Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold is the foldable phone I wanted from Samsung

I was initially quite skeptical about the Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold, especially since I didn’t have a chance to try out the previous model as it never came to Australia, where I live.

Foldable phones exist in a fragile space where it’s hard to tell who they’re for. The gimmick of a foldable screen comes with a hefty price tag and specs that often aren’t as good as similarly priced flagship phones. It’s no wonder they struggle to fly off the shelves — but after a week with the Pixel 9 Pro Fold, I feel a little better about this smartphone subcategory.

This year’s Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 and Z Flip 6 have been brought more into line with the Galaxy S24 range in terms of specs and aesthetics, but this is only Google’s second attempt at a foldable phone. Google’s phones are also known for being a bit underpowered compared to other Android devices – that’s true of the Pixel 9 Pro Fold, but Google’s brilliant operating system makes the transition to a foldable form factor all the easier – and in my opinion, that makes all the difference.

I’ve written about Google’s brilliant operating system before and have long raved about it, but I’m going to take the Pixel 9 Pro Fold a step further. I think it’s the perfect first foldable phone, whether you’re a long-time iPhone user or curious about foldable screens.

Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold in folded mode

(Photo credit: Techradar / Zachariah Kelly)

Open up

As I mentioned, Google’s first foldable smartphone completely bypassed the Australian launch, so I never got a chance to check it out, but on my second attempt, the search giant remembered the market Down Under and put its flashiest toy yet up for sale. Over the past week, I’ve finally been able to see what the company has in store for myself, but you can read more about it in our in-depth Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold review .

I’m a huge fan of the Google Pixel series. Ever since the soft reboot that introduced the camera bar in the Pixel 6 series, it’s held the top spot for me as the phone I recommend to iPhone users who want to leave their iPhone in Apple’s garden. I don’t think Google’s phones are as well-suited to long-time Android users as you can get better performance from similarly priced Samsung flagships, but the clean and lightweight Android OS on the Pixel phones would give Apple fans a sense of familiarity.

That’s absolutely true of the Pixel 9 Pro Fold – this phone is great if you’re an iPhone 14 or iPhone 13 user looking to upgrade to a foldable but don’t want to deal with the many complications that come with some versions of Android. It’s well-designed and feels like a real contender for Samsung’s foldables, while also being cheaper than the Samsung Fold.

That said, it’s a bit pricey, coming in at $1,799 / £1,799 / AU$2,699 – a huge price increase over the Pixel 9 Pro XL’s $1,099 / £1,099 / AU$1,849 price tag. I don’t think the screen warrants such a drastic price premium over what is, spec-wise, a better phone, but it’s a great option if you want a tablet and phone in one. If Google could make the price of its foldable device more competitive, I think there’d be a lot more reason to love it.

Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold smartphone spread out on the table

(Photo credit: Techradar / Zachariah Kelly)

The problem with foldable phones is that they exist in a small market, and that has its drawbacks. You’re asking users to pay a lot of money for a gadget that doesn’t offer many real benefits, packed into a device that isn’t as powerful as its flagship devices. At least that’s what Samsung says – and while I love Samsung’s latest batch of foldable phones, it’s no wonder international sales have reportedly been weak (according to Phone Arena).

But I think these issues reveal the overall advantage Google could have over Samsung in the foldable phone market. Because it’s such a small space in the larger phone market, Google has a real chance to make headway and sway iPhone buyers into the Android ecosystem with a flashy gimmick that piques consumer curiosity. At the same time, Android users interested in foldable phones could jump on the Pixel 9 Pro Fold as their first taste of the technology.

The spec differences between the Pixel 9 Pro Fold and 9 Pro XL are subtle, with the 9 Pro XL including a much more impressive camera setup and a bigger battery – but the differences aren’t as drastic when you compare the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra to the Galaxy Z Fold 6. A better camera system, more processing power, and arguably the best display you can currently get in a smartphone are just some of the things that set the S24 Ultra apart from its foldable cousin.

So Google’s real victory comes from the fact that they’ve closed the gap between their flagship device and their foldable. I can’t give Google too much credit for that, considering the Pixel phones are based on an SoC that’s easily outperformed by the Snapdragon silicon in Samsung’s devices, but it does lead to a great option for consumers – a cheaper, book-style foldable phone than the one Samsung offers. Pair that with Google’s much more user-friendly operating system and I think there’s an absolute winner here.

Back of Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold

(Photo credit: Techradar / Zachariah Kelly)

But Google has to do something really interesting here

Of the three foldable smartphones released in the past three months, the Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold has my heart – but despite all the talk about syncing up between foldables and flagships, technically the Samsung Z Flip 6 is the winner in the budget category, even if the folding aspect is less useful.

To be honest, it’s hard to talk about the Galaxy Z Flip 6 and Pixel Fold 9 Pro in the same article, since the Z Flip 6 is significantly less powerful than its flagship counterparts and has a completely different form factor to its foldable sibling. The Flip is the winner as a compact phone (as its predecessor is currently listed as our pick on our best phones page), and its design is easy to love if you’re nostalgic for the pre-smartphone era with flip-up screens, but it’s an anomaly that falls outside of those two niches.

I hope that with the upcoming generation of Pixel devices, there will also be a Pixel Flip. Google could avoid the higher year-over-year costs by releasing updated Flip and Fold models interchangeably, so that one year there’s a Flip and the next a Fold. Furthermore, it would be great if Google released a foldable model that had more in common with the standard Pixel device due to its small form factor and less powerful specs, both as a way to further reduce the price and introduce a better separation between the standard Pixel range and the annually released “A” series model – which is often so good that I’m happy to recommend it to people over the standard Google range of devices.

The Pixel 9 Pro Fold is a brilliant phone and I love using it. It’s great as a tablet at home and in the office, and as a phone on the go. I’d like to see Google keep up the momentum with future devices, presenting a product that’s accessible both in terms of price and operating system.