Google Pixel 10 Pro Fold
From €1,929
Google.com
Google’s new folding phone, the Pixel 10 Pro Fold, is here. The third version of Google’s Pixel Fold was announced at the company’s Made by Google event in August, but it has taken until October for it to hit the market. That gave the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 a head start.
READ MORE
Now that the novelty has worn off the whole folding phone concept, is there anything to get excited about? While Samsung has focused on slimming down the Z Fold 7 – with impressive results – the Pixel version has gone a different way, focusing on durability and establishing itself as a multitasking star. It is not a bad strategy.
So what is new with the Pixel 10 Pro Fold? A lot of what you would expect – the chip has been updated to the Tensor G5 and the cameras have been improved.
The design of the phone itself has been left largely unchanged. It has a large inner screen, high-quality outer screen and the camera bump on the back. But there are some subtle changes that make this the best folding phone that Google has produced.
The screen is brighter, making it easier to see in strong sunlight, whenever that appears in Ireland. It tops out at 3,000 nits on the inner display, with a refresh rate of 1Hz to 120Hz so you get smooth scrolling.
The Pixel 10 Pro Fold is tougher too, with an aluminium frame and a reworked hinge that is made of steel and covered with an aluminium shield. You won’t think too much about this, until you drop the phone. Then you will feel a lot better when you realise it hasn’t been smashed to pieces.
More significantly, it has an IP68 rating, which means it is protected against dust as well as water. While the Samsung Z Fold 7 has the same water-resistance rating, it has an IP48 rating, meaning it won’t protect against dust. Last year’s Pixel 9 Pro Fold has no official dust rating, giving this year’s model a significant advantage.
I tested the Pixel 10 Pro Fold by using it as my work phone. That meant it needed to be good at multitasking (spoiler alert: it worked fine), big enough to type documents and edit photos on and also needed a decent battery life, plus the ability to shoot decent photos and videos.
On battery life, Google has done some good work. The Fold has a 5,015mAh battery that can charge at speeds of up to 30W with a wired charger and up to 15W wirelessly. During the course of the review, the Pixel 10 Pro Fold lasted more than a day’s use, even when it was pressed into service to replace a laptop.
One area where you expect the folding phones to fall behind in is with cameras. In the past, the foldables have sacrificed on camera power compared to their flagship counterparts. The Pixel 10 Pro Fold comes with a new 48 megapixel main camera as part of the triple rear camera system, which also has macro focus and up to 20x super res zoom.
It isn’t quite the same as the Pixel 10 Pro, but the photo quality was much better than I expected it to be. Add in the rear selfie camera feature and you have plenty of quality options.
Video is a similar story. While the Samsung foldable has opted for 8K footage at 30 frames per second, Google has stuck with 4K and 60 frames per second. For most people, 4K will more than suffice; the 8K footage has obvious implications for storage capacity.
Google has plenty of AI built in too, from photo editing to tools to help you be more productive.
On the leisure front, it works well as a video streaming device. With the folding screen, you even get a built-in stand – also useful for taking photos.
Good
Google has stuck to what works about the Pixel Fold line. While it is a little thicker than its rivals, it doesn’t feel overly bulky.
For multitasking, the Pixel 10 Pro Fold worked well. Google has been working with app developers to help get apps up to the task. While the size of the screen means you will stick to a couple of apps at a time, there is still plenty of scope within that to have documents and email side by side, for example, or a web browser in the mix.
Bad
A premium product means a premium price. Plus the decision to change little from the previous generation means there is not enough to differentiate it from the previous Fold.
Everything else
The Fold includes Google’s new magnetic accessory support. That can be a good thing and a bad thing – prepare to have paper clips stuck to the back of your device.
Verdict
Folding phones are here to stay and the Pixel 10 Pro Fold is up there with the best.
