Google Pixel 9 Pro vs Pixel 9 Pro Fold: Specifications and features compared

Google switched up things with its latest foldable – the Pixel 9 Pro Fold by including it in the Pixel 9 series, instead of just calling it the Pixel Fold 2. The new foldable is also much closer to the new Pixel 9 Pro in terms of specifications and design.

For anyone torn between choosing the Pixel 9 Pro or Pixel 9 Pro Fold, here’s a quick head-to-head comparison between the two smartphones to help you out.

Pixel 9 Pro vs Pixel 9 Pro Fold: Design

The Pixel 9 Pro comes with a standard bar form factor, while the Pixel 9 Pro is a folding phone. This means the Fold gets an extra, 8-inch folding screen on the inside, and is slightly thicker than the Pixel 9 Pro.

ALSO READ: Pixel 9 to Pixel Watch 3: Every new launch from the Made by Google event

The Pixel 9 Pro is also an IP68 rated phone, which makes it fairly resistant to dust and liquid damage in day-to-day life, while the Pixel 9 Pro Fold only comes with an IPX8 rating, making it more vulnerable to dust ingress and damage over time.

Pixel 9 Pro vs Pixel 9 Pro Fold: Display

The Pixel 9 Pro comes with a single 6.3-inch FHD OLED display with an LTPO panel and 120Hz refresh rate. The Pixel 9 Pro Fold also gets a 6.3-inch FHD 120Hz panel on the outside, but this is not an LTPO panel. This means the Pixel 9 Pro is more dynamic when switching between refresh rates. It is also the brighter phone of the two (3000 nits vs 2700 nits peak brightness).

However, the Pixel 9 Pro Fold comes with a large 8-inch inner folding display which the vanilla Pro simply misses out on. The larger screen is great for media consumption, casual gaming and even multitasking.

Pixel 9 Pro vs Pixel 9 Pro Fold: Performance

Not a lot of difference between the two Android phones in the performance department, since both the Pixel 9 Pro and the Pixel 9 Pro Fold are powered by the new Google Tensor G4 chipset and come with 16GB RAM.

However, the folding display of the Pixel 9 Pro Fold can help with several multitasking use cases that leverage the large size, so using everything from split screen to excel sheets should be easier on the Fold.

Pixel 9 Pro vs Pixel 9 Pro Fold: Camera

The camera specifications is where the phones are quite different. The Pixel 9 Pro comes with a 50MP main camera, a 48MP ultrawide camera and a third 48MP 5x telephoto camera, along with a 42MP front camera.

ALSO READ: Google Gemini Live announced as ChatGPT rival; here’s what it can do

The Pixel 9 Pro Fold meanwhile, comes with a 48MP main camera, a 10.8MP ultrawide and a 10.8MP 5x telephoto camera, along with a 10MP front camera on each of its two displays.

While both phones have a main, ultrawide and telephoto camera, the higher resolution sensors on the Pixel 9 Pro should help it get more details in its photos, along with being capable of 8K video recording, something you cannot do on the Pixel 9 Pro Fold.

Pixel 9 Pro vs Pixel 9 Pro Fold: Battery life

The Pixel 9 Pro should have better battery life than the Pixel 9 Pro Fold. Not only does it come with slightly better battery capacity (4700mAh vs 4650mAh) but it also comes with slightly faster charging speeds (27W vs 21W).

Don’t forget that the Pixel 9 Pro Fold also has to power two displays with its smaller battery, so every time you unfold the phone to use the larger screen, you may be chewing through your remaining battery even faster.

Unboxed Take: Which one should you get?

Both the Pixel 9 Pro and the Pixel 9 Pro Fold are great devices, and come with a lot of AI features, along with stock Android and all the other perks of a Pixel device. Which phone suits you better will come down to your personal needs and preferences.

The Pixel 9 Pro Fold is the phone to go for if you don’t need the folding form factor and larger inner screen. It features the better camera of the two phones, and better battery life too. Also, it will hold up better than the Fold in dusty environments thanks to its IP68 rating.

ALSO READ: Google Pixel 9 series price in India: How much every new phone costs

The Pixel 9 Pro Fold may compromise on slightly weaker cameras and battery life, but adds a lot of value with its inner folding display, which would make movies, shows, games or even work way more efficient.

Concluding, whether you need to go for the Pro Fold over the Pro would come down to whether you need a foldable smartphone. Stay tuned to Unboxed by Croma for more in-depth blogs on the new Pixel 9 series phones, an all things technology.