Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold 7 is available for preorder and will ship to buyers in the coming days. But if you still haven’t ordered yours, you might want to consider waiting a bit. The Fold 7 isn’t the only high-end foldable of the summer. Google will soon unveil the Pixel 10 series, which will include the Pixel 10 Pro Fold model.
We’ve seen plenty of Pixel 10 leaks so far, so we already know what to expect from Google’s next foldable flagship. The latest leak gives us the main specs for the upcoming handset. If it’s accurate, and Pixel leaks usually are, the Pixel 10 Pro Fold will have a couple of big advantages over the Galaxy Z Fold 7 that fans might appreciate.
A previous leak from the same source claimed the Pixel 10 Pro Fold will be the world’s first IP68-rated foldable phone, unless the Galaxy Z Fold 7 beats it to the punch. The new leak repeats the same claim, and we already know the Fold 7 is rated (only) IP48 like its predecessor.
More importantly, the Pixel 10 Pro Fold will get a much larger battery than the Fold 7. Though we’re not quite getting Honor Magic V5 batteries from Google.
According to Android Headlines, the Pixel 10 Pro Fold’s cover display will be slightly larger than the Pixel 9 Pro Fold. We’re looking at a 6.4-inch external display, which is 0.1 inch larger than last year’s. The screen will also get a peak brightness boost to 3,000 nits, or 10% more than last year’s model.
The big battery
The Pixel 10 Pro Fold will rock the new 3nm Tensor G5 processor, paired with 16GB of RAM and storage options ranging from 256GB to 1TB. The 1TB option is a first for the Fold, which previously topped out at 512GB.
The Galaxy Z Fold 7 features the Snapdragon 8 Elite chip, which should be more powerful than the G5. It’ll be interesting to see how efficient Google’s G5 is.
We already know the Snapdragon 8 Elite is very battery-friendly. That helped Samsung keep the Fold 6’s 4,400 mAh battery in place for another year. Technically, Samsung likely used different battery packs for the Fold 7, which is much thinner than its predecessor. But it still stuck with the 4,400 mAh capacity.
Even if the G5 turns out to be more power-hungry than the Snapdragon flagship, Google will give the Pixel 10 Pro Fold a significant battery boost.
The specs leak says we’re looking at a 5,015 mAh battery for the new foldable, a 7% upgrade over its predecessor. Crucially, Google isn’t using silicon-carbon battery tech in the Pixel 10 Pro Fold. That’s the tech Chinese smartphone vendors like Honor have pioneered. The Magic V5, for example, has a massive 6,100 mAh battery.
On the camera front, the Pixel 10 Pro Fold will feature a familiar setup. On the back, the triple-lens camera includes 48-megapixel wide, 10.5-megapixel ultra-wide, and 10.8-megapixel zoom lenses. Google explained last year that the camera module is a compromise to reduce the phone’s thickness.
Two 10-megapixel cameras will handle selfies, piercing the external display and the foldable screen.
Dust resistance on a foldable, finally!
The Pixel 10 Pro Fold will be water and dust resistant, thanks to that IP68 rating. That’s a major upgrade for a foldable phone. Samsung kept the Fold 7’s dust rating at IP48, the same as the Fold 6. That makes the Fold 7 dust resistant only to particles 1mm or larger. Anything smaller can get inside the phone.
Most candybar flagship phones come with IP68 ratings. We’ve taken dust and water resistance for granted for years. Hopefully, the Pixel 10 Pro Fold will push more foldable phone makers to improve dust protection in future devices.
Google is expected to confirm the Pixel 10 Pro Fold’s IP68 rating in mid-August, when it should host this year’s Pixel hardware event.
