Google's Pixel 9 Pro Fold Might Be a Sequel That Actually Delivers

The Pixel 9 Pro Fold enters a crowded space of new foldable phones from Samsung, OnePlus and Xiaomi. The new phone is a follow-up to Google's original Pixel Fold, and as sequels go, this could be a major one. Unveiled at the Made by Google event alongside the Pixel 9, 9 Pro and 9 Pro XL, the new book-style foldable has been overhauled in nearly every way, including its name. 

Google's announcement follows the releases of Motorola's Razr and Razr Plus and Samsung's Galaxy Z Flip 6 and Z Fold 6. Meanwhile, overseas, Honor announced one of the thinnest and lightest book-style foldables, the Magic V3, only for Xiaomi to match those superlatives with the Mix Fold 4. 

Of all the companies releasing foldables, Google has the trickiest path to navigate. The 9 Pro Fold has to address and improve on the original Fold's numerous shortcomings while also being competitive. And from what Google showed me, I think it has a good chance of doing both. 

 Pixel 9 Pro Fold's new name

This is not the Pixel Fold 2. No, no – it's the Pixel 9 Pro Fold. It's not the most catchy name, but it kind of doubles as a mission statement. In the same way that Samsung's Galaxy Z Flip 6 was like a foldable clamshell version of the Galaxy S24, Google seems to be positioning this new Fold as a Pixel 9 Pro that folds in half. 

And in some ways, that seems true. It has Google's new Tensor G4 processor, 16GB of RAM and the same new AI features as the Pixel 9 and 9 Pro (more on that later). Compared to the original Fold, which had a Tensor G2 chip and 12GB of RAM, this should be one heck of a performance upgrade. But in other ways, the 9 Pro Fold isn't quite living up to the "pro" in its name: The camera specs seem like a step down from the Pixel 9 Pro and the battery is smaller than the first Fold's. 

 The Pixel 9 Pro Fold's thinner design

The 9 Pro Fold weighs nearly an ounce less than last year's Fold, and that's noticeable from the moment you pick it up. (Though it's still heavier than the Z Fold 6 and OnePlus Open.) And when you open up the 9 Pro Fold, you can really notice just how svelte Google made things. It's just 5.1 millimeters thick, which is ridiculously thin. Compared to the original Pixel Fold, it feels like a completely different phone.

While the 9 Pro Fold isn't the thinnest foldable – that would be the Xiaomi Mix Fold 4 or Honor Magic V3 – it is the thinnest book-style foldable you can get in the US.

In terms of displays, the cover screen grew half an inch and is now 6.3 inches, the same size as the Pixel 9 Pro's screen. The 9 Pro Fold's cover screen has a 60-120Hz variable refresh rate and now has a higher peak brightness of 2,700 nits, a dramatic improvement over last year's 1,550 nits. All this, along with a higher contrast ratio, should make the new outer display easier to see outdoors on a bright day. 

 The interior screen also got a glow up. It's 8 inches compared to the Pixel Fold's 7.6-inch display and uses an LTPO panel, which gives it a variable refresh rate of 1-120Hz. The internal display's brightness is also 2,700 nits and the contrast ratio has also been doubled, like the cover screen, to 2,000,000:1. This should help make reading, writing, scrolling social media and watching videos so much better.

The cover glass and back glass are made of Gorilla Glass Victus 2 and the rear gets a lovely matte finish. The 9 Pro Fold comes in Obsidian or Porcelain colors. 

 The Pixel 9 Pro Fold's cameras

Pixel phones are known for their swanky camera tech, and the new Fold's cameras get some improvements. On the back, there's the same 48-megapixel main camera and 10.8-megapixel 5x telephoto camera as last year's model. But the ultrawide has a new 10.5-megapixel sensor, but this is one area where it falls behind the Pixel 9 Pro, which has a 48-megapixel ultrawide.

 The selfie camera and internal screen cameras also get upgrades. I'm keen to test these out as the original Pixel Fold had the best all-around camera system found on any foldable we tested in 2023. I'm curious to see if the image quality improves enough to be on the same level as Google's Pixel Pro slab phones. 

Being a foldable phone, Google has also added some extra camera modes that are just for the Pixel 9 Pro Fold, such as Made You Look. Like Motorola, this lets you display a fun animation on the cover screen while taking a photo so that you can get the perfect pic of your kid looking at the camera. The animations also react when the subject of the photo is smiling.

The cameras have a new AR-powered feature called Add Me that's designed for group shots where the person taking the photo can add themselves in. Basically you take one photo of the group and AR on the screen helps line up the photographer in the same locale for another photo which the phone merges together with the first. It seems absolutely wild and like it could be kind of useful.