{"id":128,"date":"2024-09-10T01:56:34","date_gmt":"2024-09-10T01:56:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.batterymap.co.nz\/blog\/?p=128"},"modified":"2024-09-10T01:56:34","modified_gmt":"2024-09-10T01:56:34","slug":"the-google-pixel-9-pro-fold-is-the-folding-phone-i-wanted-from-samsung","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.batterymap.co.nz\/blog\/2024\/09\/10\/the-google-pixel-9-pro-fold-is-the-folding-phone-i-wanted-from-samsung\/","title":{"rendered":"The Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold is the folding phone I wanted from Samsung"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Samsung better watch it<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"Google<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

I was initially skeptical of the Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold, especially because I didn’t get a chance to try the previous phone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Foldable phones exist in a vulnerable area where it’s hard to know who these phones are really designed for. The gimmick of the foldable screen is the high price and specifications, which are often not as good as flagship phones at the same price. It’s no wonder they’re hard to pull off quickly – but after using the Pixel 9 Pro Fold for a week, I’m feeling a lot better about this smartphone subcategory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This year’s Samsung<\/a> Galaxy Z Fold 6 and Z Flip 6<\/a> are closer to the Galaxy S24<\/a> series in terms of specs and aesthetics, but this is only Google’s second attempt at a foldable phone. Google’s phones are also known for being underpowered compared to other Android devices – that’s true of the Pixel 9 Pro Fold, but Google’s excellent operating system makes the transition to a foldable form much easier – and, in my opinion, it makes all the difference.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

>>>EB-BS928ABY Battery for Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Google's<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Open up<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019m quite a big fan of the Google Pixel<\/a> range. Ever since the gentle reboot that introduced the camera bar with the Pixel 6 range, it has maintained a top spot for me as the phone I recommend to iPhone users that want to leave to Apple\u2019s walled garden. I don\u2019t think Google\u2019s phones are as well suited for longtime Android users as you\u2019ll get better performance from similarly priced flagship phones from Samsung, but the clean and lightweight Android OS on Pixel phones would give Apple lovers a sense of familiarity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s absolutely true for the Pixel<\/a> 9 Pro Fold \u2013 this phone is great if you\u2019re an iPhone 14<\/a> or iPhone 13<\/a> user who wants to upgrade to a foldable, but don\u2019t want to deal with a lot of the complications some versions of Android bring. It\u2019s well designed and feels like a genuine competitor to Samsung\u2019s foldable, while being cheaper than Samsung\u2019s Fold.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That being said, it\u2019s a bit expensive at $1,799 \/ \u00a31,799 \/ AU $2,699 \u2013 a huge price increase from the Pixel 9 Pro XL\u2019s $1,099 \/ \u00a31,099 \/ AU$1,849 price tag. I don\u2019t think the screen necessitates such a drastically higher cost than what is, specs-wise, a better phone, but it does make for a great option if you want a tablet and a phone in one device. If Google could make the price of its foldable more competitive, I think there\u2019d be a lot more to love with this device.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

>>>GUKD8 Battery for Google Pixel 8 Pro<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Hivatalos<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The problem with foldables is that they exist in a small market with underlying disadvantages. You\u2019re asking users to pay quite a lot of money for a gimmick that offers not much actual benefit, fitted to a device that\u2019s not as powerful as flagship devices. That\u2019s Samsung\u2019s pitch at least \u2013 and although I do love Samsung\u2019s latest slew of folding phones, it\u2019s no wonder why international sales were reportedly low (per Phone Arena).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But I think that these problems expose a general advantage that Google can obtain over Samsung in the foldable market. Because it\u2019s such a small space within the larger phone market, Google has a real opportunity to make some headway and convert iPhone buyers into the Android ecosystem with a flashy gimmick that has consumers curious. At the same time, foldable-curious Android users could latch onto the Pixel 9 Pro Fold as their first try at the technology.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The specs differences between the Pixel 9 Pro Fold and the 9 Pro XL are subtle, with the 9 Pro XL including a much more impressive camera array and a bigger battery \u2013 but the differences are not as dramatic when comparing the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra to the Galaxy Z Fold 6. A better camera system, better processing power and probably the best display you can get on a smartphone right now are just some of the things that put the S24 Ultra<\/a> against its foldable cousin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So the real win for Google stems from the fact that they\u2019ve closed the gap between their flagship device and their foldable. I can\u2019t give Google too much credit for this, given that Pixel phones are underpinned by an SoC that is effortlessly bested by Snapdragon\u2019s silicon in Samsung devices, but it does lead to a great option for consumers \u2013 a cheaper book-style foldable than what Samsung is offering. Couple this to Google\u2019s much friendlier OS and I think there\u2019s an absolute winner here.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Google<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

But it\u2019s up to Google to do something really interesting here<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Of the three foldables released over the past three months, Google\u2019s Pixel 9 Pro Fold has won my heart \u2013 but despite this discussion of synchronization between foldables and flagships, Samsung\u2019s Z Flip 6 is still technically the budget winner, even if the foldable aspect is less useful. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s honestly difficult to talk about the Galaxy Z Flip 6 and the Pixel Fold 9 Pro in the same article because the Z Flip 6 is much less powerful than its flagship counterparts and it\u2019s a massively different form factor to its foldable siblings. The Flip is a winner as a compact phone (as its predecessor is currently listed as the one to pick on ourbest phonespage) and the design is easy to love if you long for the pre-smart phone age of flipping screens, but it\u2019s an anomaly beyond these two niches.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My hope is that with an upcoming generation of Pixel devices, a Pixel Flip will launch as well. Google could avoid higher year-on-year costs by releasing updated Flip and Fold models interchangeably, so that one year there\u2019s a Flip and one year there\u2019s a Fold. Better yet, it\u2019d be great for Google to release a foldable that has more in common with the standard Pixel device for its small form factor and less powerful specs, both as a way of further reducing the price and to introduce a better separation between the standard Pixel range and the annually-released \u2018A\u2019 series model \u2013 which is often so good that I\u2019ll happily recommend it to people over Google\u2019s standard range of devices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Pixel 9 Pro Fold is a brilliant phone and I\u2019ve loved using it. It feels great to use as a tablet at home and the office, as well as a phone on the go. I would love to see Google keep the momentum going with future devices, in presenting an accessible product in terms of both price and operating system. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Samsung better watch it I was initially skeptical of the Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold, especially because I didn’t get a chance to try the previous phone. Foldable phones exist in a vulnerable area where it’s hard to know who these phones are really designed for. The gimmick of the foldable screen is the high … Continue reading The Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold is the folding phone I wanted from Samsung<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-128","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-apple-2"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.batterymap.co.nz\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/128","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.batterymap.co.nz\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.batterymap.co.nz\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.batterymap.co.nz\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.batterymap.co.nz\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=128"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.batterymap.co.nz\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/128\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":129,"href":"https:\/\/www.batterymap.co.nz\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/128\/revisions\/129"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.batterymap.co.nz\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=128"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.batterymap.co.nz\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=128"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.batterymap.co.nz\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=128"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}