Google Pixel Fold: The best Samsung Galaxy Z Fold rival might have come from Google itself

We’ve known about the Google Pixel Fold for at least two years now, but today the cat is out of the bag. Google has finally launched its first foldable at Google I/O, bringing the fight directly to the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold series.

It’s even priced the same—like the current Z Fold 4, the Pixel Fold starts at a whopping USD 1,799 (around RM8,004). That’s with the same 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage; the 512GB storage model costs USD 1,919 (around RM8,539). As reference, the Z Fold 4 starts at RM6,799 in Malaysia, rising up to RM7,299 with 512GB of storage.

The Pixel Fold may be priced like the Samsung, but its form factor is closer to the excellent (and sadly China-only) Oppo Find N2. Folded up, it’s shorter and wider than the Z Fold 4, resulting in a 5.8-inch outer display that’s smaller but should be more comfortable to use. It’s a Full HD+ (2,092×1,080 pixels) AMOLED panel with a pixel density of 408 PPI, an adaptive refresh rate up to 120Hz, up to 1,200 nits of brightness and a peak brightness of up to 1,500 nits. It also features Gorilla Glass Victus at the front and back.

Open it up and you’ll find a 7.6-inch AMOLED inner display with a resolution of 2,208×1,840 pixels (380 PPI), the same 120Hz adaptive refresh rate, up to 1,000 nits of brightness and a peak brightness of up to 1,450 nits. Like the Find N2, it’s wider than it is tall, but while it does have stereo speakers, they’re positioned at the top and bottom of the device—meaning that you’ll have to rotate it like the Z Fold 4 for the full video-watching experience.

Making all of this possible is a custom dual-axis, multi-alloy steel hinge mechanism that allows the phone to fold completely flat with no gap, unlike the Samsung. It uses four cams across the hinge, which should make it feel more sturdy than the Find N2 that has only three cams. It also provides “fluid friction” across the entire 180º of motion, enabling the Pixel Fold to stay open at different angles. At 12.7mm thick, the device is thinner than the Z Fold 4, but it’s even heavier at 283g—50g more than the lightweight Find N2.

At the back, the Pixel Fold features a triple camera setup that Google says is the best on any foldable. It incorporates a 48MP main camera with a comparatively small 1/2-inch sensor and an f/1.7 aperture, as well as a 10.8MP ultra-wide with a 1/3-inch sensor and an f/2.2 aperture. Meanwhile, the 10.8MP telephoto has a 1.31-inch sensor, an f/3.05 periscope lens and 5x optical zoom, plus up to 25x Super Res digital zoom.

The Pixel Fold also has two selfie cameras—the outer one is a 9.5MP unit with an f/2.2 aperture, while the inner camera offers an 8MP resolution and an f/2.0 aperture. The latter can only shoot 1080p video at up to 60fps, whereas the others can record up to 4K video at up to 60fps. The inner camera is located in the top bezel of the inner screen, resulting in an uninterrupted display but thicker bezels at the top and bottom.

Like the Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro, the Pixel Fold is powered by the Tensor G2 chip, paired with 12GB of LPDDR5 RAM and either 256GB or 512GB of UFS 3.1 storage. Its 4,821mAh dual battery is quite a bit larger than the Z Fold 4’s 4,400mAh, with Google claiming more than 24 hours of use and up to 72 hours of battery life with Extreme Battery Saver enabled. It supports up to 30W fast charging (the charger is sold separately, of course) and it has Qi wireless charging as well.

Being a Pixel phone, the Pixel Fold comes with several unique features, including free VPN by Google One, Call Assist, Magic Eraser for removing unwanted objects in images and a Photo Unblur function that even works with old photos. Live Translation also uses the outer and inner displays so both you and the person you’re speaking to get a real-time text translation as you speak. This feature, called Dual Screen interpreter mode, will drop when Android 14 arrives later this year.

The Pixel Fold also features split-screen multitasking, which only lets you use two apps side-by-side (not three as with the Z Fold 4), but it does come with a handy drag-and-drop function. A new taskbar lets you switch apps and drag another compatible app into split-screen mode, and it goes away when not in use.

Other features include 5G, WiFi 6E and Bluetooth 5.2 connectivity, NFC, a side fingerprint sensor, face unlock and the same IPX8 water resistance rating as the Z Fold 4 and the Huawei Mate X3. As is typical for a Pixel phone, the Pixel Fold will likely only get three years of major Android updates, although it will receive five years of security updates. Available in Obsidian and Porcelain colour options, the device is available to pre-order in the US today and will go on sale in June.