Before using the Pixel Fold, I wasn’t convinced that foldable smartphones were the future. Firstly, the range of folding phones available in the US is much smaller than in China. Furthermore, my large hands have never adjusted to Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold series’ claustrophobic, very tiny outer display. When Google unveiled its squat, passport-shaped folding phone, I became very interested in it.I’ve been using Pixels for years, so I know a lot about Google’s advantages and disadvantages. The Recorder app is a godsend in my line of work, the software is simple to use, and the camera performance is unmatched—at least when it comes to still photography. On the other hand, the devices’ performance is never as good as Qualcomm’s most recent Snapdragon CPUs, they occasionally have strange hardware oddities, and they run a little warm. (Did you know that little bumps under the display on every Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro are only noticeable in certain lighting conditions? You do now.)

 

I was aware that there would be more trade-offs when I entered the Pixel Fold. Phones that fold up are heavy. Their cameras fall short of the finest features found in conventional phones. Even after several years of this form factor, they are still frequently extremely costly. Lower-cost flip variants are available from Samsung and Motorola, but if you’re a Pixel devotee, good luck.

 

Nevertheless, the Pixel Fold overcame all of those drawbacks in essentially no time at all. Although this device is far from ideal, in this instance the whole is more beneficial than the sum of its parts. Although I’ve come to like many aspects of the original Pixel Fold, there are still a few annoying issues that I hope will be fixed in the next Pixel 9 Pro Fold.

 

It’s easy to ignore the bigger screen

 

First of all, as the initial excitement wears off, you won’t be opening the internal display as much as you might imagine if your phone is functional on the outside. The majority of the tasks I perform on my smartphone are entirely functional on the Fold’s outside screen. When I want to watch YouTube, Netflix, or use The New York Times app to check the news, I normally unfold it. Although it’s not often, I have occasionally multitasked with two apps at once, and Google has made that workflow easier with software improvements. Even with far deeper immersion, I’m still mostly using the large canvas to concentrate on one item at a time.

 

This thing desperately needs a brightness boost

 

My main complaint about the Pixel Fold has been its display brightness—or lack thereof—since day one. Just a few months after its launch in 2017, Google’s new Actua / Super Actua displays and the far more cheap Pixel 8 series eclipsed the $1,700 gadget. They are easy to use outside and are incredibly bright. I frequently have the brightness slider on the Fold set to more than 80%, which is not good for the device’s battery life. In bright light, this phone can be difficult to look on, and the highly reflective inside screen makes matters worse.

 

This lack of pop is one area of weakness that I think Google will address the next time around. It appears that the business will equip its second-generation foldable with the newest (and brightest) display technology.

 

A lighter frame is the second significant change I anticipate to see. Even for me, a 6’1″ man with large hands, the Pixel Fold is a rather heavy phone that can become difficult to carry with time.

 

The battery life has gotten me by

 

I wasn’t anticipating the Pixel Fold’s battery life to work like magic. Does anyone really need that from a foldable device? Furthermore, the efficiency of Google’s Tensor processors has never been well-known. However, the Fold performed… well even on days when the huge display was seldom used at all. After a long day, I could not always count on the phone to have much battery left when I arrived home, but it nearly always did. The Fold, like previous Pixels, may occasionally charge slowly when you’re using it while it’s plugged in. Overall, the more traditional Pixel 8 Pro outperforms it in terms of endurance, but that is to be anticipated when two screens are compared to one.

 

 

Many apps aren’t optimized for the wide display

 

There are rumors that the Pixel 9 Pro Fold will resemble the OnePlus Open, but it will be higher. Essentially, what you’ll receive is an ordinary phone outside. This implies that the inner display’s aspect ratio will also be altered, which is fortunate because I discovered that many apps had black bars on both sides when I held the Fold open. You really can’t rely on developers to embrace a specific device immediately because this is Android after all. Though more apps should potentially do so by default given the expanded dimensions of the 9 Pro Fold, Google ultimately provided an option in software to force apps to become full-screen.

 

The Fold works well with a wide variety of apps. Even though the tablet occasionally gets a little warm while editing photographs from my mirrorless camera, using Adobe Lightroom has been a terrific experience from the beginning. This is the best option for making adjustments while on the go if I’m not taking my iPad with me.

 

 

Durability, camera, speakers, etc.

 

Over the past year, I’ve used two Fold review units, and neither one has broken or experienced any serious screen issues. However, not everyone has been as fortunate, and it can be difficult to get any foldable repaired or replaced while still under warranty. It is inevitable that the shiny camera bar will get worn down, and the soft interior display will eventually get scratches. However, when the screen is lit up, it’s very simple to overlook them and the crease.

 

This $1,700 phone has really mediocre audio. The Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra, the Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max, and Google’s Pixel 8 Pro leave them speechless. Google, give me something a little more powerful. Please!

 

The camera(s) on the Pixel Fold are sufficient. In her assessment, Allison stated that they are trustworthy. However, they’re also not really noteworthy. Although Google’s computational photography magic can make your photos look better, software isn’t able to make up for the lower sensor compared to typical flagship phones.

 

At its presentation on August 13th, Google is expected to reveal a lot of new things, including the Pixel 9 Pro Fold. I became a convert to foldables after seeing how well-designed the first Pixel Fold was. The business now just needs to demonstrate that it can reach new heights in terms of potential and adaptability, and maybe even screen brightness.

 

 

 

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