By all of those accounts, the Pixel 10 Pro Fold should be an easy recommendation. And yet, I think it\u2019s the most challenging model to recommend out of the entire Pixel 10 series.<\/p>\n
While all of the above about the Pixel 10 Pro Fold is true, so is the fact that much about the phone feels outdated in a world where the Galaxy Z Fold 7 and non-folding Pixel 10 Pro exist \u2014 whether it\u2019s the Pixel 10 Pro Fold\u2019s burdening weight\/thickness or its lagging cameras.<\/p>\n
If you know you want a folding Pixel phone, the Pixel 10 Pro Fold is the best you can get. But if you\u2019re looking for the best Pixel experience regardless of form factor, or the best foldable not tied to a specific brand, the conversation around the Pixel 10 Pro Fold becomes a lot trickier.<\/p>\n
Excellent durability and convenient magnets in a hefty package<\/p>\n
![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/google-pixel-10-pro-fold-holding-half-open-scaled.jpg\"\/ "\\"google")
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Joe Maring \/ Android Authority<\/p>\n
What better place to start that conversation than the design and hardware?<\/p>\n
Starting with the positives, the Pixel 10 Pro Fold is, by far, the most durable folding phone I\u2019ve ever used. On paper, there are two main reasons for this. The first is the phone\u2019s new gearless hinge, and the second is its IP68 dust\/water resistance rating \u2014 the first of its kind for a foldable.<\/p>\n
The Pixel 10 Pro Fold is, by far, the most durable folding phone I’ve ever used.<\/p>\n
I didn\u2019t intentionally put the new hinge and IP rating to the test, but life had a way of doing that for me. While at the movies one evening, the Pixel 10 Pro Fold slid out of my pocket and tumbled down underneath my chair, hitting the hardwood floor and metal frame of the seat as it went. I dropped the phone on the hard carpeted floor of a bar on another night. I also took the Pixel 10 Pro Fold to a couple of farms and pumpkin patches where it was exposed to all sorts of dirt and dust in the air.<\/p>\n
After all of that, the phone shows no signs of wear and tear. The hinge feels just as sturdy and smooth as it did on day one; there aren\u2019t any dings on the aluminum frame, and the cover screen is still immaculate. It\u2019s pretty incredible to have a folding phone that I feel confident about surviving the daily trials of life, and Google deserves a lot of credit for that.<\/p>\n
![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/google-pixel-10-pro-fold-qi2-magnetic-charging-stand-2-scaled.jpg\"\/ "\\"google")
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Joe Maring \/ Android Authority<\/p>\n
There\u2019s another big highlight of the Fold\u2019s hardware: its built-in magnets. Just like the rest of the Pixel 10 series, the Pixel 10 Pro Fold has magnets underneath its rear panel, making it compatible with Google\u2019s Pixelsnap accessories<\/a>, the entire MagSafe ecosystem, and other Qi2 magnetic goodies. While it\u2019s a shame some of the official debut Pixelsnap accessories have been underwhelming<\/a>, being able to slap my MagSafe wallet on the back of the Fold and use it with my existing magnetic charging stands has been wonderful.<\/p>\n However, this is where the tricky part of the conversation comes into play. Do you know why the Pixel 10 Pro Fold slid out of my pocket that night? Because it\u2019s so damn heavy.<\/p>\n Joe Maring \/ Android Authority<\/p>\n Weighing 258 grams, this is one of the heaviest foldables released in 2025. For some context, the Galaxy Z Fold 7 weighs 215 grams. Google\u2019s foldable also loses the thickness comparison, measuring 10.8mm when folded shut, while the Z Fold 7 is just 8.9mm. Having held both phones, trust me when I say those numbers make a difference. When it\u2019s folded, the Z Fold 7 feels like a regular slab phone, while the Pixel 10 Pro Fold feels more like a brick. Even after about two weeks of use, I still regularly notice just how bulky and heavy the Pixel truly is.<\/p>\n The Pixel’s design is fine in a bubble, but phones like the Z Fold 7 are competing on another level.<\/p>\n This is especially frustrating since this is the year that Samsung, HONOR, OPPO, vivo, and others all made significant headway in making their foldables as thin and light as we\u2019ve ever seen<\/a>. Google had an opportunity to follow suit, but instead, it recycled the same design as last year\u2019s Pixel 9 Pro Fold and called it a day. The IP68 rating and built-in magnets are great, but I\u2019m not sure that\u2019s enough for me to overlook Google\u2019s laziness here. The Pixel\u2019s design is fine in a bubble, but phones like the Z Fold 7 are competing on another level.