ZDNET’s key takeaways
- The Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold begins at $1,799, with 256GB of storage and 16GB of RAM.
- It contains a slimmer and taller design, a large eight-inch inside show, and a extra succesful Tensor G4 chip.
- Regardless of the worth and branding, the digital camera system does not match the opposite Pixel 9 Professional telephones.
If my week of testing the brand new Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold has taught me something, it is that sequels can, actually, be higher than the unique. After a rocky begin with final yr’s Pixel Fold, Google has gone again to the drafting board, etched out a brand new foldable that’s extra polished, user-friendly, and feature-packed, and is hoping that you’re going to purchase into its $1,799 grasp plan once more. For me… it nearly succeeds.
It is solely been per week, so I am not 100% bought on Google’s foldable cellphone simply but. Nonetheless, after re-using the Pixel Fold in preparation for this assessment, the Pixel 9 Professional Fold feels a lot simpler to suggest to fans than its predecessor, with upgrades in arguably each method, from the slimmer, taller show to the brighter panels to the Tensor G4 chip that powers Google’s different flagship phones this yr.
These three elements alone could also be sufficient to entice Pixel Fold users to make the switch. I definitely would.
Additionally: I replaced my Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra with the Pixel 9 Pro XL for two weeks – and can’t go back
After all, the brand new look will not be everybody’s cup of tea, particularly should you want the shorter, boxier design of final yr’s model. Google likes to check the Pixel 9 Professional Fold with the Pixel 9 Pro, each of which subject 6.3-inch Tremendous Actua shows.
When you issue within the former’s aspect hinge, thicker bezels, and folded display screen, nonetheless, the 2 do not feel as shut because the numbers recommend. I would not name the Pixel 9 Professional Fold a fantastic one-handed system, however its skinny design — which supplies me Microsoft Surface Duo vibes — definitely helps.
The Pixel 9 Professional Fold’s thinness additionally helps make the eight-inch inside show all of the extra superb when unfolded. That is the closest you will ever come to the “pill in your pocket” dream.
I do know we’re speaking decimal factors between the Pixel, Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold 6, and the OnePlus Open, however the dimensions of the Google cellphone actually really feel like an Android pill when open, and I find it irresistible for streaming YouTube movies and TV exhibits, enjoying video games, and multitasking.
Additionally: Why the $799 Google Pixel 9 is the real star of this year’s Android phone lineup
Discover I did not point out “motion pictures” in that sequence. That is as a result of the broader, 21:9 side ratio of most movies means the letterboxing (black bars that fill any lifeless area) on the Pixel 9 Professional Fold’s squarish show is very outstanding. It is more-letterboxing-than-the-actual-video outstanding.
Luckily, the audio system are loud and clear, and the power to unfold fully flat means the middle crease is much less noticeable this yr, lowering any visible distraction.
For multitasking, you are restricted to split-screening two apps, with Google nonetheless towards you having three or extra apps open directly — whether or not by cut up layouts or floating home windows. This stays the Pixel’s largest setback towards competing phone-to-tablet foldables, particularly when Samsung and OnePlus are being extra adventurous with their big-screen capabilities. Due to this limitation, the Tensor G4 chip naturally handles probably the most “extraneous” workflows on this system.
That is to not say that Google is not making an attempt with the Pixel 9 Professional Fold. The 16GB of RAM, Tensor G4 chip, and breadth of Gemini-powered AI features make it clear that the system was constructed for the instances.
Additionally: Every Google Pixel 9 model compared: Pixel 9, Pixel 9 Pro, Pixel 9 XL, and Pixel 9 Pro Fold
The truth is, I’ve loved utilizing Google’s newest AI companies on the massive display screen much more than on its Pixel 9 Professional, for not less than three causes, as listed in under:
- Pixel Screenshots: Extra images can populate as you kind particular phrases, names, locations, and different queries.
- Reimagine (and different Magic Editor options): The bigger canvas makes it simpler to pinpoint topics to take away, resize, or reimagine.
