Google Pixel Fold: Everything you need to know about the first ‘All-Google’ foldable

Foldables are the next big thing in the world of smartphones. While Samsung was a dominant player in this space, the likes of Xiaomi, Oppo, Motorola, Vivo, Honor, and OnePlus have tried to break Samsung’s monopoly.

A new entrant into this space last year, was Google with its Pixel Fold. And despite being a year old now, and even with the arrival of the new Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold, the erstwhile flagship foldable from Google still makes for a great investment. Here’s all you need to know about the device.

Google Pixel Fold: The first foldable phone from Google

Google Pixel Fold was first announced during Google I/O 2023, the search giant’s annual developer conference. Ahead of its official unveiling, Google shared a brief teaser video revealing its design. The video confirmed what had been known from previous leaks. Google was, after all taking on other players in the foldable space.

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With the Pixel Fold, Google entered the foldable smartphone market even before Apple launches its first foldable iPhone. This early entry into a developing space paved the way for Google to improve its product foldable design and experience before the category went mainstream, which they have now.

Google Pixel Fold: Features and specifications

The Pixel Fold is a foldable smartphone that opens up similar to the way the Galaxy Z Fold devices do. However, it is designed to be wider, and at the same time, more compact than the Galaxy Z Fold lineup. At the front, it has a 5.8-inch cover display with a Full HD+ resolution of 2,092 x 1,080 pixels. This display supports a 120Hz refresh rate with up to 1,550 nits peak brightness.

The internal folding screen measures 7.6-inches diagonally and has a resolution of 2,208 x 1,840 pixels. With an aspect ratio of 6:5, Google is using “Ultra Thin Glass” for this display with a protective plastic layer. It has a peak brightness of 1,450 nits and always-on display feature with At a Glance and Now Playing. When folded, the Pixel Fold is 12.1mm thick and unfolds to 5.8mm. It weighs 283 grams, which makes it heavier than the Galaxy Z Fold6 and OnePlus Open.

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The Pixel Fold is powered by Google Tensor G2 chip, the chip powering Google Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro. This 5nm chip isn’t the most powerful yet on a smartphone but it is paired with 12GB RAM and 256GB or 512GB UFS 3.1 storage. The distinctness of Pixel Fold comes in the form of its camera layout. On the back, there is a triple rear camera setup.

The main camera is a 48MP shooter that uses a 1/2-inch sensor with f/1.7 aperture and an 82-degree field of view. It is paired with a 10.8MP ultrawide camera and a 10.8MP telephoto camera with 5x optical zoom. There is a 9.5MP front camera on the display and an 8MP camera on the inner display. This is a versatile camera setup that delivers an experience almost identical to the Pixel 7 Pro.

For biometrics, Google has embedded the fingerprint sensor into the power button. The multitasking experience is limited compared to the Galaxy Z Fold series but Google has done a good job optimising its own apps for the tablet mode experience. The search giant also promises five years of security and OS updates, which bodes well for its longevity.

Google Pixel Fold: The competition

The Pixel Fold did have its shortcomings, when put against other foldables from last year, as well as current ones like the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold6, OnePlus Open, and Vivo X Fold3 Pro. But it does retain its edge: the Pixel experience.

Moreover, the new Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold addresses these shortcomings as well, and offers the same quintessential Pixel experience that we’ve all come to know and love.