Final 12 months’s Pixel Fold was a valiant first try at a foldable telephone by Google, nevertheless it wasn’t excellent. In comparison with the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold and the OnePlus Open, the Pixel Fold was shorter and wider, which made it a extra comfy phone-to-tablet expertise.
That mentioned, it was additionally a lot heavier than the competitors, which diminished the phantasm of it being a compact machine. It had the looks of a passport, nevertheless it felt like a bible in your hand.
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This 12 months’s Pixel 9 Pro Fold fixes the ergonomic problems with the unique, after which some. In doing so, Google has additionally shifted from the boxier, extra conventional facet ratio to a 20:9 scale that is much like the OnePlus Open. I personally know some Pixel Fold customers who might be upset by the change, however primarily based on my hands-on time with the latest mannequin, I feel it is for the higher.
Tack on a bigger, brighter show (as much as 2,700 nits at peak brightness), 16GB of RAM, the corporate’s newest Tensor G4 chip, and a number of AI options as a result of that is a requirement for any piece of tech in 2024, and you’ve got a contender for best foldable phone this 12 months.
Discover that I mentioned “the perfect foldable telephone” and never “best phone overall.” That is as a result of I am nonetheless struggling to suggest foldable telephones, with their hefty value tags, over the extra conventional iPhones, Samsung Galaxies, and even Google Pixels.
The excellent news is that the Pixel 9 Professional Fold — with all of its user-benefitting upgrades this 12 months — would not get a value bump like the remainder of the Pixel 9 collection. The unhealthy information is that it is priced the identical as its predecessor: beginning at $1,799. It is nonetheless costly. It is nonetheless inaccessible. For those who’re contemplating the Pixel 9 Professional Fold, trade-in presents, service promotions, and vacation reductions are your finest pal.
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Pricing apart, the Pixel 9 Professional Fold is trying to be the most effective multitasking and leisure gadgets you should purchase at this time. It helps that the inner show now spans a whopping eight inches, making it the biggest telephone available on the market.
After I tried it, operating break up display screen mode and watching YouTube movies on the Tremendous Actua Flex show was straight eye sweet, aside from the instances when the wall-sized home windows on the venue uncovered simply how shiny and glare-exhibiting these versatile screens are.
I am positive final 12 months’s Pixel Fold would’ve held up worse in the identical atmosphere, because the measly as much as 1,450 nits made the telephone nearly unusable when open air. The Pixel 9 Professional Fold will get a lot, a lot brighter, and that is one thing each person can respect.
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The bigger display screen additionally performs properly with Google’s newest AI options, which embrace the Pixel Studio picture generator, Gemini Dwell, and Pixel Screenshots. All three can be found on the smaller, inexpensive Pixel 9 fashions, too, however having a bigger canvas to doodle, immediate, and work together with Google’s AI options looks like the perfect method. You’ll be able to even run break up display screen mode with Google’s Gemini chatbot and drag-and-drop information for a extra collaborative expertise.
Google says the Pixel 9 Professional Fold is “the thinnest foldable you should purchase,” which is true should you’re not in a market that features the likes of Xiaomi and Honor. When unfolded, the telephone is about the identical thickness because the iPhone 15 Professional, and I had no drawback holding it up when taking the pictures you see all through this text.
The Google Pixel 9 Professional Fold (left) and the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 (proper).
Kerry Wan/ZDNET
Pair the thinness with an IPX8 score (which means the telephone is waterproof), Corning Gorilla Glass Victus 2, and a brand new hinge design that I am advised is tighter and higher prevents inner elements from coming free, and you’ve got a foldable telephone that needs to be as secure to hold round as an everyday handset.
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Google had a giant alternative to leapfrog its foldable counterparts in digital camera efficiency, however the Pixel 9 Professional Fold would not come off as aggressive. It fields the same 48MP foremost, 10.5MP ultrawide, and 10.8MP telephoto digital camera array as its predecessor, leaning closely on the brand new Tensor G4 chip — and nevertheless a lot backend processing it brings — to hold the photo-taking expertise. In comparison with the bigger, extra competent sensors on the Pixel 9 Professional and Professional XL, this looks like a disservice to customers committing not less than $1,799 for the Pixel 9 Professional Fold.
After all, I am going to have to check the telephone for longer and in additional situations to see simply how vital (or insignificant) this {hardware} distinction is. Primarily based on tech specs alone, nevertheless, I am not anticipating Google’s costliest telephone to have the corporate’s finest digital camera output.
The Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold is offered for preorder Tuesday, Aug. 13, in two colours: Porcelain and Obsidian, beginning at $1,799 for 256GB of storage.
