Google Pixel 10 Pro Fold Review: A bendable dilemma

Introduction

The Pixel 10 Pro Fold is bigger, and heavier than the other book-style foldable phones, has less powerful internals, but it’s not really any cheaper than the other flagship foldable, and Google hasn’t even packed it with a massive battery to make that extra thickness worth it.  

So the question is, why would you buy it when there are thinner, more powerful models available? And is there more to it? I think there might be, but I must admit, I am conflicted. 

Let’s dive in. 

Design

• Similar design to last year’s Pixel 9 Pro Fold
• Full IP68 dust and water resistance
• Much thicker and heavier than the competition

There’s something quite Jekyll and Hyde-ish about the industrial design and build of the Pixel 10 Pro Fold. On the one hand, it’s got a purposeful look and feel that strikes the right balance between minimalism and being fashion-forward. On the other, it’s heavy and chunky. 

The aesthetics are gorgeous, especially in this jade green colour, which is a really soft, light green with a subtle hint of yellow that’s brought out by the colour of the aluminium framing.

If you’re unsure why it’s called Jade, give a quick Google image search for ‘raw jade rock’ and it’ll make sense. You’ll find examples that come very close to matching this shade of green. 

Of all the foldables I’ve used this year, it’s also the one that feels the most sturdy in the hand. The frame being a bit thicker means it has solidity and rigidity to it, matched by the hinge which, in my testing, holds itself at a wider range of angles than the hinge on either the Honor Magic V5 or the Z Fold 7. 

It doesn’t want to spring backwards so that it’s flat anywhere near as easily. It’s also far more satisfying to snap it shut, adding a pleasingly tactile element to the experience. 

Google has made durability a big focus on the latest Pixel Fold too. With the new dual-layer protection over the display and a redesigned gearless hinge, the company says it can handle up to 10 years’ worth of folding and unfolding. Which, if true, is a big deal, especially when you’re spending so much money to get a phone which, historically, is pretty fragile. 

It’s also got IP68 dust and water resistance. That’s no mean feat in a folding phone. It’s the highest rating we’ve seen so far, and so if you’re biggest concern with buying a foldable is that it won’t withstand your daily use like a normal phone, there’s no folding phone that alleviates those fears as much as the Pixel 10 Pro Fold. 

It’s a bit of a brick though. After weeks of using much thinner phones like the iPhone Air, Galaxy S25 Edge, Honor Magic V5 and Galaxy Z Fold 7, that becomes even more apparent. 

It’s almost 40 grams heavier than Samsung’s alternative, and that makes more of a difference to the feel of it than the additional millimetre of thickness on the frame. Even Honor’s phone with its much larger battery capacity still manages to come in considerably lighter. For those who don’t want to experience any grip fatigue or strain when holding it, it just doesn’t make sense compared to the other two. 

Holding it two-handed isn’t so bad though, and if you get one of Google’s PixelSnap rings or a similar MagSafe alternative like a PopSocket, that can help alleviate things somewhat. And sometimes, when you snap the phone without a case onto a MagSafe charger, it feels worth that extra thickness.

If the extra heft is what’s required to make the most durable, practical foldable on the market, there’s a strong argument that it’s worth it. 

Screens

• 6.4-inch cover screen is comfortable to use
• Almost perfectly square 8-inch foldable screen
• Impressive stereo speaker sound

If there’s one thing the Pixel Fold gets right, it’s the 6.4-inch 120Hz OLED cover screen. And by that I mean, it’s a very convenient aspect ratio. It’s not too long or narrow, and so it’s very convenient to use when shut. I’d happily type on that cover screen without feeling the need to open up the main display. 

So for those tasks where you want quick interaction, whether it be chatting away in a WhatsApp group or communicating with colleagues in Slack, or replying to emails, it lets you get down to work without hampering you in any way.

It’s responsive, easy to use, and gets out of the way. And I’ve always appreciated the way you get really precise, pleasant tactile feedback from the Pixel phones when typing on the pre-installed Gboard keyboard. 

The screen is nice and bright too, so you won’t have any problems reading it outdoors, whether you’re following Google Maps navigation instructions around an unfamiliar city or just using the camera to snap photos on a bright day. For those who want specs, it’ll reach around 2000 nits across the entire panel, or 3000 nits peak for bright spots in HDR video scenes. 

