Sep 19, 2024 11:45 AM IST
An example of relevant refinement, the Pixel 9 Pro Fold holds its footing among foldables with utilitarian, compact tablet vibes. But it too has typical foldable foibles
It is impassable to try and provide a content with the Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold’s predecessor. Google never launched it in India, and I haven’t spent discernible time with it to provide a comparison. But what can be said with a degree of certainty is, Google has ticked off more boxes on the foldable smartphone checklist than you may have expected, a framework we can draw having used an increasing number of foldable over the past twelve months. Samsung’s latest Galaxy Z Fold6, the Vivo X Fold3 Pro, the OnePlus Open (and at this point, it is but obvious to wonder why foldable phones, except OnePlus’ effort, have such complicated naming schemes). Each foldable has its strengths, and the Pixel 9 Pro Fold’s no different.
The 6.3-inch cover screen (this is shared with the Pixel 9 phone; contrary to confusion, it’s not the screen on a Pixel 9 Pro) on the Pixel 9 Pro Fold is nicer to use than pretty much all of its competition, bar perhaps the OnePlus Fold. I didn’t expect it to be as much, but did spend more time on the cover screen than I have with any foldable previously. Good to know, you don’t necessarily need to unfold the phone, for every task. Emails, quick message replies, Instagram scrolling, all very much doable on the cover display. The OLED foldable screen, being the biggest of the lot in terms of usable real estate, has that advantage over the Galaxy Z Fold6’s highly immersive screen.
Also Read: Google Pixel 9 and Pixel 9 Pro XL as AI superphones, augmenting Android’s acumen
Being a Pixel phone, you’d have some sense of expectations from the cameras, and that’s where it’s closest in competition with Vivo’s X Fold3 Pro. The theme here is, no foldable is perfect and all have their strengths. This screen doesn’t have the ability to clock down the refresh rate to as low at 1Hz (it’ll alternate between 60Hz and 120Hz). Not exactly a deal-breaker, but a miss nonetheless on a premium phone. Yet, Google’s done enough with ergonomics, usability and Android itself, to nail more successes with its second generation foldable, than foldable generally manage.
Not to say that it is perfect, but it’s close. The 8-inch foldable screen gives you the benefit of having a tablet-esque experience when you so want that. Reading an e-book whilst waiting for a flight (it’s often more prudent to read, than while away time with pointless videos) is quite a pleasant experience. More so because the Kindle app on Google’s foldable, is an absolute delight. There are advantages that stem from stock Android, yet at the same time, there is a definite argument Google could have done more to extend multi-tasking capabilities (so far, only two apps, side by side)—how more than one app can use the screen space. Our perspective comes from the flexible OnePlus’ Open Canvas and quite how neatly Samsung’s One UI manages more than two apps.
Also Read: Samsung’s graceful tightrope walk, as Galaxy Z Fold6 retains its foldables lead
Much like its Pixel 9 and Pixel 9 Pro siblings, the Pixel 9 Pro Fold gets the same level of artificial intelligence goodness with Google Gemini—the key is to ensure you sign up for the Google One offer which bundles one year of the Google One AI Premium plan (that’s otherwise ₹1,950 per month). We’ve covered that in detail, in those reviews.
The fact of the matter is, the Pixel 9 Pro Fold holds only the sort of shortcoming that seem to be par for course for this generation of foldable. For instance, the cameras are half a step behind the regular Pixel 9 Pro phones. That’s also the case with Samsung’s foldable, though Vivo bucked that trend to an extent. It’s not the lightest among the 2024 foldable troika, but Google’s won the battle of the millimeters, since the Pixel 9 Pro Fold is the slimmest. To summarise the pros with the cons, there is very little to dissuade you from spending ₹1,72,999 on this phone.
Except perhaps, that ₹1,72,999 price tag itself. Google’s expecting you to part with a significant premium over all the other foldable choices you have. Samsung’s plastered the ₹1,64,999 price tag on the Galaxy Z Fold6, but a constant stream of offers means you actually spend much lesser if you’ve played the cards right. The Vivo X Fold3 Pro can also be had for around ₹1,49,999 with the discounts in place. The OnePlus Open has held value well, commanding a sticker price of ₹1,39,999 onwards. With that perspective, you do have second thoughts about paying that significant sum more for the Pixel foldable.
Also Read: For Vivo X Fold3 Pro, three generations of refinements define characteristics
The camera tradeoffs are plerplexing, more so considering you’d have a baseline expectation from a Pixel phone. The main sensor on the fold is 48-megapixel, but it isn’t as much the megapixels as the 50-megapixel sensor on the Pixel 9 Pro having a larger sensor. There’s that trade-off with lighting, in some scenarios. The telephoto and ultrawide are a signifciant step back in terms of hardware, and the resulting performance. My suspicion is, Google was hoping AI and software smarts would compensate, but they’ve probably left behind the scenes processing with too much to do.
All said and done, the Pixel 9 Pro Fold does make a lot of sense, if you are ready to pay that extra premium compared with its foldable phone competition, for the pure Android experience. It works as a normal form factor phone, it is even better when unfolded. It isn’t without its own set of tradeoffs, but then again, which foldable isn’t. That said, the Pixel foldables haven’t yet withstood the test of time, a bridge Samsung’s crossed time and again. Father time makes no round trips.
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