Google’s foldable Pixel phones are in serious trouble

The foldable Android market got a lot more interesting this week. At its latest Unpacked event on July 9, Samsung unveiled a trio of new folding phones. The Galaxy Z Fold 7 ushers in the most impressive foldable hardware from Samsung ever, the Galaxy Z Flip 7 gives Samsung’s flip phone the larger cover screen we’ve waited years for, and the Galaxy Z Flip 7 FE adds a much-needed affordable option to Samsung’s foldable lineup.

But while the new Fold and Flips are great news from Samsung, they’re also detrimental to Google’s folding phone ambitions. The Fold 7 and Flip 7 look to mark a new chapter for Samsung foldables, and based on what we know about Google’s 2025 Pixel lineup, it doesn’t seem like Google has any adequate way to counter Samsung.

Unless Google has secret plans up its sleeve that we don’t know about, I think it’s safe to say that Google’s foldable Pixel phones are in trouble.

Google is widely expected to announce its next batch of Pixel phones in late August, and alongside the Pixel 10 and Pixel 10 Pro, this is also where we should see the Pixel 10 Pro Fold.

According to the rumor mill, this year’s Pixel Fold will be a very familiar one. The design is reportedly almost identical to that of the Pixel 9 Pro Fold, meaning no drastic thickness or weight reductions. The outer display should be a little bigger (6.4 inches instead of 6.3 inches), Google’s new Tensor G5 chip will likely power the phone, and rumor has it the phone will feature an IP68 rating. But beyond those changes, that seems to be it.

In a bubble, that’s not a bad pitch for a new foldable Pixel. The Pixel 9 Pro Fold is a rock-solid handset. The Pixel 10 Pro Fold being that same phone but with a larger outer display, better chipset, and improved durability is a solid prospect, and one that, in any other year, Google probably could have gotten away with.

But unfortunately for Google, its spec-bump approach with the Pixel 10 Pro Fold will be going up against the behemoth that is the Galaxy Z Fold 7. After back-to-back years of iterative upgrades, the Fold 7’s dramatically thinner and lighter design results in a monumental leap forward for Samsung’s foldable hardware.

The Fold 7’s 8.9mm profile makes it one of the thinnest foldables on the market, and weighing 215g, it also holds the title as the lightest book-style folding phone in the world. Those are impressive numbers to be sure, but they also make a considerable difference in real-world use, as Hadlee discovered in his Galaxy Z Fold 7 hands-on.

That new design alone is enough to make the Fold 7 truly exciting, but it’s not without its other share of spec upgrades. The old 50MP primary camera is replaced by a much more capable 200MP sensor, RAM now goes up to 16GB instead of 12GB, and the phone is powered by Qualcomm’s monster Snapdragon 8 Elite chip. While I don’t love the $2,000 starting price, the design overhaul and spec upgrades effortlessly cement the Galaxy Z Fold 7 as the most well-rounded book-style foldable in the US.

Assuming what we’ve heard about the Pixel 10 Pro Fold is true, it’s hard to envision a world in which Google’s foldable stands a chance against the Z Fold 7. Google is working from a good foundation with the Pixel 9 Pro Fold, but that hardware already looks antiquated next to Samsung’s newest Fold, and that’s far from a good position for Google to be in.

Furthermore, there’s the ongoing absence of a flip phone Pixel foldable, and still no indication of Google having any interest in the form factor. This already felt like a glaring omission in the Pixel lineup last year, but it’ll be all the more damning this year.

With the Galaxy Z Flip 7 delivering big cover screen upgrades and the Flip 7 FE looking like a solid lower-cost option — not to mention what Motorola is doing with its 2025 Razr lineup — there have never been so many options for quality flip phone foldables.

And yet, Google is still completely absent from the conversation.

When I look at the Pixel 9 Pro Fold and Google’s supposed plans for the Pixel 10 Pro Fold, what strikes me the most is the company’s lack of intent with its foldable strategy.

The Galaxy Z Fold 7/Flip 7 may not be perfect, but there’s an intentionality behind them. The Galaxy Z Fold 7 is an all-out foldable flagship in almost every way. Its hardware is exciting, its cameras are promising, and its chip, RAM, and storage specifications are as good as you could ask for. The Galaxy Z Flip 7 has all the makings to be one of the best flip phones on the market, and the Flip 7 FE should be a decent option for tighter budgets.

Google, meanwhile, lacks such a comprehensive lineup. I’m sure the Pixel 10 Pro Fold will be a great foldable, but it already feels like it’ll be fighting an uphill battle against the Z Fold 7 — and it’s likely the only folding phone Google will have to show for this year.

If Google’s only folding phone of 2025 is one with year-old hardware and slightly improved specs, that’s simply not enough, certainly not in the same year the Galaxy Z Fold 7 is released. Google needs meaningful hardware innovation each year, just like it proved it’s capable of with the Pixel Fold to Pixel 9 Pro Fold upgrade. Google needs a Pixel Flip. Google needs to be thinking about a tri-fold device if it isn’t already.

Google being Google, it’s a company that should have a seat at the foldable table. It should be setting an example for other manufacturers to follow on how to craft high-quality folding phones, just like Google has done for “normal” slab phones with the rest of the Pixel family.

But what we’re expecting from foldable Pixels in 2025 doesn’t live up to that, and unless Google makes some pretty dramatic changes — and makes them soon — I don’t see a long, healthy future for folding Pixel phones.