The foldable phone market has matured over the last few years, and while Samsung still takes upon the responsibility of furthering the segment’s technical bar, Google takes a different approach with the Pixel 10 Pro Fold – one where the phone offers a hint of fun. With Google’s newest Tensor G5 chip and a quirky design theme, the Pixel 10 Pro Fold makes it intentions absolutely clear – a fun and smart OS that prioritises the features most of you care for – good cameras, great battery life, nice display and a design with a lot of presence.
Priced at Rs 172,999, the Pixel 10 Pro Fold sits along with the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 – another serious foldable device. Should the Pixel’s fun nature be enough to convince you to bet on Google’s formula instead of Samsung’s tried-and-tested example? Let’s find out.
Pixel 10 Pro Fold: Design and display
One of the most notable features that you’d notice on the Pixel 10 Pro Fold is its robust new hinge mechanism. The new design allows the device to close completely flat without a visible gap, although its increased resistance may catch you off guard. This hinge plays a key role in ensuring an IP68 water and dust resistance certification, thus making it suited to adverse weather conditions.
The outside cover display, which is pretty to look at, is optimised for one-handed use, retaining the Pixel’s beloved ‘natural’ aspect ratio, making it feel like a standard premium smartphone when folded. When unfolded, it reveals a stunning, 7.8-inch inner display that looks more akin to a tablet than a foldable phone, which makes binge-watching enjoyable. Crucially, the visibility of the crease has been reduced to the point where it’s mostly not noticeable during casual use. Both displays utilise LTPO OLED technology with variable refresh rates, rendering in vibrant colours, and buttery-smooth 120Hz refresh rates.
Top marks from us for the Pixel Fold’s display.
Pixel 10 Pro Fold: Performance
Under the hood, the Google Pixel 10 Pro Fold is powered by the current-generation Tensor G5 chip. This chip may not be competing with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite as far as raw processing performance is concerned, but it can do everything Google’s Pixel UI demands it to. It can take care of Google’s signature on-device Gemini AI features, which makes it a joy to use as a creator. The Tensor G5 dramatically improves real-time translation, enhances the power efficiency of the device, and, most notably, speeds up the AI photo editing and computational photography functions.
That said, the Tensor G5 chip can handle general app performance in the same fashion as any other high-end Android phone. Google’s favour of Android 16 offers simple features like split-screen multitasking and a taskbar to switch between multiple apps simultaneously. Even video games are enjoyable on this foldable Pixel, with high-end mobile games running at their very best. Network connectivity and in-call performance have been top-notch, too.
Pixel 10 Pro Fold: Camera system
A major advantage of the Pixel 10 Pro Fold over its competitors is its splendid camera system. Google has included flagship optics, headlined by a new, 48MP main sensor, a 10.8MP ultrawide lens, and another 10.8MP 5x optical zoom telephoto lens. This puts the Pixel Fold camera on par with the best foldable flagship phones out there.
The camera’s general performance is no different to that of a Pixel 10 Pro, i.e., photos in good lighting wear a familiar contrast-y colour tone with saturated hues. However, the details appear a tad softer and as the ambient lighting conditions drop, the softness increases. Additionally, the AI’s upscaling and post-processing treatments become more evident when you rely on the telephoto and ultrawide sensors (maybe the lower resolution sensors struggle to match the main sensor’s overall quality output). The same can be said for the selfies taken with both the 10MP front cameras.
As far as the video recording performance is concerned, the Pixel 10 Pro Fold’s shooters leave a lot to be desired. The footage appears mostly soft, and colour accuracy takes a hit in low-light situations. The grains are visible, even in 4K 30 fps quality videos, which is something you don’t expect for such an expensive phone.
Being a foldable, however, you can use features like Tabletop Mode for unique hands-free long exposure photos, while the cover screen can be used as a high-quality preview screen for subjects when using the rear cameras for selfies.
Pixel 10 Pro Fold: Battery life and charging
In my usage scenarios, phablet-style foldables usually offer good battery stamina, and the Pixel 10 Pro Fold is no exception. Compared to Samsung’s foldable flagship, the Pixel comes with a larger 5,015mAh battery, which translates to 1.5 days of stamina with moderate usage, after a full recharge. This scenario includes a fair mix of the cover and main display, with minimal gaming sessions. If you catch up on your Netflix shows more often on your phone, you can expect a day’s stamina at best.
As far as charging is concerned, you can use any PD charger to fill up the battery in approximately 1.5 hours (we recommend an overnight recharge to make life easier). Similar to the Pixel 10, you get the Pixel Snap magnetic attachment, thus making it compatible with Apple’s MagSafe accessories.
Verdict: The Pixel 10 Pro Fold is definitive rather than derivative
The Google Pixel 10 Pro Fold, unlike its competitors, is all about a cohesive Android experience rather than celebrating the foldable technology. It isn’t as productive as Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold 7, and neither is it as camera-centric as the Vivo X Fold 5. However, the focus is on a solid Android experience, and that’s what makes it the best foldable phone we’d seen this year.
The Android 16’s Material 3 Expressive UI makes the best use of the Pixel 10 Pro Fold’s expansive displays. The AI features work as intended, and the same goes for the Tensor G5 chipset, which takes care of most multitasking activities you can throw at it. The comfortable aspect ratio makes it more likeable for running usually non-optimised apps like Instagram and Snapchat. The camera system could do better with videography, but for casual photographers, there’s a lot to play with. The incredible battery stamina sums up the Pixel 10 Pro Fold as one of the best, if not the best, foldable smartphones money can buy this year.
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this review reflect the author’s subjective take on the device after using it for 10 days and don’t reflect the publication’s point of view.
