Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold
(Credit: Eric Zeman)
The Pixel Fold felt more like an experiment than a cohesive, final product—the screen didn't fold entirely flat, it lacked specialized software, it had weak battery life, and it weighed a ton. Google has refined all of these elements in its second-generation follow-up, the $1,799 Pixel 9 Pro Fold, and the result is a more complete foldable that appears to get a lot right, including a stronger hinge, a faster Tensor G4 processor, sharper cameras, brighter inner and outer displays, and smarter Gemini AI. We got a chance to spend some time with the Pixel 9 Pro Fold ahead of its September 4 release and have some thoughts to share. Make sure to also check out our coverage of the Pixel 9, Pixel Buds Pro 2, and Pixel Watch 3.
Hands On With the Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold
Design: An Appealing Upgrade
The only common aspect shared between the original Pixel Fold and the Pixel 9 Pro Fold is that they are folding phones from Google. Pretty much everything else is new.
Google has changed the Fold's shape, which impacts nearly every other element. Closed, it measures 6.1 by 3.0 by 0.4 inches (HWD), which is taller, narrower, and thinner than the previous model, at 5.5 by 3.1 by 0.5 inches. It also drops a significant amount of weight, from 10.0 ounces to 9.1 ounces. This doesn't seem like a lot on paper, but it means everything when you hold the phone in your hand or put it in your pocket. The trimmed depth and lighter build are immediately obvious when comparing the two phones side by side. The Pixel 9 Pro Fold will certainly be more pleasant to carry around and use on a daily basis.
The new dimensions mean all-new screens. The outer display grows from 5.8 inches to 6.3 inches—matching the size and resolution of the Pixel 9 and Pixel 9 Pro screens exactly. It's an Actua Display with 2,424 by 1,080 pixels and a density of 422 pixels per inch (ppi). Its refresh rate varies from 60Hz to 120Hz, and the screen supports HDR content at 24 bits with a 2-million-to-1 contrast ratio, 1,800 nits of typical brightness, and up to 2,700 nits peak.
Opening the Pixel Pro 9 Fold reveals the new 8-inch screen, up from 7.6 inches. This LTPO panel has 2,076 by 2,152 pixels at 373ppi. It has a 1-120Hz adaptive refresh rate, ultra-thin glass, a 2-million-to-1 contrast ratio, and 1,600 nits of typical brightness, with up to 2,700 nits peak.
The new screens are quite spectacular to behold. The improved brightness is readily apparent, and on-screen elements pop with clarity. The phone should be much easier to use in bright light. The bezels are thinner, too.
An all-new hinge holds the two halves together. It's made from multi-alloy steel with a high-strength aluminum cover. The rest of the aluminum frame runs around the outer edges, while Corning Gorilla Glass Victus 2 forms both the front and rear panels. The rear glass has a silky matte finish that sticks to your skin in a good way, making it less likely you'll drop the phone. Google claims the aluminum in the phone is 100% recycled. Most importantly, the hinge allows the phone to open 100% so the inner display is at a perfectly flat 180 degrees. The hinge of the original Fold didn't lay flat, which is more of a visual annoyance than anything else. Either way, this is a welcome upgrade. Google says the hinge is stronger and better able to reject dust, though it doesn't commit to a minimum or maximum number of folds. The phone has an IPX8 rating for protection against water, which matches the Galaxy Z Fold 6.
Google has also reimagined the camera bar on the rear. Where the bar on the Pixel Fold was just that, a rectangular bar that spanned most of the rear panel's width, the new bar is more of a square that's tucked into the upper-left corner. The Pixel family has featured a distinct camera bar since the Pixel 6, so this is a change for the line. It's a large module that stands out visually thanks to the aluminum frame.
Overall, the new phone's look and feel are much improved. The screens are outstanding, and the hardware is absolutely top-notch. It comes in Obsidian (black) or Porcelain (white).
Specs: The Expected Boost
The phone has the usual updates to the internals with just a few surprises along the way.
First, the phone ships with the new Google Tensor G4 processor with Titan M2 security coprocessor. Google says the G4 is distinctly more performant than the G3 and able to handle more on-device machine learning tasks, which are what power Gemini AI. The original Pixel Fold shipped with a G2 processor, so there should be a significant boost in speed. The RAM jumps from 12GB to 16GB, which is a nice improvement. This should help the device multitask better—something foldables are built to do. Storage options include 256GB or 512GB, but not 1TB. The units we saw in person were incredibly quick. They launched apps in a blink and easily multitasked with several apps running on the screen at once.
