Review: Google Pixel 10 Pro Fold

Magnets are the most exciting new feature on Google's Pixel 10 Pro Fold for me. I was giddy with excitement when I popped this book-like folding phone onto my MagSafe wireless car charger—no third-party magnetic case needed, no annoying clamps. I was even able to open the phone up, and while it drooped into landscape orientation due to the weight of the second screen, it stayed stuck and gave me a much larger view of Google Maps.

The Pixel 10 Pro Fold and Google's broader Pixel 10 series are the only flagship Android phones with native Qi2 wireless charging support, meaning they can magnetically recharge just like MagSafe iPhones, enabling faster and more efficient charging. It might not sound like a big deal, but it's little things like this that can make a big impact on day-to-day use.

Unfortunately, outside of magnets and its folding trick, this Pixel still doesn't feel quite as “pro" as its name suggests. It's missing a few staples found on the actual Pixel 10 Pro and Pixel 10 Pro XL. It's a good smartphone, but when you're spending $1,799, you want to get the best bang for your buck.

The Pixel 10 Pro Fold on a MagSafe wireless charger.

Photograph: Julian Chokkattu

Ten Fold

Samsung greatly slimmed down its Galaxy Z Fold7 this summer, the Pixel 10 Pro Fold's main competition, and I wish Google had followed suit. Phones are getting slimmer than ever, and while you may not care for an ultrathin candy-bar handset with not-so-amazing battery life, any millimeter that's shaved off a folding phone can make a big difference in usability.

The Pixel 10 Pro Fold doesn't feel like the chonker it was originally, but next to the Z Fold7, it feels a little more cumbersome to use. I still find it hard to open sometimes (I wish there was a small lip), and I also am not a fan of the asymmetrical design, with visible curved edges on the left near the hinge; Samsung's phone looks more elegant.

The hardware feels better than ever though, with a reliable gearless hinge and a crease I find easy to ignore. (If you care, the Galaxy Z Fold7's crease is slightly less noticeable.) This is one of the few folding phones with a proper IP68 dust- and water-resistance rating, even better than what Samsung offers, so you can feel safe using this phone in various environments like traditional smartphones. I dropped the phone when I was getting out of my car (onto asphalt), and I saw only a few nicks in the aluminum frame. And while so much of that comes down to luck, these folding phones just aren't as fragile as they once were. Google says the phone is capable of 10 years of folding, which helps assuage long-term concerns.

Photograph: Julian Chokkattu

I like the slightly wider, 6.4-inch external display; it feels like you're using a normal smartphone, and this is where I spend maybe 70 percent of my time. The screen is very bright, colorful, and sharp, with a smooth 120-Hz refresh rate. Open it up, and I'm happy to see that the 8-inch screen more reliably shows the proper two-pane view on apps that support it in full-screen mode. This is something I had trouble with on last year's Pixel 9 Pro Fold, where Gmail displayed a stretched view that wasn't very helpful.

Samsung lets you have a third floating window on its book-like fold, but I never really found it all that useful. Split-screen is where it's at, and the Pixel 10 Pro Fold excels at making it very easy to set up two apps side by side. Grab the vertical bar in the middle, and you can resize the app to make it wider or skinnier; you can hide a second app all the way to the right or left, ready to access when you need it. None of this is as good as the Open Canvas system that OnePlus used on its OnePlus Open several years ago, which made it easy to use three apps at the same time in a way that wasn't annoying (two side by side and one below). Alas, OnePlus gave up the ghost with its folding phone.

Performance has been more than satisfactory for me. The Tensor G5 inside hasn't shown any sign of struggles, though the phone gets quite warm when you're juggling some intensive tasks. I recorded a video for more than 40 minutes, and it was hot to the touch, though at least it didn't stop recording.

Photograph: Julian Chokkattu

Battery life has also been surprisingly solid. Even with days filled with GPS navigation, music streaming, and hours of Instagram Reels-ing, I rarely found myself needing to recharge in the middle of the day. I usually saw close to six hours of screen-on time, and most nights I had around 20 percent left by 11 pm or midnight. It's probably not going to take you into a second day, and much of the battery life depends on how much of the internal 8-inch screen you use, but it hasn't given me any trouble.

There are several new smart software features on this phone, such as Magic Cue, but I've already touched on them in my Pixel 10 review. Head there for a read if you're interested to hear more.

‘Pro’ Camera

Listen, I understand that some features need to be sacrificed from the candybar Pixels due to the unique folding design, but it still stings. Despite paying close to double the price of the Pixel 10 Pro, you are not getting the same camera system as those devices. The reality of this is that while photos shot from the Pixel 10 Pro and Pixel 10 Pro Fold look very similar, it's not hard to see that the results from the non-folding phone are sharper and brighter, particularly in low light. That extends to all the cameras, whether it's the ultrawide, 5X telephoto, or selfie shooter.

Worse yet, this “Pro” phone doesn't support Google's new Pro Res Zoom feature, which soups up your zoomed-in photos from 30X to 100X using a new image processing algorithm and generative AI. This allows you to capture faraway subjects without dealing with horrid image quality. The Fold also doesn't have Video Boost, which is where Google sends your video clips to the cloud for processing, delivering brighter, more colorful, and more stable footage.

That's without mentioning the lack of vapor chamber cooling exclusive to the Pixel 10 Pro and Pixel 10 Pro XL to keep them cool under intense loads, or the fact that only the Pixel 10 Pro XL has Qi2 25W charging support for even faster wireless charging. These omissions make this phone feel more like the Pixel 10 Fold, rather than the Pixel 10 Pro Fold.

Back to the cameras though, and I still very much enjoyed the photos that came out of this phone, though I do want to rant about Portrait mode. This isn't a problem exclusive to the Fold, but all the Pixel devices—it still struggles with hair. The edges of the hair are all messed up and just look too artificial. This has been happening for years, and it's high time Google improved it.

Photograph: Julian Chokkattu

I really like the new Instant View in the camera app when you unfold the phone. It lets you see your previously captured photos on the other screen, which is nicer than exiting the camera to go look at the camera roll.

It's worth noting my initial unit had a hardware problem with the microphone. I recorded some footage at a Chance the Rapper concert, and the microphone quality was horrid. I swapped to a second unit, and things were normal; it's just something to keep an eye (ear) on.

Below the Fold

You simply do not have that many options, especially in the US, when it comes to folding smartphones. For this style of a book-like fold, you can only choose between the Galaxy Z Fold7 and the Pixel 10 Pro Fold. I think Samsung's phone takes the lead this year thanks to its friendlier design and the fact that the company added the same top-tier 200-MP camera from its flagship Galaxy S25 Ultra.

Photograph: Julian Chokkattu

If Google can make a point of matching the capabilities of its Pro Pixel phones with the Fold, I think it'd be much easier to recommend, especially if the company slimmed the phone down next year (don't you dare remove Qi2, though). But I find myself gravitating to the Pixel 10 Pro XL over this, mostly for the superior 5X optical zoom camera and Pro Res Zoom.

However, one thing I can't refute is that I've actually been using the inner screen more than ever on these folding smartphones. Perhaps it's just me getting used to the form factor after all of these years, but I find myself opening it up more often, using split-screen, or just enjoying the bigger app views. Crucially, it could also be that I'm getting old.