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A year before the expected launch of the iPhone Fold, the world of folding phones has become fiercely competitive. Oppo first dropped the world’s thinnest folding phone — the Oppo Find N5 — earlier this year, but then limited its release to just China and Singapore. 

A few months later, Honor launched the new Magic V5 at the beginning of July, which stole the Find N5’s title, and just a week later, Samsung launched the most impressive folding phone this year, the Galaxy Z Fold 7. Unlike its competitors, the Galaxy Z Fold 7 has a key advantage: it’s available in all major markets, including the US.

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Against this backdrop, Google just announced the successor to last year’s Pixel 9 Pro Fold at an event earlier today in New York. The Pixel 10 Pro Fold builds upon last year’s excellent folding phone, but it also bucks the trend amongst its peers; rather than going thinner, Google made it thicker.

(function(){if(document.currentScript){var e=document.currentScript.parentNode;if(e.classList.contains(‘dtads-location’)){if(!e.classList.contains(‘dtads-‘+window.DTScenario.getExperience())){e.parentNode.removeChild(e)}}}}());I spent half an hour with Google’s new folding phone earlier today, and it’s an iterative upgrade with a few key improvements, but one major drawback. Here’s our first look at Google’s new folding phone.

The Pixel 10 Pro Fold has flagship hardware

Nirave Gondhia / Digital Trends

The Pixel 9 Pro Fold was a welcome improvement over the first-generation Pixel Fold, and saw Google improve every facet of the design in a major overhaul that would have been better placed in this tenth-anniversary version of the Pixel series.

(function(){if(document.currentScript){var e=document.currentScript.parentNode;if(e.classList.contains(‘dtads-location’)){if(!e.classList.contains(‘dtads-‘+window.DTScenario.getExperience())){e.parentNode.removeChild(e)}}}}());The Pixel 10 Pro Fold is the first folding phone with full IP68 dust and water resistance, which ensures it boasts the same durability as many of the best phones. The hinge has also been improved, and it’s twice as durable as the last generation, with Google also claiming that it can handle over ten years of folding.Nirave Gondhia / Digital Trends

The front features a 6.4-inch Actua display, which is 0.1 inches larger than the Pixel 9 Pro Fold, with a dynamic refresh rate between 60Hz and 120 Hz, Gorilla Glass Victus 2 protection, and up to 3000 nits peak brightness. The main display is the same 8-inch display used in the Pixel 9 Pro Fold, although it’s slightly brighter at the same 3,000 nits, and it also supports a max refresh rate of 120Hz alongside Gorilla Glass Victus 2 protection. 

(function(){if(document.currentScript){var e=document.currentScript.parentNode;if(e.classList.contains(‘dtads-location’)){if(!e.classList.contains(‘dtads-‘+window.DTScenario.getExperience())){e.parentNode.removeChild(e)}}}}());The rear also features the same triple camera setup from last year’s model, with a 48MP wide camera with f/1.7 aperture, a 10.5MP ultrawide camera with f/2.2 aperture, and a 10.8MP telephoto camera with f/3.1 aperture that offers up to 5x optical zoom. The latter two lenses are on par with the Galaxy Z Fold 7 — albeit with better zoom performance — but Samsung’s latest folding phone brings the 200MP camera found in the Galaxy S25 Ultra, and it could outperform Google’s folding phone in this key area.

It will also likely have strong battery life and charging

Nirave Gondhia / Digital Trends

Then there’s the battery and charging; like the rest of the Pixel 10 series, the Pixel 10 Pro Fold features Google’s PixelSnap charging solution, which is otherwise known as Qi2 charging, and the Pixel 10 Pro Fold is the first folding phone to have this feature built in. This means it supports magnetic wireless charging at up to 15W charging speeds, but unlike the Galaxy Z Fold 7, it doesn’t require a case to enable Qi2 charging. 

As well as a big improvement in wireless charging, Google has also increased the battery size of the Pixel 10 Pro Fold to a 5,015 mAh battery, almost eight percent larger than the 4,650 mAh battery in the Pixel 9 Pro Fold. This is paired with faster 30W charging, which Google claims can charge the Pixel 10 Pro Fold to 50% in just 30 minutes.The new Google Pixel Stand with PixelSnap Nirave Gondhia / Digital TrendsThe new Google Pixel Stand with PixelSnap Nirave Gondhia / Digital TrendsThe new Google Pixel Stand with PixelSnap Nirave Gondhia / Digital Trends

Charging speeds were a notable criticism of the Pixel 9 Pro Fold last year, and the improvements in both wired and wireless speeds this year make this a strong contender if you’re looking for the best folding phone for battery life in the US.