<\/p>\n On the plus side, as much as I\u2019m not a fan of the Pixel 10 Pro Fold\u2019s design, I really like its displays. The 6.4-inch cover screen looks great, as does the 8-inch inner screen, which is bright, colorful, and has a wider aspect ratio that I prefer to the more square Z Fold 7. If I have one complaint, it\u2019s that Google still refuses to use an LTPO panel for the cover screen. It\u2019s not a deal-breaker, but at this price, there\u2019s no reason not to include one.<\/p>\n These cameras are not worth $1,799<\/p>\n Joe Maring \/ Android Authority<\/p>\n Our tricky conversation around the Pixel 10 Pro Fold continues with its cameras<\/a>. I want to start by saying these cameras are fine. They\u2019re consistent, easy to shoot with, and I\u2019ve taken some photos with the Pixel 10 Pro Fold that I\u2019m happy with.<\/p>\n However, for a phone that costs $1,799 \u2014 no less a Google Pixel phone \u2014 I expected more. A lot more.<\/p>\n Specs-wise, the Pixel 10 Pro Fold\u2019s cameras are identical to its predecessor. That means you get a 48MP primary camera, a 10.5MP ultrawide camera, and a 10.8MP telephoto camera with 5x optical zoom. The megapixel counts for those secondary cameras are already unbecoming, and it\u2019s worth reminding that all three camera sensors are considerably smaller compared to the ones on the non-folding Pixel 10 Pro.<\/p>\n Looking at the pictures in the gallery above and the four shots below (all taken with the 48MP primary camera), it\u2019s not a complete disaster. I really love the colors in the first image above of the sky and the orange clouds. The photo of my dog looks good, as does the shot of the pumpkins in the smaller gallery below.<\/p>\n On the surface, you could argue that most of these pictures are perfectly fine. And they are! But when you look at them a little more closely, you quickly notice the shortcomings. In the picture of the drink, the small sensor size struggles to produce a natural bokeh effect, resulting in the lemon and edges of the drink being way too soft. In the photo of the sunset over the lake, the sun is far too exposed. The Fold struggled to focus on the moving miniature horse, and I\u2019m pretty disappointed with the cold, harsh colors in the pictures of the yawning cat and the apples.<\/p>\n And that\u2019s to say nothing of the primary camera\u2019s lowlight performance, where it pretty much takes a nosedive. Between difficulty focusing and severely lacking detail, the Fold doesn\u2019t hold up well once the sun goes down.<\/p>\n What about the ultrawide and telephoto cameras? They\u2019re there. The 10.5MP ultrawide camera\u2019s 127-degree field of view succeeds at capturing a lot more of the scene at hand. Unfortunately, there\u2019s a very noticeable quality drop-off compared to the primary camera, as is fully evident in the photo above of the water fountain.<\/p>\n The 10.8MP telephoto camera isn\u2019t much better. The 5x optical zoom range sounds promising, considering that\u2019s the same optical range as the Pixel 10 Pro\u2019s telephoto camera. However, the pictures themselves tell a different story. While the zoom range is beneficial, the Fold just doesn\u2019t capture much detail. The telephoto camera will get you closer to your subject, and for casual use, it gets the job done. But it\u2019s not a telephoto camera befitting of a $1,799 smartphone. Hell, it would look out of place on a $999 one, too.<\/p>\n You can go beyond the 5x optical range if you want, though the results are similarly disappointing. The Pixel 10 Pro Fold delivers (barely) usable pictures at 10x and 20x, its maximum zoom range, but with a continued degradation in picture quality. It\u2019s also worth noting that the Fold does not have the Pixel 10 Pro\u2019s Pro Res Zoom feature, which allows you to zoom up to 100x and capture really high-quality pictures at 30x and 50x.<\/p>\n The Pixel 10 Pro Fold doesn’t live up to Google’s camera expertise.<\/p>\n The Pixel 10 Pro Fold is similarly disappointing in its video capabilities. Just like with still photos, the Fold\u2019s video recording struggles when the lights go down. It\u2019s also annoyingly capped at 4K\/60fps, whereas the Pixel 10 Pro and Z Fold 7 both support 8K video.<\/p>\n There\u2019s an argument that, for a folding phone, the Pixel 10 Pro Fold\u2019s cameras are good enough. But I don\u2019t think \u201cgood enough\u201d is enough. Are these cameras serviceable? Absolutely. But there\u2019s also nothing special or remarkable about them. They\u2019re worse across the board compared to the Pixel 10 Pro \u2014 a phone that costs $800 less \u2014 and have less functionality, too.<\/p>\n If I\u2019m buying a phone called the \u201cPixel 10 Pro Fold,\u201d I expect it to deliver on Google\u2019s biggest strengths: clever software and excellent cameras. The Pixel 10 Pro Fold doesn\u2019t live up to Google\u2019s camera expertise, and for a phone this expensive \u2014 folding or not \u2014 that\u2019s a serious issue.<\/p>\n What about Tensor G5?