Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold first impressions

The foldable phone market has its newest addition in the way of the Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold. The name may confuse you at first, but this is actually the successor to Google’s first foray into this space – the Pixel Fold.

With its high-end features and a hefty price tag, there’s no doubt about what kind of consumers Google is targeting. Before we dive deep and pass our judgements on the new foldable, here are our first impressions of the Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold.

Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold design

From the moment you take the phone out of the box, you cannot help but admire how thin this phone is. At 10.5mm, the Pixel 9 Pro Fold is super-thin, and you feel it in day-to-day use. Also impressive is that in the folded state, the phone doesn’t feel like a foldable, but more like a standard phone in a slightly hefty case.

Even the outer screen (now at 6.3-inch) is very similar to a standard Pixel 9 phone. This is a boon as you won’t have to constantly open the phone. Much of my use was when the phone was in the folded state, and I only opened it up to read or watch videos.

At 8-inches, the inner screen is not only bigger, but also gets a boost in brightness. This means more space to read articles, play some games, and watch videos – albeit with surrounding black borders.

With every foldable, the obvious questions are around the display crease. While it is there, it is much less noticeable than some of the other phones I’ve used.

Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold key features

Under the hood is Google’s Tensor G4 chipset, which is the same as what powers the Pixel 9 series phones. In our Pixel 9 and Pixel 9 Pro XL reviews we found the chipset to be quite capable, and it is fair to expect the same with the chip on this phone. I found the phone to be snappy, and it was able to handle day-today tasks, a bit of gaming, and the AI features with relative ease.

One aspect where the Pixel 9 Pro Fold could trump other foldables is photography – it is a Pixel after all. The setup includes a 48MP primary lens, 10.5MP ultrawide lens, and a 10.8MP telephoto lens. On paper and in real life, the cameras fall slightly short of the Pixel 9 Pro phones. But it doesn’t feel like a major compromise. I’ll however reserve my judgements till I’ve used the phone and its cameras more.

This Pixel phone is backed up by a 4,650mAh battery, which is capable of lasting more than a day on a single charge. Mind you this is basis very basic use, and with heavier (and longer) usage, the numbers might drop.

Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold first impressions

In the short time I’ve used it, the Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold feels like a more refined and matured device. There’s a lot to like about the design, and on paper, the phone is packed with top-notch features.

But all this comes at a price, and at Rs 1,72,999, a hefty one at that. So, is it worth your hard-earned money? We will answer that and much more in our in-depth Pixel 9 Pro Fold review. Stay tuned!