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The Pixel Fold is Google’s super-sleek take on a big flexible phone

Today at Google I/O 2023, Google finally announced its first foldable phone: the Pixel Fold. Unlike Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold line, the Pixel Fold sports a wider 5.8-inch exterior screen with a 17.4:9 aspect ratio, which makes it feel like a more full-featured device before you ever open it up. Meanwhile on the inside, there’s a big 7.6-inch interior display along with IP67 water resistance and a super sleek design that measures less than 6mm thick. And around back there’s a big rear camera module with a 5x optical zoom, just like on the Pixel 7 Pro. So even though this is Google’s first device with a flexible display, it doesn’t feel like a first-gen gadget. However, the big downside is that with prices starting at $1,800 (pre-orders go live today on May 10th), it definitely ain’t cheap.

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Video transcript

SAM RUTHERFORD: I've been daily driving some version of the Galaxy Z Fold for the last three years. So I've been waiting so long for somebody, anybody, to come along and give Samsung's big foldable phone a real challenge. And that's especially in the US, where we can't buy stuff like the OPPO Find N2. And this summer, after years of rumors, that might finally happen when Google releases the Pixel Fold.

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Now right off the bat, Google's foldable features a very different design, thanks to a wider 5.8-inch exterior screen with a 17.4 by 9 aspect ratio. This makes a huge difference, because by giving you more usable screen on the outside, before you even open it up, the Pixel Fold functions more like a full-featured device compared to something like the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold, whose small exterior cover screen is better for doing simple tasks like looking up directions or responding to texts. The Pixel Fold's wider dimensions also make it feel different, too, as it's shaped more like a passport than Samsung's skinnier baton-like phone.

On top of that, while the Pixel Fold weighs 10 ounces or about 283 grams, it's actually a touch heavier than the Galaxy Z Fold, which weighs about 263 grams. However, thanks to that wider body and the super thin design that measures less than 6 millimeters thick, it actually feels like the lighter device. And to hold everything together, Google created a hinge that sits on the outside so that there's less of a gap between the two halves, resulting in an almost completely flat device when closed.

As for its flexible main screen, we're looking at a big 7.6-inch OLED display with bright, vivid colors. The big difference is that the Pixel Fold features slightly larger bezels. And instead of an under-display sensor like Samsung uses, Google has opted for a more traditional camera located in the top right corner. That said, you can see they still haven't completely solved the creasing issues, so there is that.

Where things get really interesting, though, is the Pixel Fold's software and multitasking features. Even though I've only had a few minutes to play around with it thus far, I love how snappy and responsive it feels. Little things like switching from the front screen to the interior screen is super smooth. And I got to say, the way Google syncs the bird's wings on the wallpaper with the position of the display is a really nice touch.

It also seems like Google has learned from Samsung a bit, like with the disappearing taskbar that you can summon by swiping up from the bottom of the screen-- another really handy feature. And you don't have to see all the time, so it doesn't get in the way. On the software side, Google says that more than 50 first-party apps have already been optimized to run on devices with large screens like the Pixel Fold.

You can see this in apps like YouTube, which automatically switch to a special UI when the phone is bent in half. And while we weren't able to test it out ourselves, Google briefly showed off a new interpreter mode that uses both the inside and the outside screen at the same time. And that works with the phone's speech recognition so that people can see multiple languages being translated in real time, which is a really interesting use of both of those screens.

Moving on to photos, despite the challenge of finding room for camera sensors on a phone this thin, you still get essentially the same great camera experience we saw on the Pixel 7 Pro, including that 5x telephoto zoom. That's really nice to see compared to something like the Z Fold 4, which suffers from sensors and cameras that aren't quite as good as what were available on the S22 Ultra, and that's with the Z Fold 4 costing more money. That said, just like Samsung, Google has included some nifty photo modes that allow you to shoot pics when the phone is half open or by using the rear camera and the front screen at the same time to capture super detailed selfies.

Finally, rounding out the Pixel Fold's specs are a list of very premium components. We're talking a Tensor G2 chip; 120 hertz refresh rates on both screens; full IPX8 water resistance, which remains a kind of a rarity among foldable phones; a side-mounted fingerprint sensor built into its power button; support for face unlock; and a whole lot more. The one thing you don't get, though, is native stylus support, which is available on the Z Fold 4.

But that said, when there's no place to store the stylus on the phone, I kind of get skipping out on that. The one big downside, though, is that the Pixel Fold also sports a very premium price of $1,800, which is a lot. There's really no getting around that. I was really hoping to see the price of big foldable phones come down a bit now that they've been around for multiple generations. But considering that's basically the same cost as the Galaxy Z Fold 4, it's hard to be too mad.

Now even though I didn't have a ton of time to play around with it, one thing that really struck me when I had the chance to talk to some of the Pixel Fold's engineers is that they told me this phone represents Google's best efforts to put its own spin on a big, fancy, foldable device. And after seeing it, I definitely get it.

Between its wider screens and remix design, there's no way you're getting this thing confused with the Galaxy Z Fold. But even more than that, I appreciate how Google didn't cut corners with the Pixel Fold's cameras while also supporting more optimized software, which is a big deal when it comes to devices like this.

And if you'll allow me to throw one last comparison in the mix, in a lot of ways, I feel like the Pixel Fold is an even more refined version of what I always wanted the Surface Duo to be. It's got a similar shape, thanks to its sleek design, but with an extra display on the outside for even better usability and, obviously, much better software. And as a longtime user of big foldable phones, I can't wait to test this thing out for real when it comes out sometime later this summer.

So that's it from us today. But now that we have a better look at what could be a really good Samsung Z Fold competitor, I want to hear what you think down in the comments below. And as always, don't forget to toss us a like and subscribe for more videos, hands-ons, and news coming real soon from Engadget.

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