you. Or add events to your Calendar with more details. I asked the app to add “a drink with Pete tomorrow at 4 pm” and to “put a three-hour reminder in the event,” which it successfully did.
But it also doesn’t get it right every time, or repeat actions it has successfully done in the past. I asked Gemini to delete a selection of Google Keep lists, which it did. But when I asked it to do the same thing another time it simply told me how to do it, rather than carrying the order out itself.
That kind of inconsistency can be found throughout the Pixel 9 Pro Fold’s AI experience. The good and the bad will be constantly on display to users.
I like that I can ask Gemini to toggle settings on and off, such as the flashlight, wifi hotspot, or airplane mode. But this appears to be limited to what’s available in the quick settings. I can turn the wifi on, but I can’t tell it which network to join. Or, it can’t answer what Android version the handset is running, or how much storage is left.
There are also some familiar unique Pixel frustrations here. In the earliest days Gemini sometimes wouldn’t after holding the power button, so I had to restart the phone. However, this hasn’t happened for a few weeks.
On occasion, Gemini won’t accept a typed command instead it asks me to speak to it. And, as I’ve said, it doesn’t always give me the same response to the same request. Enhanced call functions, like the transcription feature Call Notes, doesn’t work in the U.K. and likely never will considering British Pixel owners rarely get these phone call AI tools.
The Gemini feature that answers questions about the YouTube video you’re watching is hit-and-miss. It could tell me the names of restaurants listed in a video about the best curry houses in London, or the titles of games in a top 10 list of the best video games from 2023. But Gemini couldn’t tell me when The Fast and The Furious was released while I was watching a trailer.
Similarly, Pixel Screenshots will find images based on a short description, but it can’t recognize everything. It knows what a QR code and receipt is, it doesn’t know what a Simpsons screenshot is. I’m not entirely sure this app is wildly different from the functionality that already existed in Google Photos.
Gemini Live, which lets you have live back-and-forth conversations with the AI, works well on the Fold because it can be used in split screen. So I can chat with Gemini while sorting out my fantasy Premier League team.
While the realistic voice is impressive, the information isn’t always useful. I asked Gemini Live which strikers could I buy with 6 million in the bank to replace my current three and it suggested one who doesn’t play in the Premier League anymore.
Google’s Camera Tech Always Delivers
Like almost all foldable phones, the P9PF’s camera doesn’t match up with how much the phone costs. The rear triple camera hardware is solid—48MP wide, 10.8MP telephoto, 10.5MP ultrawide— but what’s missing is the Pixel 9 Pro XL’s high-res 50MP sensor. After snapping tens of shots with the 9 Pro XL, in high res, the 9 Pro Fold felt like a downgrade.
In isolation however, the Fold’s camera does take good pictures. The 48MP sensor can handle almost any environment. Awkward lighting, such as a dark street on a sunny day, is well represented. The colors are natural and there is a good level of detail in all shots.
The 10.8MP sensor’s 5x optical zoom is an absolute treasure, although it doesn’t have the detail of the 9 Pro’s optical zoom.
Macro mode works well, too. The detail captured in the flowers, alongside the natural bokeh effect (without portrait mode) made for a nice snap below without much effort.
Google’s work on darker skin really shines through too, accurately capturing soft indoor light reflecting off of my skin, or maintaining my tone on a bright day without washing out myself or my friends. The pictures below were actually shot on the Pixel 9 Pro XL, but the foldable does as good a job when it comes to skin tones, albeit with slightly less detail.
Across the Pixel 9 Pro Fold and Pixel 9 Pro XL, I have had the most fun with the camera features. Specifically, the “Add Me” tool that digitally adds subjects into group photos so no one is left out. It took some getting used to and the results are on the better side of inconsistent, but it does work. In fact, it does that thing mobile AI is capable of at times: make someone say “Wow.”
There is no hint that a bit of AI tomfoolery happened in this picture. Whereas with the below image, there clearly is. It looks like I’ve photoshopped myself into someone else’s pictures to make it look like I have friends.