<\/p>\n Joe Maring \/ Android Authority<\/p>\n Another potential issue, depending on what you want to do with the Pixel 10 Pro Fold, is its Tensor G5 chip<\/a>. This is the same chipset used in the rest of the Pixel 10 series, and similar to my time with the Pixel 10 Pro, I\u2019ve had no performance issues with the Pixel 10 Pro Fold.<\/p>\n Most of my application use consists of YouTube, X, Reddit, Chrome, Slack, Telegram, and Gmail. Running those apps individually or split-screen on the Fold\u2019s inner display, the Tensor G5 has handled everything with ease. It\u2019s also done so without overheating, which is a big step forward for Google\u2019s Tensor chips.<\/p>\n For that kind of usage, the Pixel 10 Pro Fold is great. But if you\u2019re thinking about buying a foldable, you probably want to play a lot of big, graphically-intensive games, do a lot of photo\/video editing, etc. \u2014 things that shine on a big folding display. And for that more hardcore use, I\u2019m a little less confident in the Tensor G5\u2019s ability<\/a>.<\/p>\n Compared to the Pixel 9 Pro Fold and its Tensor G4 chip, the Pixel 10 Pro Fold\u2019s CPU performance is improved, especially its multi-core numbers. However, the Galaxy Z Fold 7 has a commanding lead over Google\u2019s latest foldable, all thanks to its Snapdragon 8 Elite chip. The Z Fold 7\u2019s GPU also scores higher than the Pixel 10 Pro Fold in the Wild Life Stress Test, especially early on. The phones mostly even out near the end of the test, both in terms of score and temperature, but there\u2019s no doubt Samsung is still the winner.<\/p>\n And it\u2019s not just benchmarks where the G5\u2019s trailing horsepower is evident. Playing Delta Force with the default Exquisite graphics, the game ran smoothly, but didn\u2019t look particularly good. When I bumped the graphics to Ultimate, the game looked a lot better, but at the expense of dropped frames, graphic pop-ins, and jittery animations.<\/p>\n Once again, this is where the challenge of the Pixel 10 Pro Fold rears its head. Day-to-day performance is great, as is casual gaming. More intense games are playable, but the experience doesn\u2019t reflect the phone\u2019s price or its competitors. For a phone like the Pixel 10 Pro Fold, which draws the attention of power users who want to push their devices to the limit, it doesn\u2019t take long to see why this is a problem.<\/p>\n Joe Maring \/ Android Authority<\/p>\n On a more positive note, battery life on the Pixel 10 Pro Fold has been really good. With a mix of Wi-Fi and 5G connectivity, varied app usage, and around a 70\/30 split of using the cover screen and inner display, I\u2019ve been consistently starting days at about 6 AM and getting to 11 PM with 20-30% battery still remaining \u2014 typically with four hours and 30 minutes of screen-on time each day.<\/p>\n The fastest I drained the battery was on a day when it was at 100% at 5 AM and dropped to 6% by 9:15 PM However, this included five hours and 15 minutes of screen time, lots of time on 5G, some benchmark tests, and a fair amount of YouTube and X. Our battery benchmarks show that the Z Fold 7 again has the upper hand, but as far as my real-world useage goes, I\u2019ve been pretty happy with the Pixel 10 Pro Fold\u2019s battery life.<\/p>\n What\u2019s less impressive is the recharge time. With 30W maximum wired charge speeds, the Pixel 10 Pro Fold takes 87 minutes to recharge from about 2% back up to 100%. We know Google is capable of faster recharging as the Pixel 10 Pro XL supports 45W speeds, but not so on the Fold. It\u2019s not the end of the world, but just like with the cameras and performance, it\u2019s another annoying compromise for a phone this expensive.<\/p>\n Google\u2019s Pixel software is lovely\u2026 and buggy<\/p>\n Joe Maring \/ Android Authority<\/p>\n As much as I dislike how heavy the Pixel 10 Pro Fold is, and as dearly as I wish its cameras were better, Google\u2019s software is so good that those shortcomings are a little easier to deal with.<\/p>\n What makes the Pixel 10 Pro Fold\u2019s software so special is that it\u2019s the same Pixel experience you get on any other Google Pixel phone. That means you get Now Playing to tell you what song is playing in the background, the At a Glance widget to keep you updated on the day ahead, and all of Google\u2019s excellent calling tools \u2014 including industry-leading spam filtering, call summaries, and more.<\/p>\n Those Pixel-exclusive features<\/a> add a lot of value, and to have them on the Pixel 10 Pro Fold is a big deal \u2014 even if they aren\u2019t exclusive to the Fold.<\/p>\n Furthermore, Android 16 with Material 3 Expressive adapts wonderfully to the Fold\u2019s big inner display. The split quick settings\/notifications UI is outstanding, the new 90:10 multitasking UI has been an enormous help, and so many Google apps \u2014 such as Gmail, Keep, Maps, Calendar, Messages, and more \u2014 make excellent use of the extra screen real estate. I also love the new Instant View UI in the camera app, which shows your viewfinder on one half of the screen and recently captured photos on the other half. It\u2019s a really clever use of space.