Surprisingly, the battery is smaller year over year, dropping from 4,821mAh in the original Fold to 4,650mAh in the 9 Pro Fold. Google claims the new battery is good for more than 24 hours of continuous use and up to 72 hours in extreme battery saver mode. The phone charges faster. It supports 30W of wired charging with Google's new 45W USB-C charger (sold separately). It handles Qi wireless charging at 15W. The original Fold was one of the worst battery performers among book-style foldables, lasting only 8 hours in testing, so we look forward to testing the new model to see how it stacks up.
Google packs a multitude of radios inside the phone. It supports sub-6GHz and mmWave 5G, which means it will run on the C-band spectrum and high-frequency spectrum offered by some US carriers. It also has Wi-Fi 7, dual-antenna Bluetooth 5.3, Ultra-Wideband, NFC, and dual-band GNSS/GPS.
Ports include USB-C (3.2) and a slot for physical nano SIM cards. There's no memory card slot or 3.5mm headphone jack. The phone supports a single eSIM. It includes stereo speakers, three microphones, noise suppression, spatial audio, and a fingerprint reader built into the power button.
Cameras: Minor Updates
The camera hardware doesn't appear to be too different year over year. The 9 Pro Fold has a 48MP main camera, a 10.5MP ultrawide camera, and a 10.8MP telephoto camera. These have apertures of f/1.7, f/2.2, and f/3.1, respectively. The telephoto camera has 5x optical zoom and Super Res Zoom up to 20x. Both the main and telephoto cameras have optical and electronic image stabilization. The outer and inner selfie cameras capture 10MP photos, both at f/2.2 and with 87-degree fields of view. These latter two cameras appear to be carried over directly from the original Pixel Fold, while the others offer only small changes.
Some of the new features include Add Me, which lets you add the photographer to a photo. We saw a demo of this in person. Basically, you can take a group shot and then have someone in the group step out of the photo and switch with the person taking the photo, who then joins the photo and is merged into the final picture. It's fairly intuitive.
Another new feature is called Made You Look and is for kids. It shows a funny animation on the outer screen in an attempt to get kids to smile when taking photos. Based on what we saw in person, I'm not sure how well this is really going to work. Maybe toddlers will find it amusing.
There's also a tabletop mode for hands-free shots. Editing tools, such as Magic Eraser, Magic Editor, and Zoom Enhance, appear to be mostly carried over from older Pixel phones.
You're able to record video up to 4K resolution at 24, 30, or 60 frames per second (fps) with the rear cameras. The front cameras are limited to 4K at 30/60fps. Video features include Audio Magic Eraser, 10-bit HDR video, Cinematic Pan, and a bevy of stabilization modes for different types of shooting scenarios.
Software: More AI Smarts
Somewhat disappointingly, the Pixel 9 Fold Pro ships with Android 14—not the upcoming version, Android 15. This will be the first set of Pixels to ship without the latest version of Google's mobile operating system. Google didn't say when Android 15 will be made available to the phones, but the company has delivered its yearly updates in October on a fairly regular basis. The phones are set to receive 7 years of OS and security updates, matching the promise made to last year's Pixels.
The big software addition here is Gemini AI. A press-and-hold of the power button calls up Gemini, which replaces Google Assistant as the onboard AI tool. You can use Gemini to perform searches, write stories, plan events, or learn. Gemini can understand what's on your phone's screen and photos, allowing you to ask questions about the content therein. We asked it to help us make a healthy breakfast, and it described how to make overnight oats. The Google One AI Premium Plan is included for free for one year. It includes Gemini Advanced, Gemini in Gmail and Docs, and 2TB of cloud storage.
Another interesting feature is called Pixel Screenshots. On the 9 Pro Fold, screenshots are corralled into a new folder where they can be searched, annotated, and organized. If you take a photo of a menu or the text in a street or business sign, those details will be pulled from the photo and put into an associated note, making the screenshot searchable via text.
With split-screen mode, you can leave Gemini up and running in one window and use the other to interact with other apps. Considering the horsepower needed to run Gemini, this is impressive. Google says Gemini performs its AI calculations in the cloud, however, rather than on-device.
The AI helps with several of the photo features, too, such as Magic Editor.
A More Promising Pixel Foldable
Folding phones don't come cheap. The 16GB/256GB version of the Pixel 9 Pro Fold costs $1,799, the same price as last year's model. The 512GB model bumps the price by $120 to $1,919. You can preorder the phone starting today, but it doesn't hit retail stores until September 4. Google is selling the phone directly, but it is also available from Best Buy and Google's carrier partners.
Pixel 9 Pro Fold
Given the hardware and software upgrades, the Pixel 9 Pro Fold appears to be a solid improvement over the original. It's an impressive entry into the folding phone market and poses a stiff challenge to the excellent Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 and OnePlus Open.
Check back soon for a full review. Until then, be sure to read our coverage of the Pixel 9, the Pixel Watch 3, and the Pixel Buds 2 Pro.
Hands On With the Pixel Watch 3
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