It’s colour-rich, vibrant and detailed enough for most tasks. It’s not even that bad for watching videos on, although it doesn’t make much sense to use it for longer horizontal when you have the massive, internal folding screen to hand.

When you want to switch between the cover screen and the internal one, simply open the phone, and the app you have open will instantly appear full-screen on the large panel inside. 

There are some games that struggle with this switching between external and internal display, which need restarting to scale properly to the other display. 

One interesting feature of the Pixel Fold’s main 8-inch 120Hz OLED display is that it is almost perfectly square. It’s about 70 pixels shy in one orientation away from being vertically and horizontally balanced. 

That means it doesn’t really matter what way you hold it; you’ll get largely the same experience. So if you find the punch hole camera blocking an important UI button or element, rotate it 90 degrees and hold the phone ‘sideways’. 

I will say this though; I found the crease to be harder to ignore than some other similar devices. It doesn’t blend in as well to the surface. It’s not terrible by any stretch of the imagination, just more visible than pretty much all the competition.  

Otherwise, it’s a really nice display panel. It’s warm and inviting, with rich, vibrant colours and deep contrast levels that make it an excellent canvas for just about any content, whether you’re catching up on your favourite shows or ploughing hours of time into your latest gaming addiction. 

Of all the displays on this type of device, it’s the one I’d rather use for watching YouTube and Netflix on for that reason. I’m a big fan of how Google’s hardware team tunes the image. It’s not so bright that colours get washed out, and it doesn’t introduce any over-the-top saturation to the point where it looks hyperreal. 

Additionally, if you find the default colours a little too saturated, a more muted colour option is available in the display settings if you prefer it. 

It struggles a little with bright reflections, and like most foldables, it shows fingerprints and smudges very easily. But that’s to be expected from a surface that isn’t glass. On that note, it’s more than bright enough to punch through most glare and bright lights, and has a more effective anti-glare surface than Samsung’s Z Fold 7, taking more of that brightness away. 

I do briefly have to mention the stereo speakers too, because they’re very good. They’re loud, bass-filled and well-balanced, so when you crank up the volume, you’ll get an immersive audio experience. 

Software

• Android 16 with Material 3 Expressive
• Helpful AI tasks run quietly in the background
• Polished experience, but lacks some forward-thinking features

A significant part of the Pixel 10 Pro Fold’s charm lies in its software, utilising the same combination of Android 16 and Material 3 Expressive UI as the rest of the Pixel 10 collection.

Personally, I think it’s the experience of how all the layers transition into each other, whether you’re dragging up the app drawer, launching the multitasking recent apps screen or dropping down notifications and quick settings. 

It’s just effortless, and that feeling of being smooth and cohesive matters more than whether or not the phone has the most powerful internals. Google’s AI efforts are baked into pretty much everything, but with Pixel software, I’ve generally found it’s not vying for your attention and screaming about itself all the time. 

It does a lot of its work in the background, processing images, voice recordings and such, generally just doing helpful things like transcribing voice notes instantly, and generally getting it right. There are generative AI features for doing things like translating, summarising, creating new wallpapers and generating pictures. And of course, Gemini is the default assistant. 

Being Google’s own software on Google’s own hardware means there’s no additional bloat or redundant apps. So unlike the competitors, you’re not going to be spending time figuring out whether you should use the stock Google app for calendar, wallet, email, browsing or app downloads, or using the manufacturer’s. It takes a lot of time out of the setup process, and means a lot less obstructive behaviour in the software. 

It does feel a bit feature-light in some areas, like Home Screen customisation and multitasking compared to Samsung and Honor’s skins though, and so doesn’t feel quite so forward thinking. 

Camera

• 48MP main, 10.8MP telephoto and 10.5MP ultrawide
• Consistent colour and tone across lenses
• Telephoto and ultrawide rely on software to sharpen images

With foldable phones, manufacturers rarely equip their cameras with the absolute best sensors available. After all, the phones typically don’t have the space required to house them. But even compared to its competitors, the cameras on the back of the latest Pixel Fold are a little underwhelming. If only because, like other book-style foldables, the phone is still very expensive. 

The 10.8MP 5x telephoto and 10.5MP ultrawide cameras are relatively low-res for a top-end phone, and they’re packed into pretty small sensors. That’s joined by a 48-megapixel main camera.

