The new Pixel Fold is a wild upgrade and seems to address many of the shortcomings of last year’s original. This puts Google toe-to-toe with Samsung and OnePlus.
The Pixel 9 Pro Fold enters a crowded space of new foldable phones from Samsung, OnePlus and Xiaomi. The new phone is a follow-up to Google’s original Pixel Fold, and as sequels go, this could be a major one. Unveiled at the Made by Google event alongside the Pixel 9, 9 Pro and 9 Pro XL, the new book-style foldable has been overhauled in nearly every way, including its name.
Google’s announcement follows the releases of Motorola’s Razr and Razr Plus and Samsung’s Galaxy Z Flip 6 and Z Fold 6. Meanwhile, overseas, Honor announced one of the thinnest and lightest book-style foldables, the Magic V3, only for Xiaomi to match those superlatives with the Mix Fold 4.
Now it’s Google’s turn.
Of all the companies releasing foldables, Google has the trickiest path to navigate. The 9 Pro Fold has to address and improve on the original Fold’s numerous shortcomings while also being competitive. And from what Google showed me, I think it has a good chance of doing both.
This is not the Pixel Fold 2. No, no – it’s the Pixel 9 Pro Fold. It’s not the most catchy name, but it kind of doubles as a mission statement. In the same way that Samsung’s Galaxy Z Flip 6 was like a foldable clamshell version of the Galaxy S24, Google seems to be positioning this new Fold as a Pixel 9 Pro that folds in half.
And in some ways, that seems true. It has Google’s new Tensor G4 processor, 16GB of RAM and the same new AI features as the Pixel 9 and 9 Pro (more on that later). Compared to the original Fold, which had a Tensor G2 chip and 12GB of RAM, this should be one heck of a performance upgrade. But in other ways, the 9 Pro Fold isn’t quite living up to the “pro” in its name: The camera specs seem like a step down from the Pixel 9 Pro and the battery is smaller than the first Fold’s.
The Pixel 9 Pro Fold’s thinner design
The 9 Pro Fold weighs nearly an ounce less than last year’s Fold, and that’s noticeable from the moment you pick it up. (Though it’s still heavier than the Z Fold 6 and OnePlus Open.) And when you open up the 9 Pro Fold, you can really notice just how svelte Google made things. It’s just 5.1 millimeters thick, which is ridiculously thin. Compared to the original Pixel Fold, it feels like a completely different phone.
While the 9 Pro Fold isn’t the thinnest foldable – that would be the Xiaomi Mix Fold 4 or Honor Magic V3 – it is the thinnest book-style foldable you can get in the US.
In terms of displays, the cover screen grew half an inch and is now 6.3 inches, the same size as the Pixel 9 Pro’s screen. The 9 Pro Fold’s cover screen has a 60-120Hz variable refresh rate and now has a higher peak brightness of 2,700 nits, a dramatic improvement over last year’s 1,550 nits. All this, along with a higher contrast ratio, should make the new outer display easier to see outdoors on a bright day.
The interior screen also got a glow up. It’s 8 inches compared to the Pixel Fold’s 7.6-inch display and uses an LTPO panel, which gives it a variable refresh rate of 1-120Hz. The internal display’s brightness is also 2,700 nits and the contrast ratio has also been doubled, like the cover screen, to 2,000,000:1. This should help make reading, writing, scrolling social media and watching videos so much better.
The cover glass and back glass are made of Gorilla Glass Victus 2 and the rear gets a lovely matte finish. The 9 Pro Fold comes in Obsidian or Porcelain colors.
The Pixel 9 Pro Fold’s cameras
Pixel phones are known for their swanky camera tech, and the new Fold’s cameras get some improvements. On the back, there’s the same 48-megapixel main camera and 10.8-megapixel 5x telephoto camera as last year’s model. But the ultrawide has a new 10.5-megapixel sensor, but this is one area where it falls behind the Pixel 9 Pro, which has a 48-megapixel ultrawide.
