To fold or not to fold – Pixel 9 Pro Fold review

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To fold or not to fold – Pixel 9 Pro Fold review

To fold or not to fold — that’s the question facing lots of new smartphone buyers, with the seemingly ever-increasing number of fold and flip phones hitting the market.

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Pixel Pro 9 Fold. Credit:

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I’ve never been totally sold on the ******* foldable phones. I like the concept, but the downside is they can be a bit bulky and difficult to fit in your pocket. However, with my failing eyesight, I can appreciate the extra real estate the fold-out screen offers.

This week I have been rapidly changing my mind on foldable phones after getting to know the new Pixel 9 Pro Fold.

The phone is only a fraction thicker than the Pixel 9 Pro which I tested a few weeks ago, and I’m loving the big screen inside.

data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///ywAAAAAAQABAAACAUwAOw==Camera IconGoogle Pixel 9 Pro Fold. Credit:

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Folded up, it measures 155mm high, 77mm wide and 10.5mm deep compared with the Pixel 9 Pro, which measures 152mm high, 72mm wide and 8.5mm deep.

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’s Pixel phones are known for their excellent cameras and innovative software, and the new Pixel 9 Pro Fold is no different.

I rate the new Pixel 9 Pro and Pixel 9 Pro Fold alongside the Galaxy S24 Ultra, Galaxy Z Fold 6, and Apple’s iPhone 15 Pro as the best current smartphones.

The Pixel 9 Pro Fold looks and feels like a real quality piece of kit. It has a beautifully integrated alloy and steel hinge that allows the two sides to fold completely flat against each other.

The 6.3-inch front display and the 8-inch foldout display are super-crisp and bright. Both have a peak brightness of up to 2700 nits so its easy to see them even in bright sunny conditions.

data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///ywAAAAAAQABAAACAUwAOw==Camera IconThe large 8-inch screen on the Pixel 9 Pro Fold is great for taking pictures. Credit: Mogens Johansen/The West ***********

Most of the time, for my regular daily needs, I use the phone folded but it is when I unfold it that it really comes into its own. The front and central screen mirror each other but the extra real estate of the 8-inch screen really comes in handy for lots of different tasks. I can divide and conquer by splitting the screen and use two apps side by side — I can drag and drop videos, images, links, and text from one to another — and I can even use the Dual Screen feature to activate both the inside and outside screens. This can be particularly handy when using the

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Translate app in face-to-face conversations. . . I can see follow the conversation on inside screen while the other person can follow it in their language on the outside screen.

The Pixel 9 Pro Fold has the same fast Tensor G4 processor and Gemini AI features as the Pixel 9 Pro, but the cameras are not quite as powerful.

The Fold’s main camera system at the rear consists of a 48MP wide camera, a 10.5MP ultrawide, and 10.8MP 5x optical telephoto zoom camera with software-supported digital zoom up to 20x. It has 10MP selfie cameras on the inside and outside screens. The Pixel 9 Pro has a 50MP wide, a 48MP ultrawide with macro focus, a 48MP 5x optical telephoto zoom, and software-supported digital zoom up to 30x plus a 42MP front-facing selfie camera.

However, Fold users don’t miss out on any of

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’s clever computational photography features.

All the familiar camera features like Portrait mode, Panorama, Night Sight and Pro controls are there, along with newer features like Add Me, Top Shot, and Long Exposure. The editing features include Magic Editor, Magic Eraser, Best Take and Photo Unblur.

The verdict

data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///ywAAAAAAQABAAACAUwAOw==Camera IconReading on the large 8-inch screen on the Pixel 9 Pro Fold is a pleasure. Credit: Mogens Johansen/The West ***********

There’s a lot to love about the Pixel 9 Pro Fold. It’s an easy phone to get to know. The menus are well designed and virtually walk you through whatever it is you are trying to do. But if you have trouble with anything, you can always ask the Gemini assistant.

I’ve never really been one to use the various assistants available on smartphones, but the Gemini assistant has opened my mind to it. Instead of typing out my questions, I can have a natural two-way conversation about all kinds of things — and I can ask Gemini to summarise my unread messages or interview recordings.

The only bad news is the price. At $2699, the Pixel Pro Fold costs $1000 more than the Pixel 9 Pro, which has better cameras.

As a photographer I’m a little torn about the better camera suite in the Pixel 9 Pro versus the big screen on the Fold. The extra real estate really is nice, and the added features like screen splitting are super-handy.

Is it worth an extra grand compared with the Pixel 9 Pro? Only you can decide that.

data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///ywAAAAAAQABAAACAUwAOw==Camera IconThe new

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Pixel Pro 9 products. Credit: Googlefact file

The Pixel 9 Pro Fold is the top of the recently launched Pixel 9 range, which also includes the Pixel 9, Pixel 9 Pro and Pixel Pro XL. Prices start from $1349 for the Pixel 9, to $2699 for the Pixel 9 Pro Fold.

To find out more and to compare all the features of the Pixel 9 family, head to

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#fold #fold #Pixel #Pro #Fold #review

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