A new era for the Tensor processor

Nirave Gondhia / Digital Trends

Much like several other of its features, the Pixel 10 Pro Fold also features the new Tensor G5 processor that powers the rest of the Pixel 10 series. This marks a watershed moment for Google’s nascent processor efforts, as the company has switched foundries from Samsung to TSMC, the same chipmaker that builds the chipsets used in many of the world’s best phones.

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The Tensor G5 is built on the same 3nm processor used in most chipsets, and according to Google, the CPU is on average 34% faster than the Tensor G4 used last year. The Tensor Processing Unit (TPU) — a specialized ASIC designed by Google to accelerate machine learning records — has also been vastly improved and is now 60% more powerful than the TPU in the Tensor G4.

(function(){if(document.currentScript){var e=document.currentScript.parentNode;if(e.classList.contains(‘dtads-location’)){if(!e.classList.contains(‘dtads-‘+window.DTScenario.getExperience())){e.parentNode.removeChild(e)}}}}());Alongside these notable improvements, the Tensor G5 also brings a host of improvements, including much faster on-device AI performance and an upgraded ISP for better photography. The Tensor G5 is paired with 16GB of RAM and should yield vastly improved performance for a true flagship experience.

Several new Gemini, AI, and software features

Nirave Gondhia / Digital Trends

As you might expect from Google, there’s a host of new Gemini, AI, and software features designed to take advantage of the unique form factor of the Pixel 10 Pro Fold.

Related: 

I tested three key Pixel AI features on Pixel 10 Pro, here’s what happened
All of Google’s new Pixel 10 lineup features a new set of helpful, proactive suggestions throughout the UI, which are designed to help surface information before you know that you need it. Nirave Gondhia / Digital TrendsNirave Gondhia / Digital TrendsNirave Gondhia / Digital Trends

The highlight of these new features is MagicCue, which leverages the Tensor G5 processor and Google’s Gemini Nano model for real-time processing of information to enable contextual suggestions. These can include things like adding events, previewing weather forecasts for upcoming trips, and settling a bill, but Google says this will become much more useful the more you use the phone.

(function(){if(document.currentScript){var e=document.currentScript.parentNode;if(e.classList.contains(‘dtads-location’)){if(!e.classList.contains(‘dtads-‘+window.DTScenario.getExperience())){e.parentNode.removeChild(e)}}}}());There’s also a new Daily Hub, a personalized digest with upcoming calendar events and other pertinent information, as well as new AI-powered real-time translation of voice calls, with the person on the other end able to hear the translation in their language but in your voice. There are also improvements to call screening as well as the wider suite of Gemini-powered features that have become synonymous with Google’s smartphone lineup.

There’s just one big flaw with the Pixel 10 Pro Fold

Nirave Gondhia / Digital Trends

In a vacuum, the Pixel 10 Pro Fold would be fairly impressive, but other smartphones exist. While the Pixel 10 Pro Fold is mighty impressive, it also has one major drawback: the thickness, as mentioned earlier.

(function(){if(document.currentScript){var e=document.currentScript.parentNode;if(e.classList.contains(‘dtads-location’)){if(!e.classList.contains(‘dtads-‘+window.DTScenario.getExperience())){e.parentNode.removeChild(e)}}}}());The Pixel 9 Pro Fold measures 5.1mm thick when unfolded and 10.5mm thick when folded, which made it slimmer than the Galaxy Z Fold 6 last year. However, while Samsung has made the Galaxy Z Fold 7 much thinner this year — it measures 4.2 mm and 8.9 mm, respectively — Google chose not to follow suit, and the Pixel 10 Pro Fold measures 5.2mm thick when unfolded, and 10.8mm when folded.Nirave Gondhia / Digital Trends

Alongside this, the Pixel 10 Pro Fold is also heavier than the competition. Weighing 258 grams, it is one gram heavier than last year, but 43 grams heavier than the Galaxy Z Fold 7, or almost 17 percent. This additional weight is immediately noticeable, and the size remains the biggest flaw I noticed with the Pixel 10 Pro Fold in my brief time with it. It still feels incredibly premium in the hand, but it’s noticeably bulkier than the Galaxy Z Fold 7.

(function(){if(document.currentScript){var e=document.currentScript.parentNode;if(e.classList.contains(‘dtads-location’)){if(!e.classList.contains(‘dtads-‘+window.DTScenario.getExperience())){e.parentNode.removeChild(e)}}}}());Is it a deal-breaker? We’ll find out in our full review, but for now, it’s one big flaw that detracts from an otherwise excellent folding phone.Nirave Gondhia / Digital Trends

The Pixel 10 Pro Fold is available to pre-order today (August 20) for the same $1,799 price as the Pixel 9 Pro Fold, but it won’t be released until October 9. It comes in two colors — Moonstone and Jade — and while the price is high, the best Pixel 10 deals can help take the sting out of the price tag. 

Buy for $1799 at Amazon