Competition stimulates business. But what if there is hardly any demand for existing products? Google now has to face this problem with the Pixel Fold. Years after Samsung tried to break the mold with a dual screen, Google is following suit. Will the Android creators succeed in putting an end to the niche existence of foldable devices with their own hardware?
First of all, the Google Pixel Fold actually consists of two devices. When folded, it is a device with a 5.8-inch display that can basically do everything. This often saves you having to unfold the Pixel Fold and use both hands – because it’s enough for messages, a quick look at apps or even shorter videos. What’s more: Since many popular apps didn’t do anything with the large display at the time of the test, the urge to unfold the device was limited.
But if you’re already holding a smartphone with a thickness of 12.1 millimeters (without the camera module!), the device has to justify the dimensions somehow. It does too: Inside there is a 7.6-inch display that turns the fold into a tablet. Of course, this also has an effect on the weight. The fold weighs 280 grams. For comparison: This is even heavier than the Fold 4 from Samsung, which proved to be a real block in the test – and 40 grams heavier than an iPhone 14 Pro Max.
So the most important question to ask is, “How much do I really need the big screen?”. How this can help in everyday life has already been described in the comparison between the Samsung Z Fold 4 and the Huawei Mate XS 2. In principle, this has not changed with the Google Pixel Fold. But: Google has perhaps the handiest format. Because although the smartphones all look similar at first glance, Google still has the better aspect ratio ahead of Huawei and Samsung. If you open the fold, it stays wider than it is high – which means you don’t necessarily have to turn it to use the full image area sensibly. The same applies to the single screen: As already mentioned, it is very easy to use due to its width. The extreme upright devices from other manufacturers tend to be too long.
But none of this helps if the apps don’t play along. Except for videos, where the clip is of course larger when unfolded, but also has huge black bars, there aren’t many applications that make use of the large screen. Surfing, checking e-mails, drawing and reading documents outside. Many games, like Mario Kart, are so poorly adjusted that they run in the middle of the screen, leaving huge bars on the left and right. This can be corrected with a double tap, since the app then moves completely to the right or left, but it makes the whole principle absurd – why should you open it then. With one exception: If you want to use two apps at the same time, this is of course useful. Because the fold supports multi-tasking and you have two smartphones in full view next to each other.
So you have to give the software (more) time. With the Pixel Fold, Google has put a lot of effort into building a solid base for folding smartphones – there’s even a kind of dock that you can use to call up running applications. But as soon as you start using less popular apps, you will always be confronted with poor customization.
But no matter what is displayed where: The middle of the screen is unfortunately generally quite unsightly, since Google has also not succeeded in completely concealing the crease. Although the hinge is very well done and the device has a high-quality finish, a very clear, unfavorably reflective crease smiles at you when it is unfolded. Overall, this is less important than with Samsung, but you can’t really overlook the fold. Especially with dark screen content.
Another negative aspect of the test was how much dust and dirt the edges of the inner display collected. Whether it’s a day in a backpack or in your pocket: After a few hours, the Google Pixel Fold looks like a used lunch box. In addition, wiping is not that easy. Because there is a gap of maybe one millimeter between the frame and the screen film. Enough for Krümel to make himself at home. In the test by the US trade magazine “Ars Technica”, this already led to the failure of one device.
So while on the one hand you have a supposedly vulnerable device at a very high price, on the other hand you get a huge screen for your pocket, but only a few apps really benefit from it – a trade you have to want.
Google likes to advertise that the device can be set up, for example to be able to watch videos without having to hold the device. Compared to simple cases that offer normal smartphones a similar function with a stand, this is a financially questionable advantage. Only the possibility of being able to take selfies with the main camera, since you can use the outer screen as a viewfinder, is really great. To be honest, Google has installed at least one selfie camera too many against this background – because both screens have one.
The usual hardware is quickly told: Google’s Tensor G2 is used as the processor, twelve gigabytes of RAM are available. There is a choice of 256 or 512 gigabytes of storage space. The battery, because it is huge, holds around 4800 milliampere hours. According to Google, this is enough for more than a day, and the device lasted a correspondingly long time in the test. Even after two days of a lot of standby and mixed use, there were still remnants – the Google Pixel Fold often really doesn’t need to be plugged in.
Of course, this should vary greatly if you use the device in unfolded mode for a long time. But if empty, the device gets its strength quite quickly thanks to the quick charge function. Google recommends a 30-watt charger, so the Fold isn’t as fast as other smartphones. It also charges wirelessly, but then very leisurely.
In terms of everyday performance, the Tensor G2 once again proves itself to be a good but not outstanding chip. Geekbench measures 1026 points in the single-core test, the multi-core benchmark manages with 3197 points. The 3DMark test “Wildlife Extreme” ends with 1852 points. Unsurprisingly, the performance is at the level of the Pixel 7 Pro (here in the test), which is very little compared to the iPhone 14 Pro. As I said: The Tensor is efficient, but not a high-flyer. That should easily be enough for simple games and everyday applications, but you shouldn’t expect miracles with demanding apps.
Google didn’t skimp on the cameras. The main camera consists of three snaps: a 48-megapixel wide-angle camera, a 10.8-megapixel ultra-wide-angle camera, and a 10.8-megapixel telephoto lens. The performance roughly corresponds to the outstanding photo qualities of the Pixel 7 Pro. Although the digital zoom only allows a 20x magnification and the field of view of the super wide-angle camera is slightly smaller, small differences can only be determined in a direct comparison.
The Fold can even compete with the current editorial favorite from Apple – just not in macro mode. Although decent results can be achieved with the zoom, the Fold does not come close to the close-ups of the iPhone 14 Pro and the Galaxy S23 Ultra. In daylight, the smartphones are equal.
Whenever it comes to foldable smartphones, someone almost certainly asks the question: “When will Apple finally come out with this?” The answer, even after the Google Pixel Fold, could be “maybe never”. Even if the hardware is now quite advanced and real teething problems are no longer immediately obvious, there must be a reason why devices like the Pixel Fold, all Galaxy generations and even the Huawei have not caught on.
It could be the price. Google demands a whopping 1900 euros for the Pixel Fold. That’s a lot of money for an Android smartphone. For comparison: The Pixel 7 Pro costs 899 euros from the manufacturer (under 700 in stores) and the Pixel Tablet costs 679 euros from Google (identical in stores). In the most expensive case, that would be 1578 euros – and thus over 300 euros less. You would not have to make any compromises with either device. The smartphone would have the better camera, the tablet a lot more screen area.
Even after several generations, foldable smartphones, which Google has undoubtedly skipped with the Pixel Fold and is up to date, require too many compromises that, together with the high price, do not give a coherent picture.
On its own, the Google Pixel Fold is a good device with great hardware, whose folding mechanism has been skilfully solved. The camera is very good, the hardware is fast enough for 99 percent of all daily tasks and the battery lasts a long time. So if it absolutely has to be such a “foldable” – it would be a good, maybe even the best choice. But as already said: You should really use the big screen, otherwise it’s not worth it.
One last piece of information: If you want to buy the Google Pixel Fold, you have to expect longer waiting times. The manufacturer recently put the estimated delivery date at the end of August.
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