These days, it’s rare when a smartphone is a total miss. Compared to the Wild West of the 2010s — even towards the end of that decade — you’d see plenty of out-of-the-blue successes and failures. Both of Razer’s gaming phones following its acquisition of Nextbit were solid offerings, while the RED Hydrogen One was anything but. But as we approach the halfway point of our current decade, the Googles, Samsungs, and even Apples of the world are putting out reliable, albeit boring, launches.
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The original Pixel Fold was not that. Google’s first folding phone launched in the middle of 2023, just weeks before the marketing blitz of the Galaxy Z Fold 5 and a few months before the OnePlus Open became a surprise critical favorite to the end of the year. But in spite of a fairly open field in a still-untapped market, the Pixel Fold was, put simply, a bad smartphone. Looking back on it, my 6.5/10 review score doesn’t feel overly harsh on an initial attempt at a new product category — if anything, it feels too forgiving.
That all changed with this year’s Pixel 9 Pro Fold. Google’s Pixel Fold successor delivered a rebrand alongside its total design overhaul, and while I still find its name a mouthful, I can’t say I blame the company. This foldable, while imperfect on its own, is leaps and bounds ahead of the first-gen model, cementing its status not just as the best (big-screen) foldable of 2024, but as this year’s most improved smartphone. There’s so much about the Pixel 9 Pro Fold that shows growth on Google’s part, it really cements the refrain that you shouldn’t buy into first-gen hardware, no matter how tempting.
The Pixel 9 Pro Fold improved on its predecessor in nearly every way
And frankly, it really needed to
While the Moto Razr+ (rightfully) won its spot as Android Police’s favorite foldable of the last twelve months, it’s Google’s most expensive Pixel 9 model that won my heart over. While it’d be easy to describe that love as arriving from a place of low expectations, it actually didn’t take much for the Pixel 9 Pro Fold to win me over. When practically everything about a smartphone is improved over its predecessor, who am I to judge a lineup based on past sins?
The OG Pixel Fold’s limited release meant that, largely speaking, most people — most Pixel fans, even — have not interacted with Google’s first folding phone. This is, frankly, a good thing for the company, even if it renders the Pixel 9 Pro Fold a little less impressive out of context. If you’ve never seen these two devices side-by-side, or if you’ve simply forgotten what made 2023’s Pixel Fold such a resounding disappointment, allow me to recap why I liked this phone so much.
Frankly, it all comes down to the design. Google left behind the passport-style look and feel from the original Pixel Fold with this generation, and while I think that makes the overall mobile landscape a little boring, it also makes for a better phone. I hesitate to say Google copied its homework from OnePlus — smartphone design simply takes too long for the timelines to perfectly line up — but what worked on the original Open is, frankly, working here too.
Read our original review
Google Pixel Fold review: An $1,800 rough draft
Google’s first foldable fails to live up to its full potential
From the slim chassis — 10.5mm when closed, the thinnest in North America — to the standard shape of the front cover display, the Pixel 9 Pro Fold simply feels more comfortable to hold in your hand for longer periods of time. It’s also helped by a lighter overall weight; while I hesitate to call 257 grams “light,” it’s a far cry from the 283 gram original. Some other touches, like the mostly-matte frame, just make for a much more pleasant experience, whether it’s folded or unfolded.
And speaking of unfolded, the big improvements don’t end with the front panel. The 8-inch interior display is more square than before, which helps a lot with app support; the first-gen model had a nasty habit of triggering awkward landscape layouts in certain apps. The screen itself feels far more modern too. It doesn’t quite hit the highs of the Open’s matte finish, but whatever additional layers Google added to its flexible panel really helped to improve the quality and reduce reflections, both indoors and out.
Throw in seven full years of software support and a more efficient processor that doesn’t overheat nearly as often, and the Pixel 9 Pro Fold is, in some ways, the total package. In a year where it’s only US-based rivals came down to the generation-old OnePlus Open and the tired-feeling Galaxy Z Fold 6, Google simply ran away with the game. It made exactly the right changes to present a slam dunk second entry, just a little over a year after the first-gen Pixel Fold was met with such a shrug of disappointment.
Of course, the Pixel 10 Pro Fold could be an even better device
Plenty of room for improvement
None of this is to say the Pixel 9 Pro Fold is a perfect phone. For as many strides as Google has made in the hardware space, its software optimization is still leagues behind the competition. Whether you prefer Samsung’s grid-like field of windows or Open Canvas and its shifting, sliding tiles, Google feels behind in this regard. While some people might prefer the simplicity of side-by-side apps — and App Pairs certainly make this a better experience compared to the original Fold — it’s not very power-user-friendly.
When we’re talking about $2,000 smartphones, power users are your primary demographic. If Google’s aiming to make a foldable for the masses, that’s fine, but the price tag is incongruous with that goal. Frankly, this is a problem with the Pixel’s stock launcher in general these days. In some ways, it’s more restrictive than iOS 18, something I’m hoping shifts with Android 16 in 2025. Only time will tell.
The hardware could use a second round of refinements, too. I’d love to see Google continue to shed some of the weight here, as 257 grams is still pretty damn heavy for a smartphone. Both OnePlus and Samsung are sub-240 grams with their most recent releases; I think that’s a good goal for the Pixel 10 Pro Fold in 2025. A thinner chassis is naturally welcome as well, but I don’t think it’s as necessary as some other foldable fans might. Frankly, 10.5mm feels perfectly acceptable in my pockets.
Really, though, my big thing is Google making good on the “Pro” part of the Pixel 9 Pro Fold’s name. From the Actua-branded cover display to the so-so camera quality, the Pixel 9 Pro Fold is a far cry from the other two Pro-branded Pixels this year. If you’re going to market this device as a core part of the mainline Pixel experience, it needs to match those other devices’ spec sheets as closely as possible. As it stands, this feels more like a Pixel 9 Fold than a Pixel 9 Pro Fold, which, come to think of it, would’ve made for a better name.
The Pixel 9 Pro Fold proves you shouldn’t buy first-gen Google products
No matter how impressive they might seem on the surface
The Pixel 9 Pro Fold might not be a perfect smartphone, but it certainly proved that early adopters should hesitate on Google’s products. That’s not to say every first-gen product Google releases is bad, per se, but rather that their successors are almost always universally better. Whether you’re waiting twelve months for the release of the Pixel 9 Pro Fold or Pixel Watch 2 (or 3), or you’re waiting several years for a replacement for the company’s crummy Chromecast with Google TV experience, holding off on potentially risky hardware is a lesson that could save you some real headaches — not to mention money.
Personally, the Pixel 9 Pro Fold has cemented Google’s approach to foldables as something I’m personally invested in. I’m a big fan of this phone, and I’m excited to see where the company takes its successor in 2025. With Samsung and OnePlus both looking to steal back the “best foldable” crown, we could be looking at a really competitive scene come this time next year. Either way, the Pixel 9 Pro Fold is worth your adoration, if not your hard-earned cash. This is 2024’s Most Improved Smartphone, foldable or otherwise.
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