It’s a far cry from the triple system on the Pixel 10 Pro XL, or even the Honor Magic V5. It also lacks the ridiculous 100x AI-powered super zoom feature its non-folding sibling has, so it’s hard not to feel a little short-changed. 

That means, like the regular Pixel 10, photos looking good are more reliant on the processing power of the chipset inside and Google’s algorithm. And, during the daytime, with good light, it just about works. 

Credit where it’s due, Google has done a good job of ensuring the colour, texture and feel of the photos are consistent across all three lenses, so you can tell all of them were taken on the same device. There’s no wild variation in colour or sharpness. 

You can tell there’s a lot of processing happening, though. To my eyes, the details and finer textures of the photos look over-sharpened just that little bit too much, and so instead of looking really clean and authentic, it’s a tiny bit grainy in places.

And because the sensors are quite small, even from the main camera, the depth of field is a bit lacking. And so you’ll often find parts of the image in the background that are as in focus and sharp as the parts at the front, rather than a pleasing, natural drop-off and blur. 

If you don’t look too closely and just want photos to share on social media, you’ll get a lot of consistency and reliability from the Pixel system. And with 5x zoom shots from the telephoto lens, and the ultrawide adding to the mix, there’s a lot of versatility here. 

That ultrawide also features macro ability, but the images tend to look quite rough and lacking in sharpness when you use that feature. So my advice on that one is to step back a bit and use the 5x zoom feature instead, or just the 2x digital zoom in the main sensor, rather than try to get really close. 

If there’s one advantage to Pixel’s processing, it’s that you’ll rarely, if ever, find overblown highlights or overexposing. It can lead to pictures looking a bit darker than those from competitors, but it also means the really bright parts of the picture are very well contained, so you can still see the subtleties in light and shadow gradients. It’s particularly helpful when taking photos of clouds in the sky. 

It’s only in low-light situations, using the night sight feature at night, that the ultrawide and zoom cameras really show their weakness. Images are often out of focus, and feature quite a lot of noise, introduce some unusual artefacts and lack some authentic detail. Stick to the main camera at night, and you’ll generally be okay. 

The primary camera in low light can draw in more light and deliver sharp, good-looking shots without any excessive grain or motion blur. It’s the most reliable in these darker scenes when it comes to producing a clean image with decent texture. 

Performance

• Tensor G5 and 16GB of RAM
• Best thermal performance of any Pixel
• Fast in use, but underperforms against the competition

Compared to the other phones in the Pixel 10 series, the Fold, in my experience, has been the most capable of sustaining high levels of performance.

Even when pushed to its limits by running benchmarking stress tests, it matches and sometimes outperforms the Pixel 10 Pro XL. I found that in the most extreme stress test, it got a little warm and then cooled down quickly afterwards, showing some effective heat dissipation. 

It still pales in comparison to any phone running the Snapdragon 8 Elite processor though, at least in terms of pure graphics performance in demanding games. For almost any other purpose, I can’t say I ever really found myself wishing it was faster or more capable. 

Essentially, if you care about playing those rich games with fast frame rates and want the most consistent, fast performance, you will be better off with the Honor or Samsung alternatives. But if you don’t care for that, and don’t do lots of graphically demanding tasks, the Tensor G5 processor, along with the 16GB of RAM, is more than enough to cope with your workload. 

It’ll comfortably run two apps side-by-side, doesn’t stutter, lag, or freeze up, with that 120Hz display keeping things feeling fluid and smooth. 

Battery life

• 5015mAh battery
• All-day battery for most users
• 30W and 15W Qi2 support

Battery life is relatively solid too. You should easily get a full day from it, even if you’re the heaviest of users.

Even on days when I had more than five hours of screen time, split between the front and internal displays, I still finished the day with about 20% of the battery remaining. And that was on a day when I’d run all my benchmark tests, including a stress test which drains a solid chunk of the battery. 

In my regular use cycle, which is relatively light and rarely exceeds 3 hours of screen time, I often have nearly half the battery left over at the end of the day.

Charging back up again is convenient too, but again, not exactly the fastest around for refill times. Its 30W charging speeds mean you’ll get half a battery done in about half an hour. 

Should you buy it?

FAQs