Google Pixel Fold

The Pixel Fold is an impressive device, especially for a first generation. There’s room for improvement in software, though this relies on app developers as much as Google. The biggest turn-offs are the price and hefty weight, though these are intrinsic if you want a phone that unfolds into a tablet. And if you do, the Pixel Fold is one of the better ones to buy.

The Google Pixel Fold is a good-looking alternative to the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4, but with issues with the hinge, crease and more, it’s clear that it’s a first-gen device with improvements needed. It would’ve been somewhat more acceptable had the price not been quite so high, putting off all but the most dedicated Pixel fans.

The Google Pixel Fold offers solid performance and strong build quality in a versatile folding form factor but is outperformed by Samsung when it comes to productivity.

The Pixel Fold is far from disastrous, which you couldn’t say about Samsung or Motorola’s first foldable attempts. But those companies are several generations in now and have ironed out a lot of the kinks. Google seems to have learned from some of those early failures, too, but the Pixel Fold feels like it’s still at least one generation away from realizing its potential. It’s a delightfully gadget-y gadget, and it’s probably best suited for someone who wouldn’t mind the weight and would utilize a big screen for on-the-go entertainment consumption often.

Google’s Pixel Fold, like the Pixel Tablet, is a very solid entry into a new product category for the company that was once best known for a search engine. The Tensor G2 chip impresses once again with fantastic performance, while its most foldable-centric features work like a charm. You even get a nice smartphone camera, as a little bonus.

The Pixel Fold is the most well-rounded large-screen folding smartphone to date, so much so that I don't want to go back to using a normal phone anymore. But I also don't have $1,799 to spend on a smartphone. That's the rub. The phone is a great showcase of a folding device's potential, but its price places it out of reach of a wide audience. It goes against what we've come to expect from Pixel phones, which is great value.