- Gemini: Break up-screening with Gemini Dwell or its chatbot app is like working Copilot on Windows. Simply this weekend, I discovered the dos and don’ts of refinancing a house mortgage from Gemini whereas texting my lender.
In my testing, the Pixel 9 Professional Fold remained practical even after I held it beneath the summer time solar. The two,700 nits of brightness on this yr’s mannequin is a serious win, particularly when in comparison with the Pixel Fold’s mere 1,450 nits, which made textual content illegible outdoor.
I’ve additionally observed the refresh fee remaining largely at 120Hz, with much less throttling than on the usual Pixel 9, at the same time as I am updating a sport within the background or scrolling by a Reddit feed stuffed with movies and pictures. The person expertise on the Pixel has been very easy.
Should you had been hoping to expertise the chopping fringe of digital camera tech with the $1,800 Pixel 9 Professional Fold, you would be simply as disillusioned as those that hoped for a similar final yr. That is as a result of the brand new Google foldable carries practically each sensor from the earlier Pixel Fold, together with the 48MP principal lens and 10MP selfie cameras.
The ultrawide and telephoto lenses are all the way down to 10.5MP (from 11MP) however subject comparable apertures and capturing capabilities. The humorous factor is, even with the year-old {hardware}, the Pixel nonetheless shoots probably the most natural-looking, well-contrasted images and movies of all of the foldables I’ve examined.
Additionally: The camera accessory I recommend to most people is not a tripod or microphone
Nonetheless, in comparison with the brand new Pixel 9 Pro series, the Fold falls flat intimately and coloration copy. See the picture pattern under, which compares the output from the 48MP and 50MP large sensors on the Fold and 9 Professional, respectively. The colours captured by the Fold seem extra washed out (learn: the flower petals are a lighter shade of pink). When zooming in, you’ll be able to actually see the place particulars get misplaced, like on the flower tag.
As a substitute of buffing the {hardware}, Google has added new software program options like Made You Look, Add Me, and Video Increase to develop the Pixel 9 Professional Fold digital camera system’s capabilities. Made You Look shows dynamic animations on the outer display screen to get the eye of your topic — ideally, a toddler or pet — as you seize the photograph.
It nearly works. As a result of the rear cameras on the Pixel 9 Professional Fold aren’t instantly above the outer show, topics typically stare extra rightward, showing as in the event that they’re distracted by a passerby.
I additionally want you possibly can use Add Me, which stitches two photos captured by two totally different folks to incorporate everybody in the identical photograph, whereas the Pixel 9 Professional Fold is in Tabletop Mode. With the ability to set the cellphone nonetheless would make the framing of the images practically equivalent. You would not want an AR overlay to information the framing, considerably lowering person error. As a substitute, the function now requires that you simply click on twice and hope that the AI will piece everybody collectively.
Additionally: Why Pixel phone’s enhanced Astrophotography mode is perfect for snapping the night sky
Lastly, the 4,650mAh battery on the Pixel 9 Professional Fold has been sufficient to get me by a day, with roughly 18% to twenty% left. That is about common by as we speak’s flagship cellphone requirements however significantly better than final yr’s Pixel Fold, which I discovered myself recharging earlier than nighttime. It helps that the outer show feels extra like a standard smartphone’s, that means I’ve felt much less of an urge to open up the cellphone and use the extra power-consuming inside show.
ZDNET’s shopping for recommendation
The Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold has practically every part a Pixel person might need in a foldable, from the simplistic person expertise to the dependable digital camera system to the seven years of software program assist. I am a fan of the brand new, slimmer, and lighter design, which earns the title of being the thinnest foldable within the US.
Underneath a $1,800 magnifying glass, nonetheless, it is laborious to not nitpick all of the methods Google might’ve made the cellphone higher. Having the identical (if not comparable) digital camera system as the opposite Pixel “Professional” telephones can be a begin.
For the very best deal on the Pixel 9 Professional Fold, I would take into account Amazon or Best Buy, each of which give you a $350 reward card along with your buy.