5 Android phones you should buy instead of the Pixel 10 Pro Fold

The Google Pixel 10 Pro Fold is an interesting smartphone. If you live in the US, it’s one of the only tablet-style foldables you can buy in the country, and while not a dramatic upgrade over its predecessor, the Pixel 10 Pro Fold still brings a lot to the table — such as its new Tensor G5 chip, IP68 rating, and built-in magnetic charging.

There’s plenty to like about the Pixel 10 Pro Fold, but priced at $1,799, it’s one of those phones that requires careful consideration before purchase. And before any purchase this big, it’s well worth considering your other options.

There aren’t many handsets in the US that are exact replacements for the Pixel 10 Pro Fold, but depending on your needs, these five other Android phones could be great alternatives.

While the folding design is a significant advantage for the Pixel 10 Pro Fold, the phone also excels in other key Pixel qualities — including Google’s software features, the stock Android interface, and its reliable cameras. If those things are important to you, it’s worth considering the non-folding Google Pixel 10 Pro.

In sacrificing the foldable form factor, the Pixel 10 Pro rewards you with some serious advantages — one of the biggest being camera quality. The Pixel 10 Pro has a larger and higher-resolution primary camera, a significantly shaper ultrawide camera, and a much more advanced telephoto camera that’s capable of 100x zoom (handily beating the Pixel 10 Pro Fold’s 20x zoom maximum).

The other main perk of the Pixel 10 Pro is its screen and hardware. The 6.3-inch display features significantly slimmer bezels compared to the Fold’s cover screen, and it benefits from higher brightness and LTPO technology (meaning it’s more power-efficient when using the always-on display). Additionally, the smaller screen and thinner body make the Pixel 10 Pro much more comfortable to use with one hand.

Other aspects of the Pixel 10 Pro Fold — such as its magnetic charging, Pixel-exclusive software features, Tensor G5 chip, and seven years of software updates — are also all present on the Pixel 10 Pro. The best part is that you get all of this for $999, which is just a little cheaper than the $1,799 asking price of the Pixel 10 Pro Fold. If you’re not committed to getting a folding phone, but you know you want a Pixel phone, the Pixel 10 Pro is probably the best choice for you.

What about the flip side of that scenario? If you don’t have to get a Pixel but you aren’t willing to budge on a big-screen foldable, what’s your next best option? Well, you only really have one other choice in the US, and that’s the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7.

Thankfully, the Fold 7 is a darn good foldable. While it lacks the Pixel 10 Pro Fold’s IP68 rating and magnetic charging, it compensates for those shortcomings in other ways — most notably with its ultra-thin design. Measuring just 8.9mm thick when folded and weighing a mere 215 grams, the Galaxy Z Fold 7 is on another level compared to the 10.8mm and 258-gram Pixel 10 Pro Fold. The Z Fold 7 really does feel like a “normal” slab phone when it’s shut, and once you experience it for yourself, it makes another folding phone like the Pixel 10 Pro Fold feel archaic by comparison.

And design isn’t the only thing the Z Fold 7 has going for it. Its cover screen is slightly larger and features an LTPO panel, its Snapdragon 8 Elite chip is significantly faster than the Pixel’s Tensor G5, and the 200MP primary camera is much more capable than the 48MP sensor on Google’s phone.

All of this does come at a cost, however — specifically, $1,999. But if you’re OK with that (and Samsung’s more heavily customized Android software), the Galaxy Z Fold 7 is one of the best foldables you can buy in 2025.

Although your options for tablet-style foldables are quite limited, you have more choices if you’re open to a flip-phone style folding phone. And if you are, the Motorola Razr Ultra is the best one you can buy.

The Razr Ultra does justice to its “ultra” branding, offering a really impressive spec sheet. Motorola’s phone has a Snapdragon 8 Elite chip, 16GB of RAM by default (compared to 12GB on the Pixel and Z Fold), 512GB of base storage, and 68W wired charging — significantly faster than Google and Samsung’s phones. The Razr Ultra is the only phone on this list without a telephoto camera, but its 50MP primary and ultrawide cameras are quite good.

Naturally, there’s also something to be said of the Razr’s folding design. Its 7-inch inner display looks every bit as good as any other “normal” slab phone. The 4-inch cover display is equally impressive, which looks incredible and allows you to run any app when the Razr is folded shut.

The $1,299 starting price is expensive, though it is considerably cheaper than the Pixel 10 Pro Fold and Galaxy Z Fold 7. Although the Razr Ultra doesn’t offer the same big-screen flexibility as those phones, it’s a phenomenal device if you think a flip-phone foldable may work better for you.

Speaking of “ultra” phones, I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra. No, it’s not a Pixel, and no, it doesn’t fold. If both of those things are true, why am I recommending it as an alternative to the Pixel 10 Pro Fold? Because the S25 Ultra is one of the most capable Android phones available.

Want a good display? The S25 Ultra features a large 6.9-inch screen with a QHD+ resolution and an anti-reflective coating that works incredibly well. Need fast performance? You get a Snapdragon 8 Elite chip with either 12 or 16GB of RAM. What about cameras? The S25 Ultra has a 200MP primary camera, a powerful ultrawide camera, and two telephoto cameras.

Beyond the specs, the S25 Ultra also comes with some features you don’t get on the Pixel 10 Pro Fold. The built-in S Pen is one of them, and it’s highly convenient for handwritten notes, doodling, etc. Also, while Samsung’s software is more overwhelming than Google’s, features like Samsung Dex — which turn your phone into a fully-fledged desktop — are undeniably powerful.

The Galaxy S25 Ultra is another phone that’ll set you back at least $1,299, but once again, that’s still a lot less money than what you would pay for the Pixel 10 Pro Fold. Even if you ultimately decide that the S25 Ultra isn’t for you, it’s at least worth considering.

Similar to the Galaxy S25 Ultra, the OnePlus 13 isn’t an immediately apparent Pixel 10 Pro Fold alternative, given that it’s not a Pixel and that it’s not a folding phone. But like the S25 Ultra, the OnePlus 13 checks so many boxes that it’s still worth a spot on this list — especially since it offers some advantages over the S25 Ultra while costing considerably less.

To start, all of the big flagship specs are here. The OnePlus 13 is equipped with an outstanding 6.8-inch display, a Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset, up to 16GB of RAM, a massive 6,000mAh battery (the largest among any phone on this list), and lightning-fast 80W wired charging.

The OnePlus 13 has a great camera setup, too. All of the sensors are high-quality, but the real magic lies in OnePlus’s partnership with Hasselblad and the image processing that results from it. Pictures from the OnePlus 13 are noticeably more colorful and contrasty compared to Pixel cameras, which I often prefer. Additionally, there’s something to be said about the OnePlus 13’s design, which feels much lighter than you’d expect for a phone of its size. Also, the blue leather for the Midnight Ocean finish is just stunning.

The OnePlus 13 is about as feature-packed as you could hope for a flagship smartphone, and that makes its $899 starting price all the more impressive. This is one of my favorite Android phones of the year, and if you’re open to looking beyond the Pixel 10 Pro Fold, I think the OnePlus 13 could make you very happy.