Just a normal phone until it stops working

With the Pixel 9 Pro Fold, Google not only released its second foldable smartphone, but also a model that feels closer to a regular smartphone than any that’s come before it. I’ve spent the last month with the Pixel 9 Pro Fold to find out just how close it is, and whether it’s a foldable smartphone ready for prime time.

If I’m reviewing just the hardware, Google hit the nail on the head with the Pixel 9 Pro Fold. With “one simple trick,” the second foldable smartphone in the Pixel lineup takes the form factor from unique to practical. The software catches up, and the package is recommendable, albeit with a few caveats.

Those concerns are price and software. I’ll get to the latter, but the former will be the biggest issue for those considering a foldable model.

The Pixel 9 Pro Fold comes in two specs: a 256GB model for $1,799 and a 512GB version for $1,919. That’s the high-end of the flagship price range, and it puts the 9 Pro Fold well ahead of the likes of the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra and iPhone 16 Pro Max. Foldable smartphones are cutting-edge technology. Because they rely on expensive components and offer smaller production runs, there are far fewer economies of scale to be had. If you want to join the revolution, you’ll have to pay for the privilege.

That simple trick I mentioned is about fitting a foldable smartphone into a regular smartphone. In this case, the Pixel 9 Pro Fold is clearly connected to the Pixel 9 in terms of size and use.

The Pixel 9 Pro Fold’s external screen is 6.3 inches with a resolution of 1280 x 2856 pixels, giving it a 20:9 aspect ratio. That’s the same size as the Pixel 9 (though the 9 Pro Fold has more rounded corners on the edge of the display). Unlike other foldable phones, when the phone is closed and you’re using the external screen, there are no visual cues that this is a foldable phone.

For all intents and purposes, the Pixel 9 Pro Fold is a Pixel 9. The screen size hasn’t changed its aspect ratio, the bezels aren’t obtrusive, and the phone is comfortable to hold, though it’s a bit bulkier around the hinge. Yes, it’s a bit heavier, smaller, and more substantial than current flagships and premium devices, but it’s “just a phone.”

Then it unfolds. And that simple “make it a Pixel 9” trick takes an interesting turn, because the unfolded screen is the equivalent of two Pixel 9 screens side by side. It’s not perfect in terms of pixels; it’s perfect in terms of principles. I’ve seen split-screen interfaces on a few smartphones and tablets before, but like the convenient aspect ratio on the outside of the 9 Pro Fold, it offers a convenient split-screen experience that’s the equivalent of two phones side by side.

The interface allows you to move the central bar between two apps, so you can move one to a more ribbon-like view next to the extended screen for the main app, but that’s the only choice you can make. Other foldable apps allow a floating window above the apps instead of a split-screen option. From a UI perspective, I’d like to see owners have the option of splitting or floating to use the multitasking feature.

Still, the 9 Pro Fold is built around a large, folded display, offering a tablet-like experience in a smartphone when using a single app. For me, this is the Fold’s weakest point, and it comes down to Android apps not taking into account the impact of the tablet-style screen.

Many information-driven apps have a user interface that places each entry (whether an email, a calendar appointment, a directory entry, or something else) in a scrollable content bar on the left side of the screen. Tap one, and it opens to display the content in a larger window. On a tall, narrow smartphone, the list takes up the entire screen, and tapping opens the content full screen. On a tablet, there’s room to display both the list and the content together.

However, if the application is not ready for this or needs a wider screen than the one provided, an awkward situation arises in which the content list takes up the entire screen, and opening it to the content also stretches over the entire screen surface.

It all depends on the application. Developers take into account the screen size to arrange UI elements, but they don’t always decide to program the view for tablets or devices with large screens, such as foldables. Some developers have mastered this, and these are some of the best apps to run on foldable devices.

It’s no surprise that Microsoft’s Android apps, especially Outlook, are comfortable with the folded screen. After all, it’s the exact same methodology we saw on the Microsoft Surface Duo. While there was a solid bar between the Duo’s two screens, compared to the fold in the folded single screen here, Microsoft’s device ran a single app across two screens, and offered both a ribbon on the left and a main content screen on the right.

Compare that to Gmail on the 9 Pro Fold, which shows a single ribbon stretched across the width of the device. While not unusable, it’s not convenient.

There’s an answer to this problem; head to the app’s info screen, where you can force an aspect ratio on an app if it’s opened solo on the inner display. You can set it to full screen, 3:2 radio, or half screen. The latter option essentially forces the app to display the screen as if it were on the Pixel 9 Pro, ensuring maximum compatibility, but at the cost of the wider screen.

The 3:2 aspect ratio is a compromise. It offers a wider view of apps, but not so wide that vertical ribbon interfaces feel awkward and unwieldy. At the app level, it works for me — I can get a wider view, which is more convenient when reading a lot of text, and it’s not as awkward when reading a large list. But it’s foldable, and expensive. Google’s apps should be best-in-class for this device, but there are times when I wonder if everyone is on the same page.

The settings app happily splits the list of categories on the left and their contents on the right; a solution I would expect in apps, perhaps with an option to minimize the left side for a full screen reading experience when appropriate. Gmail only offers a very wide reading experience for both views. Then you have the contacts app, which is annoying; you have a left and right split, with your names on the left and the details of a single entry on the right… but the split between the left and right views does not align with the fold in the middle of the screen.

Some Google apps present themselves in a way that feels right. The Calendar app starts out with a full-width view, which is awkward in day view but works wonderfully in week and month views. Tap an entry, though, and you get a perfect split, with the entry opening on the left and the day/week/month view compressed on the right — although I’ll note that every other UI places the details of individual entries on the right side of the screen, while the Calendar app moves to the left

Third-party apps are essential to any smartphone or tablet. The Pixel 9 Pro Fold offers a standard smartphone look, side-by-side multitasking environment, and tablet experience, so it has to do all three things well to provide a smooth user experience. The first two are achieved, the third not.

Google needs to continue to encourage the ecosystem to embrace the third form factor. The work to bring app support to large-screen Android devices—which includes tablets and foldables from every Android vendor, not just the Pixel line—requires ongoing evangelism. That Google continues to work on the foldable is a visible part of that, but the momentum needs to remain, and the drive behind the scenes for developers needs to continue.

The Pixel 9 Pro Fold is both gorgeous and annoying. Google has solved the screen protector problem and offers an authentic smartphone experience when the Fold is folded. The approach to multitasking, essentially offering two phones inside, is a practical way to achieve multitasking on a small and square tablet.

But the software experience for a full-screen app on an unfolded screen is iffy. Aside from the likely expected mix of third-party approaches, Google’s own suite of apps can’t agree on a single user experience when apps fill the screen. Some awkwardly take up the entire width, some have the classic list-entry split but apps can’t agree on which side should be the list and which the entry, and others can’t decide whether the information should be placed close to the edge or surrounded by large, pastel-colored borders.

The Pixel 9 Pro Fold is the first foldable smartphone that could be considered a workhorse and be used as a basic smartphone by the average consumer, but that very high price will keep the Fold as a specialist device, not a mass-market one.

Now read my interview with Google’s product team about the decisions that went into shaping Pixel’s second foldable smartphone…