Google Pixel 10 Pro Fold Review: Familiar Feel, Smarter Execution

	Google Pixel 10 Pro Fold - MSRP $1,799 Google’s Pixel 10 Pro Fold delivers small but meaningful updates yet remains largely identical to last year’s Pixel 9 Pro Fold, making it significantly less competitive than its predecessor in today’s folding phone landscape.
	Brighter displays Excellent cameras More efficient SoC Larger battery, faster charging Qi2 with magnets Outstanding software and AI features ×Alert slider is back	Thicker and heavier than the competition Downgraded shooters vs. Pixel 10 Pro/Pro XL No charger in the box No pen support

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Last year, I was so enamored with the Pixel 9 Pro Fold that I gave it our coveted HotHardware Editor’s Choice award. Google’s second generation folding phone combined the same great form factor as the excellent OnePlus Open but with Google's outstanding software and AI experience. Meanwhile, Samsung was seriously lagging behind with its awkward and bulky Galaxy Z Fold6. But now, just one year later, the tables have turned. Google’s new Pixel 10 Pro Fold ($1,799) is more of an update with refinements than a true third generation device. Apart from the addition of Qi2 magnetic accessory support and an IP68 rating, the design is pretty much identical to the Pixel 9 Pro Fold. It gains Google's new Tensor G5 SoC, brighter displays, a larger battery, and faster charging – all of which are welcome tweaks to be sure. But overall, Google’s latest folding phone may not raise the bar that much.

While we didn't get access to Oppo’s Find N5 (successor to the OnePlus Open) or Honor’s impressive Magic V5 here in the US, Samsung caught up with the Chinese competition with the ultra thin and light Galaxy Z Fold7 ($1,999). These stunning new folding phones are in a different league, and make the Pixel 10 Pro Fold look and feel less exciting than its predecessor.

Obviously, there’s more to a good handset than just hot hardware. So, does Google’s superb software and AI experience make up for the Pixel 10 Pro Fold’s older, bulkier design in comparison to other foldable phones on the market? Is there any reason to buy it over Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold7? Read on here to find out.

Pixel 10 Pro Fold Hardware And design

You aren't hallucinating: Google’s Pixel 10 Pro Fold looks and feels virtually identical to last year’s Pixel 9 Pro Fold. The design is basically the same as before, with only the SIM tray getting relocated from the bottom edge to the top edge, the mmWave antenna window disappearing like on the rest of the Pixel 10 family, and some of the microphones and the top speaker grille getting repositioned.
You also get different colorways this year – Moonstone (grey) and Jade (green, like my review unit) – both with a matte glass back. The Pixel 10 Pro Fold is actually slightly thicker (5.2 vs 5.1mm open, 10.8 vs. 10.5mm closed) and heavier (258 vs. 257g) than the Pixel 9 Pro Fold. That’s because it features Qi2 magnetic accessory support (ie. magnets under the rear glass) like the rest of the Pixel 10 lineup.
Google calls this Pixelsnap, but it's basically identical to MagSafe on Apple’s iPhones. And while Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold7 doesn't offer Qi2 with magnets, it’s significantly thinner (4.2mm open, 8.9mm closed) and lighter (only 215g). And this makes a huge difference when handling these two devices: the Pixel 10 Pro Fold just looks and feels chunky, like you’re using last year’s handset instead of living in the future.
But the Pixel 10 Pro Fold does have one ace up its sleeve. It’s the first folding phone ever with a proper IP68 rating. That’s right, it’s both water and dust resistant, which is no small feat. Everything else is familiar, from the matte aluminum frame and shiny hinge to the rounded rectangle “dual visor” camera pod which is home to the same 48MP main shooter, 10.5MP ultrawide, and 10.8MP 5x telephoto as last year.

Google Pixel 10 Pro Fold Specs And Features

Processor & 5G Platform	Google Tensor G5, Exynos Modem 5400
Display	8.0" 2k LTPO AMOLED, 2152x2076 resolution, 1-120Hz + 6.4" 1080p LTPS AMOLED, 2364x1080 resolution, 120Hz
Memory	16GB
Storage	256GB (UFS 4.0), 512GB and 1TB (Zoned UFS)
Rear-Facing Cameras	48MP f/1.7 Main OIS, dual-pixel PDAF, laser AF - 10.5MP f/2.2 127º Ultra-Wide PDAF - 10.8MP f/3.1 5x Periscope Telephoto OIS, dual-pixel PDAF
Front-Facing Cameras	10MP f/2.2 (inner) - 10MP f/2.2 (outer)
Video Recording	Up to 4K @ 60fps, 1080p @ 60fps, 1080p slow-mo
Battery	5015mAh, 30W wired charging, 15W wireless charging, Qi2 with magnets
OS	Android 16 with Pixel UI
Dimensions	Unfolded: 155.2 x 150.4 x 5.2mm - Folded: 155.2 x 76.3 x 10.8mm
Weight	258 grams
Connectivity	802.11be Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6.0+LE, NFC, UWB, USB-C 3.2, LTE, 5G (sub-6GHz and mmWave)
Colors	Moonstone, Jade
Pricing	Find the Google Pixel 10 Pro Fold @ Amazon at $1,799

