The Google Pixel Fold is an enigma. It’s an inherently flawed foldable, using a Tensor G2 chipset that has a tendency to overheat, a brittle folding display with massive bezels, and a 283-gram weight that feels colossal. My utmost gripe with the Google Pixel Fold is its inability to open completely flat, a characteristic that only becomes worse as dust and debris lodge in the hinge mechanism. Here’s the thing: none of these flaws is derived from the foldable’s form factor.
If nothing else, the original Pixel Fold will go down as the device that proved a large foldable’s cover screen must be wide enough to be usable. It inspired Galaxy Z Fold models with wider aspect ratios, and the Pixel Fold’s future looked bright. Then, the OnePlus Open came out, and Google quickly left its unique foldable size behind, making the Pixel 9 Pro Fold and Pixel 10 Pro Fold a rip of the Open’s form factor. I’ve tried to love the new size, but the Pixel Fold is just better.
The Pixel Fold’s screen is better for content
Watching videos, reading, and gaming are perfect with this aspect ratio
Modern foldables, like the Pixel 10 Pro Fold and Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7, sport aspect ratios that are almost a perfect square. It’s an interesting choice when you think about it. The only other modern device type using a square (1:1) aspect ratio is game emulators. Everything else, from phones to tablets, uses non-square form factors, like 19.5:9 (iPhone 17 and Samsung Galaxy S25) or 20:9 (Google Pixel 10). There’s a key reason for this — these form factors handle both horizontal and vertical tasks well, whether you’re watching a widescreen movie or scrolling on TikTok.
Take a look at what watching a widescreen film is like on both the Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold (left) and the Pixel Fold (right), with both in the same orientation. Both the Pixel 9 Pro Fold and Pixel 10 Pro Fold have identical 8-inch inner displays. Although the Pixel 9 Pro Fold has a larger display, the Pixel Fold’s wider aspect ratio actually fits more content on the screen. The Pixel 9 Pro Fold and Pixel 10 Pro Fold, by comparison, will simply show larger black bars.
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Other tasks, like spreadsheet management and word processing, are also easier on the original Pixel Fold. That’s because when you rotate the opened Pixel Fold, you now have a tall display that’s perfect for scrolling and big-screen productivity tasks. While square foldables like the Pixel 10 Pro Fold or the Galaxy Z Fold 7 might seem better, they impose hard limits on both vertical and horizontal space.
These constraints really come into play when using “tabletop mode” or “flex mode” — that’s when you use a foldable half-opened like a laptop. I love using this mode, as it serves as a built-in stand for video watching while eliminating excess black bars. Except when using square-ish folding phones, those black bars return, shrinking the size of your video down to that of the average smartphone or smaller.
Credit: Brady Snyder / MakeUseOf
For e-reading, both sides of the Pixel Fold have ample space for text, simulating the feel of a physical book. It’s rare to see a device so well-suited for a variety of tasks. I prefer the Pixel Fold form factor over newer models because it can handle everything from reading and text editing to both vertical and widescreen video content consumption.
The wide and thick form factor isn’t horrible
Thinner and taller foldables have issues of their own
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I have issues with the Pixel Fold’s durability and the excess weight. The build quality concerns about the handset have been significantly overblown, though. Sure, the bezels are chunky, the hinge isn’t that smooth, and you can forget modern advances like dust-resistance. However, mine is still working great a few years post-launch, unlike early Galaxy Z Fold and Flip models that tended to crack along the crease after a year or two of use.
At 12.1mm thick when folded, the Google Pixel Fold isn’t much thicker than the latest Pixel 10 Pro Fold. I certainly envy the Qi2 support and matte aluminum side rails of the Pixel 10 Pro Fold, which is 10.8mm thick. About a millimeter of extra thickness isn’t too hard to live with on the Pixel Fold.
Credit: Brady Snyder / MakeUseOf
The quest for ultra-thin folding phones comes with a few side effects, too. The slimmest options, including the Galaxy Z Fold 7, have lost their ability to stay open at all angles. Due to the lightweight nature of the Galaxy Z Fold 7 in particular, flex mode is effectively unusable because it topples over when trying to set natural viewing angles. The Pixel Fold’s width, weight, and thickness are advantageous for that reason.
Android 16 brought new multitasking features
The Pixel Fold is still getting better
Credit: Brady Snyder / MakeUseOf
With the hardware still going strong, it’s great to see the original Pixel Fold continuing to receive software updates. I’ve upgraded mine to Android 16, and that added all the best multitasking upgrades from the Pixel 9 Pro Fold and Pixel 10 Pro Fold. Additionally, the upgrade includes Material 3 Expressive, giving this older foldable a fresh coat of paint on the software side. From a multitasking perspective, the wide aspect ratio lets you comfortably use two apps side by side in split view without constraints.
The Pixel Fold deserved a true successor
Choice in the smartphone market isn’t about having multiple brands make the same phone. Right now, that’s what’s happening in the foldable market. In the U.S., the Galaxy Z Fold 7, Pixel 10 Pro Fold, and OnePlus Open are all basically the same device with minor differences. We used to have foldables with different form factors across models from Samsung, Google, and OnePlus, but now we’re down to one. After revisiting the original Pixel Fold, it’s clear we lost the best one.
SoC
Google Tensor G2
Display
5.8-inch cover display, 7.6-inch main display
Operating System
Upgradeable to Android 16
The Google Pixel Fold is a folding phone powered by the Tensor G2 chip with a wide aspect ratio. It’s upgradeable to Android 16 and is available for around $500 in 2026 a few years post-release.
