Google’s first foldable is thin and expensive

Almost four years after Samsung launched its first foldable, the Galaxy Fold 5G, Android developer Google is following suit. With the Pixel Fold, which was officially confirmed a few days ago, the manufacturer is going all out with its debut and promises the thinnest foldable and the best cameras in a device in this product category.

In terms of price, Google is definitely at the top. Because the Pixel Fold costs a whopping 1,900 euros in Germany.

The fact that Google is competing with Samsung’s Galaxy Fold with its Pixel Fold can be seen quickly in the design: Like the Samsung model, it has an outer and a foldable inner display. However, the Pixel Fold is a bit wider with a 5.8-inch diagonal and an aspect ratio of 17.4:9 and is less reminiscent of a remote control. When unfolded, the interior display measures 7.6 inches with a 6:5 diagonal aspect ratio.

Google claims to offer the thinnest foldable on the market with the Pixel Fold. But that’s only half true: With its 12.1 millimeters when folded and 5.8 millimeters when unfolded, it is indeed very slim. Huawei’s Mate X3 still undercuts these values: the foldable announced for Germany on May 9 measures 11.8 millimeters when closed and 5.3 millimeters when open.

From a purely technical point of view, the Pixel Fold is ultimately the thinnest foldable that is offered with Google services. Huawei devices have been banned by the US government from using Google’s ecosystem.

Both OLED screens support a dynamic refresh rate of up to 120 Hertz and Full HD resolution of 2,092 x 1,080 pixels (outside) and 2,208 x 1,840 pixels. The outer display is protected by Corning’s Gorilla Glass Victus, the inner display has a layer of “Ultrathin Glass” similar to Samsung’s Fold. With a maximum of 1,550 nits, the outer display is brighter than the inner display, which is supposed to deliver 1,450 nits at peak. For HDR content, they support 1,200 (outside) or 1,000 nits.

With regard to the built-in cameras, the 280 gram Pixel Fold should have the best on board that is available in a foldable. The wide-angle camera has a 48-megapixel sensor with ƒ/1.7 aperture, IOS and a size of 1/2 inch. The other two ultra-wide-angle and telephoto cameras each come with a 10.8-megapixel sensor.

The ultra-wide-angle camera with a 1/3-inch sensor takes photos with a field of view of 121.1 degrees and has an aperture of f/2.2. For the telephoto zoom camera with 1/3.1 image sensor, the pixel size is 1.22 μm (wide: 0.8 microns, ultra wide: 1.25 microns); the aperture is less sensitive to light at ƒ/3.05. Meanwhile, it supports a 5x optical and 20x digital zoom.

As far as the front cameras are concerned, there is a 9.5-megapixel sensor with dual pixels, 1.22 micrometer pixel size, ƒ/2.2 aperture and 84-degree picture angle on the outside. The inner camera comes with an eight-megapixel sensor, 1.12-micron pixels, ƒ/2.0 aperture and an 84-degree angle of view.

Like the other pixel models, the foldable supports various smart camera functions such as magic eraser, photo unblur, night mode and many more. Motion autofocus and long exposure are also on board.

Under the hood, as with the Pixel Tablet and the Pixel 7 series including the new Pixel 7a, is Google’s in-house Tensor G2 chip, which is accompanied by twelve gigabytes of RAM and 256 or 512 gigabytes of UFS 3.1 storage. For increased security, the manufacturer installs its M2 titanium chip as standard.

Like the Galaxy Z Fold 4, the Pixel Fold also offers IPX8 water protection, as well as USB Type-C 3.2 Gen 2, 5G, Bluetooth 5.1 and WiFi 6E. The Pixel Fold’s battery has a capacity of 4,821 mAh and supports wired charging with 20 watts and wireless with a maximum of 15 watts.

Like the Pixel Tablet and Pixel 7a, Google delivers the Fold with Android 13 from the factory. There are 50 apps that are optimized for foldables or larger screens. In addition, the software supports a split screen, with which two apps can be displayed at the same time. It is also possible to move content and files back and forth between the apps.

The Pixel Fold’s “Fluid Friction” hinge allows the foldable to rotate 180 degrees freely, allowing part of the screen to be used for hands-free video viewing or video calls in “On the Table” mode.

Google also offers an interpreter mode with live translation, which uses the inner and outer displays simultaneously to facilitate conversations in different languages.

As far as updates go, Google promises five years of monthly security patches and three years of major Android releases. Google isn’t quite as generous as Samsung, which promises four major Android versions.

According to Google, the Pixel Fold will be available in the colors obsidian (black/anthracite) and porcelain (cream/white). The manufacturer has not yet revealed exactly when, but the Google Store is talking about delivery from June 28, 2023. In terms of price, Google is in the absolute premium league: the model with 256 gigabytes beats with a whopping 1,899 euros to book.