Pixel 10 Pro Fold Display Quality

Google’s Pixel 10 Pro Fold boasts two gorgeous displays, with punchy colors, inky blacks, and wide viewing angles. The 8-inch inner display carries over from the Pixel 9 Pro Fold. It’s a 2k folding LTPO OLED panel (2152 x 2076 pixels, 373ppi, HDR10+) with an almost square 1:1 aspect ratio and 120Hz adaptive refresh rate. Unfortunately, this screen’s crease is just as pronounced as before – more so than the competition.
The outer display grows from 6.3 to 6.4 inches. It’s a FHD+ OLED panel (2364 x 1080 pixels, HDR10+) with a standard 20:9 aspect ratio and 120Hz refresh rate. But, instead of using an LTPO panel like other folding phones, the Pixel 10 Pro Fold makes do with an LTPS cover screen. Both displays are brighter this year (3,000 vs. 2,700 nits peak), making them even easier to read under the California sun.

Bezels are uniform and reasonably thin, and both screens have punch holes for the two 10MP selfie cameras – top right for the inner panel, and top center for the outer display. Like with the Pixel 9 Pro Fold, the cover screen and back panel are covered in Gorilla Glass Victus 2.

Pixel 10 Pro Fold Camera Performance And Image Quality

If it ain't broke, don't fix it. That sums up Google's approach with imaging on the Pixel 10 Pro Fold, which inherits the exact same shooters as its predecessor. And to be fair, that’s a pretty reasonable approach considering the Pixel 9 Pro Fold takes beautiful pictures. But, while Google's imaging expertise remains top notch, these cameras are getting a bit dated by today’s standards – at least on paper.
As a refresher, the Pixel 10 Pro Fold rear shooters consist of a 48MP f/1.7 25mm (1/2.0-inch 0.8-micron) main camera with dual-pixel PDAF and OIS, a 10.5MP f/2.2 127-degree (1/3.4-inch 1.22-micron) ultrawide with PDAF, and a 10.8MP f/3.1 112mm (1/3.2-inch 1.22-micron) 5x periscope telephoto with PDAF and OIS. For selfies, you get identical 10MP f/2.2 23mm (1/3.94-inch) shooters in the outer and inner display.
As you’d expect, the 48MP main camera outputs 12MP photos by combining (binning) groups of 2x2 nearby pixels into larger pixels for better low light performance and higher dynamic range, and by cropping the sensor when zooming up to 5x. This isn’t an option with the 10.8MP telephoto and 10.5MP ultrawide, resulting in less detailed images when using these shooters at higher magnification (beyond 10x) or in reduced light.
Overall, the Pixel 10 Pro Fold captures lovely pictures in the vast majority of scenarios. Photos are properly exposed, with accurate colors and plenty of detail. Low-light images are surprisingly decent considering the small sensor sizes (night mode helps), and so is dynamic range. Zooming is pretty solid, with 10x shots looking excellent and 20x results remaining usable (Google’s Super Res Zoom algorithm really pays off). Selfies are great too.
Shooting modes consist of portrait, night (called Night Sight), pro (manual), panorama, long exposure, astrophotography, and Add Me (which includes the photographer in group photos by merging two pictures, and now also works with pets). The pro and night modes are available on all five cameras, but the Pixel 10 Pro Fold is missing the 48MP (main shooter) and Action Pan (motion blur) modes present on the Pixel 10 Pro/Pro XL.
Video recording is stabilized (with stereo audio) at up to 4k 60fps with all five cameras. Video modes include night (main only, 4k/1080p 30fps), slow motion (main only, 1080p 240fps/480fps), time lapse (4k/1080p 30fps), HDR (4k/1080p 30fps), and cinematic Pan (rear only, 4k/1080p 60fps). Unfortunately, the Pixel 10 Pro Fold lacks the 8k and cinematic Blur (portrait video) modes found on the Pixel 10 Pro/Pro XL.

Video quality is competitive, but here again, the iPhone remains the one beat when it comes to capturing quality video.

