Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold review summary: Still lagging behind

The Pixel 9 Pro Fold Fold impresses in our review with really good features. The Google smartphone comes with a fast USB 3.2 port, NFC, a UWB chip, USB OTG, Miracast and Google Cast, among other things. Google has also made visible progress with the housing compared to the standard Pixel Fold. The Pixel 9 Pro Fold is significantly thinner at 5.1 millimeters and has also slimmed down considerably at over 25 grams. However, this is only a small step, as even the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold6 is noticeably lighter than the Google foldable. A look at the Vivo X Fold3 with its 219 grams shows where things are headed.

Over the last few years, Pixel smartphones have established themselves as a benchmark among Android smartphones in regard to photo quality. The Pixel 9 Pro Fold's rear camera system delivers good photos for a foldable, although the sensors installed are quite small. The 50 MP main camera has a 1/2-inch sensor, which is reportedly a sensor crop of the IMX787 - the latter comes in full size in the Pixel 8a. In daylight, the smartphone squeezes a lot of quality out of the small sensor, as the dynamic range and sharpness level were impressive in our tests.

However, the main camera quickly reaches its limits in the dark. In view of the RRP of $1,799 (currently discounted by $300 for $1,399 at Best Buy), we would have liked to see better hardware specs here. By comparison, a Xiaomi Mix Fold 4, which is thinner and much lighter, has a significantly larger 1/1.49 sensor.

Read more about the strengths and weaknesses of the Pixel 9 Pro Fold in our detailed review.