Pixel 9 Pro Fold fails Google's durability hype in excruciating new bend-test video

The Pixel 9 Pro Fold has now been released to Amazon at a starting price of no less than $1799.99 - however, there is a new video you might want to watch before hitting that order button.

The device has been hailed as Google's most repairable foldable smartphone to date by Phone Repair Guru, and more recently by iFixit - but that won't save it if it happens to get folded in the wrong direction, as demonstrated by JerryRigEverything host Zach Nelson.

Google also touts its new Pixel-series flagship as the toughest foldable smartphone it has ever made; however, its performance in the classic gauntlet of scratch, burn and bend tests might be as bad if not worse than that of its predecessor, especially when it came to the new 'grit sandwich' stage specifically designed for foldable smartphones.

The device started to emit ominous crunching noises on encountering the experimental sand and metallic dust with its main Super Actua Flex display, thus establishing that it is indeed IPX8 at best with no officially certified dust resistance at all, unlike its Samsung Galaxy Z Fold6 rival.

However, the device's real "exhaust port on the Death Star" proved to be a new weak point created by symmetrical antenna lines on the top and bottom of the secondary display: something to watch out for should you intend to have a Pixel 9 Pro Fold in your life.