One of last twelvemonth ’s good surprises was the redesignedPixel 9 Pro Fold . Google ’s 2nd - contemporaries folding earphone situate most of the challenges identified with the Pixel Fold and positioned it as the folding eq of the Pixel 9 Pro serial .
Flagship performance , a squared design , and the iconic porcelain white colorway all help the Pixel 9 Pro Fold to feel part of the current card rather than as a disjoined mathematical product compass as Samsung did with theGalaxy Z Fold 6andGalaxy omega Flip 6 .
Yet , there is one area in which the Pixel 9 Pro Fold is distinctly inferior to its siblings in the same lineup : the tv camera . The best folding telephone have still fail to oppose their non - folding cousins in the camera , and the Pixel 9 Pro Fold is no dissimilar .
Google Pixel 9 (left), Pixel 9 Pro, and Pixel 9 Pro FoldAndy Boxall / Digital Trends
I had hope that the approaching Pixel 10 Pro Fold would be different , but while the rest of the lineup will get detectable improvements , the Pixel 10 Pro Fold will have minor change , at least if the latest rumors are to be think . Here ’s why that would be a error for Google .
The Pixel 9 Pro Fold camera (versus the Pixel 9 lineup)
Like the Galaxy Z Fold 6 , the Pixel 9 Pro sheep pen features a potent main camera and low - answer ultrawide and telephotograph cameras that feel fairly like an afterthought . By comparison , the respite of thePixel 9lineup features the same solid main camera , but where applicable , paired with good quality ultrawide and/or telephotograph detector .
Here ’s how the Pixel 9 Pro Fold television camera compares to the residual of the Pixel 9 batting order :
The Pixel 9 Pro Fold is the most expensive sound in the Pixel 9 lineup , cost $ 1,800 , but the cheapest phone — theGoogle Pixel 9a , which launches in a few days — has a good camera , at least on newspaper . In picky , the 13MP ultrawide camera will move over slightly better - quality photos than the 10.5MP ultrawide camera on the Pixel 9 Pro Fold . For context , the Pixel 9a be $ 449 , a quarter of the price .
The Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold next to the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6.Ajay Kumar / Digital Trends
Now look at the Pixel 9,Pixel 9 Pro , andPixel 9 Pro XL , and the primal trouble with the Pixel 9 Pro Fold photographic camera becomes evident . The Pixel 9 is priced at roughly a third of the Fold , yet the ultrawide camera is significantly full . In addition , although the 10.8MP telephotograph on the Pixel 9 Pro Fold offers 5x optic zoom , it ’s lower character than the 48MP telephotograph on its Pro siblings .
How the Pixel 9 Pro Fold compares to the competition
At the time , the Pixel 9 Pro Fold matched the competition , but in the past year , we ’ve also witness some improvements in the key competition . The big of these is the Galaxy Z Fold 6 , and the Pixel 9 Pro Fold is nearly identical to Samsung ’s flagship folding phone . However , looking at the global market , it becomes unmistakable that Google needs to evolve the Pixel Fold camera .
Google ’s key challenge is that these close phone are more than 1 mm thinner and boast good cameras . TheHonor Magic V3set records for thinness last year — which stood until theOppo uncovering N5launched two months ago — but despite this , it features a compelling 50MP periscope telephoto alongside the 40MP ultrawide . Meanwhile , the Oppo Find N5 also features a 50MP periscope telephotograph but pairs with a low-toned - answer 8MP ultrawide camera .
The periscope telephoto lense on the Find N5 and Magic V3 offers ~3 - 3.5x optical zoom and a 6x loanblend zoom that relies on a combination of telephoto and AI processing . Throughout the past year , this camera frame-up has try out to be super effective , and given how effective Google has been with inferior hardware in the past , I would love to see what Google could do with this apparatus .
Joe Maring / Digital Trends
The latest Pixel 10 Pro Fold camera rumors
Unfortunately , it looks quite probable that we ’ll be hold off at least a year to find out out . A recent leak divulge that Google only plans major change for thePixel 10 , not the ease of the lineup . The Pixel 10 will get a consecrated telephoto camera — a first for Google ’s entranceway - grade devices — while the Pixel 10 Pro and Pixel 10 Pro XL will feature the same camera as the Pixel 9 Pro lineup .
The Pixel 10 Pro Fold ? There is a change , and it ’s not what you may expect . The telephoto and ultrawide photographic camera are expected to stay the same , and rather , Google is rumor to be using the same 50MP main camera found in the Pixel 9a . This will ultimately further enhance my cardinal offspring with Google ’s folding headphone .
Where Google could get it all wrong
My biggest issue is n’t hardware - interrelate ; it ’s how Google has positioned its folding phone . Using the Pro branding leads to expectations of a Pro experience . While the Pixel 9 Pro Fold camera carry many hallmarks of the Pixel 9 Pro camera , it lacks the overall polish that its Pro sibling have .
Samsung faces the same challenges with its folding phone . Oppo and Honor have already proven that it is possible to sport a flagship - quality camera in a folding telephone without compromising the other key region too much .
The Oppo Find N5 features main and telephoto sensors that would n’t be out of blank space on a flagship telephone set and has proven extremely equal to in my examination . Meanwhile , the Honor Magic V3 features three large sensors that would also eliminate muster on a flagship earphone .
Ajay Kumar / Digital Trends
fold up phones have long mean that customers have to choose and , at last , spend more money on a phone with two cover but more compromise . The Find N5 and Magic V3 proved that a fold phone could feature a flagship three-fold camera , and I had hop that Google would come after suit , but this rumor suggests otherwise . Will theSamsung Galaxy Z Fold 7deliver or else ?
Andy Boxall / Digital Trends