<\/p>\n Joe Maring \/ Android Authority<\/p>\n That said, I wish Google had done a little more. You can\u2019t pin the app dock if you use gesture navigation, use more than two apps in split screen, run apps as floating windows, or have separate home screen layouts for your cover and inner screen. These are all pretty basic features for a folding phone in 2025, and with Google now being on its third generation of the Pixel Fold, it\u2019s annoying that all of this is still missing.<\/p>\n I\u2019ve also encountered a surprising number of software bugs during my time with the Pixel 10 Pro Fold. On multiple occasions when trying to use face unlock or the fingerprint sensor, the biometrics pop-up quickly appeared and disappeared, making the Fold\u2019s biometrics temporarily unusable. Even more annoying is a connectivity bug that randomly (and frequently) caused the Pixel 10 Pro Fold to lose its internet connection \u2014 despite being connected to perfectly fine Wi-Fi or 5G. For context, I haven\u2019t experienced any such issues on the Pixel 10 or Pixel 10 Pro, suggesting these bugs are specific to the Fold.<\/p>\n I initially thought this could be an issue with my unit, specifically, but other reviews of the Pixel 10 Pro Fold have mentioned<\/a> similarly buggy software. That\u2019s frustrating, especially since the Fold launched a month after its non-folding Pixel 10 siblings \u2014 theoretically giving Google extra time to iron out any kinks. On the plus side, with seven years of updates and Google\u2019s timely cadence for rolling them out, Google should (hopefully) be able to patch these bugs soon enough.<\/p>\n Is the Google Pixel 10 Pro Fold worth it?<\/p>\n Joe Maring \/ Android Authority<\/p>\n That all leads us to the $1,799 question: Should you buy the Google Pixel 10 Pro Fold? I think I answered that perfectly at the top of this review.<\/p>\n If you know your next phone\u00a0has\u00a0to be a foldable and has\u00a0to be a Pixel, then yes, you should buy the Pixel 10 Pro Fold. You can try to save some money by picking up the Pixel 9 Pro Fold<\/a> ($1799 at Amazon<\/a>) on sale, but I\u2019d argue that the IP68 rating, more durable hinge, built-in magnets, and newer Tensor G5 chip make the Pixel 10 Pro Fold a worthwhile purchase over its predecessor.<\/p>\n However, if you aren\u2019t married to the idea of a foldable Pixel and have some wiggle room either way, your money is better spent elsewhere.<\/p>\n The Pixel 10 Pro Fold isn’t the best foldable you can buy and isn’t the best Pixel either.<\/p>\n Let\u2019s say you know you want a folding phone, but you don\u2019t necessarily have to have a Pixel phone. Your only other real option in the US is the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7<\/a> ($1999.99 at Amazon<\/a>). Even though it\u2019s an extra $200 over Google\u2019s foldable, it\u2019s a better choice overall. The Z Fold 7 is significantly more comfortable, features a vastly more powerful chipset, offers more capable cameras, and has software that better utilizes its big display. No, there isn\u2019t an IP68 rating, but we\u2019ve had zero durability concerns with the Z Fold throughout our testing. If I were buying a folding phone, as much as I like Google\u2019s Pixel software, I\u2019d choose Samsung\u2019s phone.<\/p>\n Joe Maring \/ Android Authority<\/p>\n Then there\u2019s the flip side of that scenario. If you won\u2019t budge from buying a Pixel phone, but you can live without a foldable, I\u2019d sooner recommend the Pixel 10 Pro<\/a> ($999 at Amazon<\/a>) instead of its folding variant. Or, if you want a larger screen, the Pixel 10 Pro XL<\/a> ($1199 at Amazon<\/a>). Both phones have all of the same great Pixel features as the Fold, magnetic charging, and vastly better cameras, for hundreds of dollars less.<\/p>\n There is something special about having that Pixel experience on a foldable, and for some people, that experience will be worth all of the Pixel 10 Pro Fold\u2019s shortcomings. But just know that to get the best of both worlds, the Pixel 10 Pro Fold isn\u2019t the best foldable you can buy and isn\u2019t the best Pixel either. One year ago, we loved the Pixel 9 Pro Fold, but the harsh truth is the foldable market has lept forward in the past year and Google hasn\u2019t kept up, leaving its very top Pixel offering as a niche, curiosity offering. And as a big Pixel fan and foldable enjoyer, it really pains me to say that.<\/p>\n![\"Someone](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/google-pixel-10-pro-fold-thickness-side-view-scaled.jpg\"\/ "\\"google")
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