The Pixel Fold: A Foldable, High-Sensor, Low-Complexity Full-Screening Smartphone for Motion and Navigation
The inner screen is made of ultra-thin glass with a plastic layer, which is not as durable as the outer screen made of Gorilla Glass. The hinge that holds it all together offers up to 180 degrees of movement. (Google says it has tested it by folding it more than 200,000 times with no issues.) You can position the hinge in many different directions and the flat sides allow it to remain upright on its own. To take a picture with the phone’s primary camera on the back, it’s useful to prop the phone up, and it’s also possible to use the front screen as a viewfinder. No tripod needed!
The Pixel Fold shares some design aesthetics with the Pixel 7 and 7 Pro, but it goes beyond its lesser flagship cousins with its two screens and a slew of added features. It is a little larger than the other Pixel phones in size and has a 5.8-inch outer display. And what’s particularly interesting about the Pixel Fold compared to Samsung’s offering is that it has a wider aspect ratio, so the outer screen doesn’t feel so tall and narrow. The hinge on the Pixel is designed to allow for secure positioning across its 180 degrees of motion in order to make it easier to use at different angles.
Is it drastically more pocketable or manageable than Samsung’s foldable? I don’t think so, but I’ll need more time with the phone to say for sure. It looks weird next to a traditional phone. It will not fit in some pockets.
I had a very brief time with the fold but it also folds so if you’ve ever tried a phone like the one pictured, it’s exactly like that. The design ethos of the phone is firmly cementing it as a Pixel, though I wish they had a bright color option. The team’s priority was thinness, which Rakowski says is the most impressive. At just 0.5 inches in its folded state and 0.2 inches when unfolded, it’s just slightly thinner than the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold4 (though slightly heavier).
The Pixel 7A costs $499 and is available today, while the Pixel Fold runs a whopping $1,799 and is due out in June. Here’s what you need to know and where you can order / preorder them.
Starting with the budget option, the Pixel 7A promises a lot of value if you prefer Google’s version of Android, want a phone that isn’t too big, and don’t want to spend a ton of money. The 7A has a 6.1-inch screen with a higher 90hz refresh rate, which is a first for the A-series. The Pixel 7A also offers support for wireless charging, which, though limited to a slower 7.5W speed, has been a glaring omission of the A-series for far too long.
The cameras and battery life are two of the most important factors for determining a new phone’s worth. While camera performance goes well beyond the specifications of the phone, the main sensor is larger and the low-light performance is better. The capacity of the battery on the Pixel Fold is 4,821mAh. Of course, if software optimization isn’t up to snuff, it may not be as big of an advantage as it seems.