Pixel 10 Pro Fold Reception And Sound Quality

We used Google’s Pixel 10 Pro Fold primarily on T-Mobile and AT&T’s sub-6GHz 5G and 4G LTE networks in San Francisco and New York City, and didn’t experience any issues. Calls sounded loud and clear, and data speeds matched other devices on these networks. The Pixel 10 Pro Fold also works fine on Verizon and other US carriers / MVNOs. It supports nano SIMs (hurray!), eSIMs, and mmWave 5G.
Audio is one of the Pixel 10 Pro Fold’s strengths, thanks to quality stereo speakers that sound loud and clear. Like with other Pixel phones, Dolby Atmos is missing, but spatial audio is available when using headphones or earbuds. And while there’s obviously no headphone jack, the Pixel 10 Pro Fold supports wired digital accessories via USB Type-C alongside wireless audio devices over Bluetooth (with LDAC and aptX HD codecs).

Pixel 10 Pro Fold Performance And Battery Life

As you’d expect, the Pixel 10 Pro Fold packs Google’s new Tensor G5 SoC, just like the rest of the Pixel 10 family. This chip, which is manufactured using TSMC’s 3nm process, is paired here with 16GB or RAM and either 256GB (UFS 4.0), 512GB (Zoned UFS), or 1TB (Zoned UFS) storage. The Pixel 10 Pro Fold also inherits Samsung’s Exynos Modem 5400 from the Pixel 9 Pro Fold, and includes satellite connectivity.

Google Pixel 10 Pro Fold AI Benchmarks

Google Pixel 10 Pro Fold Graphics And Gaming Benchmarks

As for the remaining specs, the Pixel 10 Pro Fold includes sub-6GHz and mmWave 5G, 4G LTE, WiFi 7 (802.11be), Bluetooth v6.0 + LE, NFC, UWB, and dual-band A-GPS / GLONASS / Galileo / BeiDou / QZSS / NavIC positioning. It also features the usual collection of sensors, strong and precise haptics, and a side-mounted capacitive fingerprint sensor. Speaking of which, both face and fingerprint unlock are fast and reliable.

The Pixel 10 Pro Fold’s battery capacity is larger than before (5,015 vs. 4,650mAh), and it charges faster than its predecessor – 30 vs 21W wired (USB PPS) and 15 vs. 7.5W wireless (Qi2 with magnets). As a result, battery life is rather impressive for a folding phone without a silicon-carbon battery, and charging is relatively painless. In our PCMark Work 3.0 battery test, the Pixel 10 Pro Fold ran for 16 hours and 33 minutes.


This means that for most people, the Pixel 10 Pro Fold should easily last an entire day on full charge, and possibly even longer with light use. Not too shabby. Unfortunately, there’s still no charger in the box, or support for reverse wireless charging. On the plus side, those Pixelsnap magnets give the Pixel 10 Pro Fold access to Google's own Pixel Snap charging accessories, and of course Apple's well-established, rich MagSafe ecosystem, which is awesome.

Pixel 10 Pro Fold Software, User Experience, And AI

The Pixel 10 Pro Fold runs Google’s flavor of Android 16. What you get is a fresh, polished, and responsive software experience with a dash of Google-y features like Call Screen, Hold For Me, Recorder, Now Playing, and Personal Safety (to name a few), plus a tasty serving of AI features like Circle to Search, Gemini, Gemini Live, and Google Photos’ AI-based image editing tools. It’s all rather delightful, and I’m a big fan.
I won’t dive further into the Pixel 10 Pro Fold’s software and AI experience since I already covered this in my recent Google Pixel 10 series review. Go read my review, then come right back so I can tell you about Instant View. This new feature is unique to the Pixel 10 Pro Fold’s camera app when using the inner display. It lets you preview photos on the left half of the screen while displaying the viewfinder on the right half. Clever.

Like with other Pixel phones, Google promises seven years of OS upgrades and security updates for the Pixel 10 Pro Fold. Besides Google standard collection of apps, our review unit was free of bloatware. As always, be mindful of Play Store Auto Install, which sometimes installs additional apps during setup, based on your carrier. You can avoid this by setting up your phone over WiFi without a physical SIM or eSIM installed.

Pixel 10 Pro Fold Review Summary

Google’s Pixel 10 Pro Fold ($1,799) is an update to last year’s Pixel 9 Pro Fold. It’s a well-rounded folding phone that benefits from Google's more efficient Tensor G5 SoC, brighter displays, a larger battery, and faster charging – not to mention Google’s outstanding software and AI features. More importantly, it’s the first folding phone with a proper IP68 rating and Qi2 magnetic accessory support.
Unfortunately, when it comes to design, the Pixel 10 Pro Fold remains largely identical to last year’s Pixel 9 Pro Fold. Plus it shares the room with an elephant – Samsung’s ultra thin and light Galaxy Z Fold7 – which looks and feels a more exciting. So while the Pixel 10 Pro Fold delivers small but welcome tweaks, it doesn't raise the bar. This makes it significantly less competitive than its predecessor in today’s folding phone landscape.