Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold hands-on: A huge leap forward

I did not like the Pixel Fold . From my first impressions at I/O 2023 to revisiting it as my daily driver throughout the last couple of weeks, I’ve found Google’s original foldable to be well behind the competition, as rough around the edges as Samsung’s first couple of Z Fold generations without the excuse of being a pioneer in this space. From its ultra-heavy build to a prototype-esque inner display to unoptimized software, I found the Pixel Fold fell short in practically every way one could imagine an $1,800 smartphone to fail.

The Pixel 9 Pro Fold is not that phone.

In a market filled with minor year-over-year upgrades and refinement over all else, I’m not sure the last time I’ve touched a piece of hardware that was this far ahead of its predecessor. The Pixel 9 Pro Fold is sleeker, lighter, and feels like a fully finished device in ways the original didn’t manage, even after several software upgrades that improved the overall experience. While I only spent limited time with Google’s new foldable ahead of today’s announcement, I’m absolutely counting down the days to its September 4th launch date — and you should too.

This feels like a ‘Pixel Fold 5,’ not a ‘Pixel Fold 2’

Even if Google is opting not to use that name

Perhaps it’s fitting that the Pixel 9 Pro Fold isn’t named as a successor to the original Pixel Fold. There’s very little here that reminds me of last year’s phone, outside of, you know, the fact that it’s a Google-made foldable. Granted, this device isn’t particularly reminiscent of the larger Pixel 9 family, either. Google has actually dropped the camera island design seen on last year’s phone, just as it arrives on the mainline Pixel series. Outside of the front display — which perfectly matches the size and shape of the screen on the Pixel 9 Pro — this foldable is more of a cousin than a sibling.

Instead, the Pixel 9 Pro Fold draws from another folding phone: the OnePlus Open . Aside from a larger left-side bezel along the outer screen and a completely different look for the camera bump, these phones look nearly identical when placed next to each other, whether you’re looking at the front display or the main one. Frankly, that’s a good thing. Although I quite enjoyed the wider aspect ratio on the front of last year’s Pixel Fold, designing this display to look more in-line with a standard smartphone — at least from the front — is a smart move towards actually getting general consumers to upgrade to this form factor.

Although I’ve only been able to spend a couple of hours with Google’s new hardware — and that included testing every device, getting hands-on photos, and experiencing several demos of the company’s new software — the Pixel 9 Pro Fold really makes an impression. It’s tricky to really put into words how different this device feels compared to the first-gen model if you haven’t used it, because, well, everything is improved. The device is much lighter and thinner, the hinge feels snappier and is actually capable of folding flat, and the interior display looks like a modern foldable, not an early prototype that accidentally found its way into Best Buy.

While we’ll have to wait until early September for reviews to hit, this truly feels like a phone built out of the feedback from last year’s Fold. With Samsung having rested on its laurels for yet another generation and OnePlus comfortable with simply re-releasing last year’s hardware in a new colorway, I think there’s a strong chance that the Pixel 9 Pro Fold locks in its place as the best folding phone you can buy today.

Still, I do think OnePlus is ahead in one crucial area: that matte finish on the main screen. I don’t understand what’s keeping foldable OEMs from taking a cue from last year’s Open on this, but it’s one of those quality-of-life improvements that, once you use it, you just don’t want to go back.

It’s not just the hardware that’s better

Google’s foldable optimizations have come a long way

Improved hardware was a must for Google, but it wasn’t the only thing on the company’s to-do list coming out of the Pixel Fold. To its credit, the software experience on last year’s first-gen hardware has continued to improve, but with the Pixel 9 Pro Fold, it’s finally starting to come into its own.

If you want to know about the good and the bad when it comes to Google’s AI tools on this year’s Pixel family, I urge you to check out our Pixel 9 Pro hands-on. More than ever, this smartphone lineup is about unique software experiences you won’t find anywhere else. But instead of focusing on Add Me or Pixel Screenshots — both of which are great and worthy of your attention — I want to praise a couple of improvements Google has made to its Android skin on the Pixel 9 Pro Fold.

First, the company is following in the footsteps of companies like OnePlus and Samsung in finally allowing for the dock to be displayed at all times. Previously, you always had to swipe up from the bottom of your display to see the Pixel Fold’s dock, but with this device, you can toggle on an always-available mode. It’s not quite as streamlined as a simple tap-and-hold gesture along the bottom of the screen, but it’s a worthy addition nonetheless.

Then there are app pairs, which we’ve seen rumblings of throughout early Android builds for years now. It’s a simple concept — you can add two apps in a group to your home screen, ready to launch in split-screen with a single tap — and I’m thrilled to finally see it come to fruition. The original Pixel Fold was at its best with two apps running side-by-side, and this change makes it even easier to pair two apps together.

I’ll also give a shout out to Made You Smile, a new addition to the camera mode on the Pixel 9 Pro Fold. I’ll admit, I was ready to be pretty cynical about this tool, which is meant to make your smaller children smile for a picture without requiring any effort from the parent behind the scenes. In action, though, it’s a perfectly cute approach to assisting a parent, not replacing them. These cartoon characters perform big actions whenever a smile is detected, and that coaxing — combined with the adult holding the phone — is a pretty great addition.

Anyone interested in foldables should keep an eye on the Pixel 9 Pro Fold

Yes, even first-gen Pixel Fold owners

Google really has done the seemingly impossible here. This is a full reinvention of its concept of a foldable, seemingly modeled after the device that has, in my eyes, done it the most successfully so far. It’s such a massive jump over its predecessor that I left my hands-on more intrigued than I thought I could be. This is, more or less, what I wanted out of the Pixel Fold in 2023, and it’s coming out in less than a month.

For first-time foldable buyers or Pixel enthusiasts excited to jump to a big-screen piece of hardware like this, you should be excited. In the days since I first got my hands on the Pixel 9 Pro Fold, it’s been difficult to stop thinking about it. Even the OnePlus Open, which I just revisited, has been feeling a little chunky in my hands over the last few days. The dream of combining best-in-class hardware with my preferred software experience is, quite simply, one of the most compelling pitches I’ve seen for new hardware in a long time.

I can’t remember the last time I said this, but even Pixel Fold owners might want to consider upgrading. It’ll undoubtedly depend on trade-in offers and, of course, your own individual financial state, but Google has delivered a phone that feels generations ahead of its direct predecessor. More than ever, it feels like an early proof-of-concept, a developer device destined to be remembered for paving the way for future models like this one.

While my final thoughts on the Pixel 9 Pro Fold will have to wait until it’s actually available on store shelves next month, it’s clear Google has, at the very least, caught up to the competition. And considering how slow Samsung has been to refine and refresh its Z-series, you have to wonder if the crown for best folding phone could go to one of its rivals for the second year running. Oh, how the mighty have fallen.