If you asked me a few years ago about my thoughts on foldable devices, I would have given you the stank face and said they suck. I would then proceed to convince you that foldable devices feel cheap and aren’t worth the money.
I have since completely changed my mind on them. In the past two years alone, I have seen some of the most premium-looking and feeling foldables on the market. And, while I think Google has always nailed it when it comes to their foldables, the Pixel 11 Pro Fold really isn’t a nominal difference from what it was last year.
I had some early hands-on time with the Pixel 11 Pro Fold, and while there are a few upgrades, overall, I thought the phone itself was pretty much identical to its predecessor.
I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: this is the year Google needs to focus on perfecting Gemini, and it did. I am glad that Google decided to really ensure that what you’re getting in the Pro models of the phones is what you’re really paying for.
Category |
Pixel 11 Pro Fold |
|---|---|
Colors |
Obsidian, Olive |
External display |
6.5-inch Actua OLED, 1080 x 2341, 399 PPI, 1-120 Hz, 3600 nits |
Internal display |
8.0-inch Super Actua Flex OLED, 2076 x 2152, 373 PPI, 1-120Hz, 3600 nits |
Processor and Security |
Google Tensor G6, Titan M3 security coprocessor |
Memory and storage |
16GB RAM, 256GB/512GB/1TB |
Cameras |
Advanced triple rear camera system: 48 MP wide | 10.5 MP ultrawide with Macro Focus | 10.8 MP 5x telephoto lens | Super Zoom up to 30x |
Battery and charging |
4707mAh, 30W wired, 25W Qi2 Pixelsnap wireless |
Dimensions (folded) |
155.2 mm (height) x 76.0 mm (width) x 10.1 mm (depth) |
Dimensions (unfolded) |
155.2 mm (height) x 150.4 mm (width) x 5.0 mm (depth) |
Weight |
239g |
OS and updates |
Android 17, 7 years of OS, security, and Pixel Drop updates |
Connectivity |
Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth v6, NFC, Dual-band GPS, 5G mmWave (NA only), 5G Sub-6, LTE |
SIMs |
Dual SIM (Single Nano SIM and eSIM) |
Go thin or go home
This year’s trend across all companies making foldable devices is: how can we make our foldables even thinner? I much prefer a curvaceous body, but on a phone, I don’t want to compromise on thickness. The thinner the better, so long as the phone itself feels premium and comfortable.
The 11 Pro Fold is about 1mm thinner than its predecessor, which says one thing to me: companies are going to keep trying to push the boundaries to see how thin they can make a foldable without compromising on features.
You might not think this is going far enough, especially following the recent launch of the even thinner Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra. However, the Pixel 11 Pro Fold still has some things going for it that the Ultra doesn’t have, such as built-in Qi2 magnetic charging, which definitely adds to its thickness.
But in addition to making the phone thinner, Google also launched the Pixel 11 Pro Fold in a new colorway. The beautiful Olive variant similar to the Pro and Pro XL models. And my god, the color is stunning. Holding it feels so sexy; it is truly a beautiful phone.
Crease? What crease?
Part of why I really didn’t like foldable devices in the past is because the inside screen has to be some sort of plastic; it can’t be glass; that is the only way it’s going to be a device that can fold. But I found that this felt so tacky and low-grade, and when you’re spending an arm and a leg for a device, why would you want a big screen that looked…cheap?
I can say without a doubt that the Pixel 11 Pro Fold’s crease is near non-existent. And even the actual feel of the screen feels so lush, premium, and gorgeous. After closing and opening the phone a few times, you can barely tell that there’s a crease, and I think that the phone itself feels so exquisite.
When folded laptop style on your desk, I can see how convenient it would be to watch YouTube videos and whatnot.
That said, using the Pixel 11 Pro Fold while folded flat still feels a bit awkward to me. I get the appeal of doing it; you have a much larger screen, and I think if you folded it flat and held it in your hands, you’d be fine. But when placed on a table, that protruding camera bump makes your camera feel like a wobbly table that annoyingly moves around when you’re sitting at it.
Features galore
Like the Pixel 11 Pro phones, the Fold will also get all of the same premium features that are super fun to use.
HiLight is going to be a fun feature to use when you want to ask Gemini something or when you get notifications. The feature itself is a small LED glowing light that emits from the LED module on the camera bar.
Google also highlights a new sign language-to-text feature for Google Translate, and while I didn’t get to try this during my hands-on, it’s a very compelling feature that should make Pixels much more accessible.
I can’t stop thinking about the Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra
It’s been a busy several weeks of new launches, and coming from just having played around with the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra…I can’t help but say that I think that phone has my heart.
The Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra is much thinner than the Pixel 11 Pro Fold; it’s sleeker, and I actually think it looks and feels like a much more premium device than the Pro Fold. This isn’t me hating on the 11 Pro Fold at all… but when I was at my content capture, I couldn’t stop thinking about the Z Fold 8 Ultra.
I kinda felt like I was cheating on it with the 11 Pro Fold. I kept thinking about the beautiful deep purple color variant, and how gorgeous she was as a device.
Thinking so much about the Z Fold 8 Ultra and the smaller Fold 8 made me wonder if Google needs to think about how it plans on evolving the form factor of its foldable. And maybe that’s something the company wants to think about for 2027. Because I will say, as gorgeous as the 11 Pro Fold is, it’s still boring. And if I am thinking about a different device the whole time, then something is wrong.