The selfie camera and internal screen cameras also get upgrades. I’m keen to test these out as the original Pixel Fold had the best all-around camera system found on any foldable we tested in 2023. I’m curious to see if the image quality improves enough to be on the same level as Google’s Pixel Pro slab phones.
Being a foldable phone, Google has also added some extra camera modes that are just for the Pixel 9 Pro Fold, such as Made You Look. Like Motorola, this lets you display a fun animation on the cover screen while taking a photo so that you can get the perfect pic of your kid looking at the camera. The animations also react when the subject of the photo is smiling.
The cameras have a new AR-powered feature called Add Me that’s designed for group shots where the person taking the photo can add themselves in. Basically you take one photo of the group and AR on the screen helps line up the photographer in the same locale for another photo which the phone merges together with the first. It seems absolutely wild and like it could be kind of useful.
The Pixel 9 Pro Fold has so much AI
It’s kind of amazing that I made it this far without mentioning AI, but this phone is packed to the gills with it.
The Magic Editor gets more AI tools and can now expand the frame of a photo you took and generate a fill to match the edges. Magic Editor can also suggest crops and ways to reframe photos you took. There’s also a new Reimagine feature that lets you transform your photo by entering a prompt. For example, you might have it make the grass in the image greener. Or you can change what’s in the photo entirely. When CNET’s Lisa Eadicicco tried this feature, she was able to transform the ground in a photo to a sandy beach by typing that in as a prompt.
The Pixel 9 Pro Fold can use AI to improve videos shot at night or in low light – and that’s just the cameras! Google Gemini is everywhere on this phone. What’s great is you get a year of the Google One AI Premium Plan when you buy a 9 Pro Fold.
Google has also sprinkled AI throughout the user interface in more practical ways. There are AI-generated weather summaries in the Weather app, for example, and a Pixel Screenshots app, which lets you search for information stored in screenshots.
Pixel 9 Pro Fold battery life and Satellite SOS
One spec I’m a little worried about is the battery. Last year’s Pixel Fold had a 4,821 mAh battery and mostly made it through a day on a single charge. The 9 Pro Fold has a smaller 4,650 mAh battery, which makes me wonder how long it will last. Maybe the new Tensor G4 chip is more efficient and will make up for the smaller battery? We’ll see once we can test it.
I’ve saved two of the best new features for last: Google now has Satellite SOS to help you connect with emergency services even when you don’t have a cell signal. Google also guarantees seven years of OS, security upgrades and Pixel feature drops. That means a 9 Pro Fold should be running just as securely and safely in the year 2031 as it does today.
Google made all of these changes while keeping the price the same: The Pixel 9 Pro Fold is $1,799. If this is indeed a Pixel 9 Pro that folds in half, you’re paying $800 just for the folding part.
For more on the Pixel 9 Pro Fold, check out the specs chart below.
Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold vs. Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6, OnePlus Open, Google Pixel Fold
| Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold | Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 | OnePlus Open | Google Pixel Fold | |
| Cover display size, tech, resolution, refresh rate | 6.3-inch OLED; 2,424×1,080 pixels; 60-120 Hz variable refresh rate | 6.3-inch AMOLED; 2,376×968 pixels; 1-120Hz variable refresh rate | 6.31-inch OLED; 2,484×1,116 pixels; 10-120Hz variable refresh rate | 5.8 inches; 2,092×1,080 pixels; 60-120 Hz variable refresh rate |
| Internal display size, tech, resolution, refresh rate | 8-inch OLED; 2,152×2,076 pixels, 1-120 Hz variable refresh rate (LTPO) | 7.6-inch AMOLED; 2,160×1,856 pixels;1-120Hz variable refresh rate | 7.82-inch OLED; 2,440×2,268 pixels; 1-120Hz variable refresh rate | 7.6-inch OLED; 2,208×1,840 pixels; 60-120 Hz variable refresh rate |
| Pixel density | Cover: 422 ppi; Internal: 373 ppi | Cover: 410 ppi; Internal: 374 ppi | Cover: 431 ppi; Internal: 426 ppi | Cover: 408 ppi; Internal: 380 ppi |
| Dimensions (inches) | Open: 6.1×5.9×0.2 in; Closed: 6.1x3x0.4 in | Open: 6.04×5.21 x0.22 in; Closed: 6.04×2.68×0.48 in | Open: 6.04×5.63×0.23 in; Closed: 6.04×2.89×0.47 in | Open: 5.5×6.2×0.2 in; Closed: 5.5×3.1×0.5 in |
| Dimensions (millimeters) | Open: 155x150x5.1 mm; Closed: 155×76.2×10.16 mm | Open: 153.5×132.5×5.6mm; Closed: 153.5×68.1×12.1mm | Open: 153.4×143.1×5.9 mm ; Closed 153.4×73.3×11.9 mm | Open: 139.7×158.7×5.8 mm; Closed: 139.7×79.5×12.1 mm |
| Weight (grams, ounces) | 257g (9.1 oz) | 239g (8.43 oz) | Voyager black: 239g (8.43 oz ); emerald green: 245g (8.64 oz) | 283g (9.98 oz) |
| Mobile software | Android 14 | Android 14 | Android 13 | Android 13 |
| Cameras | 48-megapixel (wide), 10.5-megapixel (ultrawide), 10.8-megapixel (5x telephoto) | 50-megapixel (wide), 12-megapixel (ultrawide), 10-megapixel (3x telephoto) | 48-megapixel (wide), 48-megapixel (ultrawide), 64-megapixel (3x telephoto) | 48-megapixel (wide), 10.8-megapixel (ultrawide), 10.8-megapixel (5x telephoto) |
| Internal screen camera | 10-megapixel (inner screen); 10-megapixel (cover screen) | 4-megapixel (inner screen under-display); 10-megapixel (cover screen) | 20-megapixel (inner screen); 32-megapixel (cover screen) | 8-megapixel (inner screen); 9.5-megapixel (cover screen) |
| Video capture | 4K | 8K | 4K | 4K |
| Processor | Tensor G4 | Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 | Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 | Tensor G2 |
| RAM/storage | 16GB + 256GB, 512GB | 12GB + 256GB, 512GB, 1TB | 16GB + 512GB | 12GB + 256GB, 512GB |
| Expandable storage | None | None | None | None |
| Battery | 4,650 mAh | 4,400 mAh | 4,805 mAh | 4,821 mAh |
| Fingerprint sensor | Side | Side | Side | Side |
| Connector | USB-C | USB-C | USB-C | USB-C |
| Headphone jack | None | None | None | None |
| Special features | IPX8 rating, 7 years of OS, security and Pixel Drop updates, Satellite SOS, Wi-Fi 7, ultra wideband chip, Gorilla Glass Victus 2 cover and back glass, cover screen peek brightness 2,700 nits, internal screen peek brightness 2,700 nits, 45W wired fast charging (Charger not included), Qi-certified, free Google VPN, Super Res Zoom, Add Me, Face Unblur, Made You Look, Magic Editor, Magic Eraser, Best Take, Video Boost, | IP48 rating, 25W wired charging, wireless charging + powershare, 3x optical zoom (up to 10x digital and 30x Space Zoom with AI Super Resolution tech) | 5G (sub-6 only), alert slider, IPX4 rating, IR blaster, 67W fast wired charging with charger included in the box | 5G (mmw/Sub6), IPX8 rating, 5x optical zoom, dual SIM, estimated 24-33 hours battery life, 7.5 wireless charging support |
| US price starts at | $1,799 (256GB) | $1,900 (256GB) | $1,700 (512GB) | $1,799 (256GB) |
| UK price starts at | Converts to £1,410 (256GB) | £1,799 (256GB) | £1,599 (512GB) | £1,749 (256GB) |
| Australia price starts at | Converts to AU$2,770 (256GB) | AU$2,749 (256GB) | Converts to AU$2,690 (512GB) | Converts to AU$3,340 (256GB) |