Zoom Enhance, which is also available on the Pixel 8 Pro, is supposed to enhance zoomed-in pictures to make them more palatable. Google says that it uses AI to guess the missing details. In practice, it does do this and often the effect is to smooth out a grainy picture. I suspect this feature is better when guessing the details of shrubbery. Because when I zoomed into a sign Google guessed the wrong letters.
There are also some nice Fold-specific features here. You can take high-quality selfies with the rear cameras, which is good because the cover screen and inner screen selfie cameras are poor. This seems to be a common issue for Pixel phones. My guess is that the company thinks you’ll use Add Me or the rear camera options instead, with the other sensors saved for video calls.
The dual-screen preview is another nice Fold-only skill. In essence, your subjects can see themselves on the outer screen when you’re taking a picture, so they have a chance to fix their smile and adjust their pose. In reality, I have found people end up looking at themselves in the reflection rather than the lens. Pictures end up looking like they’re being interviewed by an off-screen interviewer for a shoddy documentary. But it is still a cool feature that always elicits amazement.
Surprisingly Good Battery Life For All This Display
I am a multitasking and split screen addict. The P9PF delivers in some areas but has others it needs to work on. I can’t run three apps at once, like I can do on my Samsung. Nor are there options to switch the layout of the split screen apps from vertical to horizontal, as is the case with the Fold 6.
I have also noticed that some apps don’t function properly in split-screen mode. Google Keep will stop responding sometimes, as will Reddit. The can be frustrating, too. It is brought up with a swipe from the bottom of the screen. There’s a sweet spot between swiping to bring up your open apps menu and swiping up gently to launch the taskbar.
A taskbar locked to the side of the display would be more ergonomic for me. What I do like is that the split screen lets you go back on an app or webpage by swiping on either side.
Some of that Samsung foldable polish isn’t here. For example, I can’t have different app layouts on the cover screen compared to the inner display, as I can do on the Fold 6. Samsung’s years of making foldable phones are clear in these details.
But the app split screen does mostly work, and the addition of Gemini Live is a cool idea. I like using an app on the big screen, closing the phone, and continuing to use it on the outer screen without skipping a beat. I also have several split screens saved on my home screen for quick access.
In terms of performance, the Tensor G4 and 16GB of RAM do a fine job. Animations are smooth, I can move around the phone quickly, launch apps and split screen swiftly and the AI apps don’t lag or struggle. Games like Asphalt Legends Unite run well (and look great on the big screen). Although consistent use of the inner display for power-hungry apps will drain the battery.
I balked when I saw that the Pixel 9 Pro Fold’s 4650mAh battery is smaller than all other Pixel 9 handsets, including the base Pixel 9 model (4700mAh). There is a lot more screen to power on a smaller battery here. In practice, it lasts surprisingly long.
With real-world use of Spotify, browsing, split screening apps, watching YouTube, and social media, and asking Gemini questions, the Pixel 9 Pro Fold will comfortably last just over a day. With slightly more limited use I can stretch charges to every other day. I reached for the charger far less than I did for the Fold 5 and Fold 6, which were already decent in terms of lasting power.
Earlier this week I took the device around town at 10 am with 92% of power left and used Google Maps, took some pictures, played Spotify, did a lot of browsing, split screens, using Gemini, and picture editing. I ended the day at 10 pm with 26% left. As ever, your mileage may vary depending on how you use your phone, but this is a good result for a device with two displays.
Is it worth your money?
This is a phone for a power user, both in features and price. The eye-watering $1,799 price tag, alongside not having the best display or camera tech, makes the Pixel 9 Pro Fold hard to recommend to regular smartphone buyers.
If you’re a foldable fiend, then this is an excellent choice up against Samsung’s Fold 6 because of the regular-sized outer display and Google’s embedded AI features. The Pixel 9 Pro Fold’s camera abilities, specifically its representation of darker skin and 5x optical zoom, give it an edge over other devices.
As I always recommend with foldable phones, spend some time fondling the P9PF before you buy it, even if shop workers get annoyed with you. This would be an expensive mistake to make if foldable tech isn’t for you. It’s also worth waiting for Google to drop the price of the handset, which is a near certainty considering the company’s endless discounts for its flagship tech.
