We’ve been hearing about Google’s first foldable feature for a long time, but it’s finally come true. The new Google Pixel Fold is now official Google’s descent into the world of folding cell phones and it’s the most expensive device the company has ever introduced.

The Pixel Fold is Google’s great hope to catch up with other manufacturers. Not only does it offer a Z Fold-style folding design, it also outshines it with its ultra-thin body. To this we must add the same Tensor processor we have in the Pixel 7 Pro and a premium photo configuration. Google is bragging about it again in this section and promises we have the best foldable camera on the market.

These are all the features of the new Google Pixel Fold introduced alongside the Pixel 7a and Pixel tablet. The new Google flagship, which also shows that Android is perfectly adapted to such mobile devices. It took a few years for Google to dare to fold, but then the time has come.

Google Pixel’s technical page

Ultra thin foldable

Its design was approved last week and now, during this Google I/O 2023, all the details have been revealed. The Google Pixel Fold is a foldable with a format similar to OPPO’s. Together 6:5 format when opened this equates it to a tablet of sorts and more of a mobile phone when folded.

Google prides itself on the quality and durability of its hinge, which according to the company is the most durable. They also take pride in the design, especially the thickness. Unfolded Pixel Fold is less than 6 millimeters, while folded takes up 12.1 mm, it is below the Z Fold4, although surpassed by the Huawei Mate X3. This makes it one of the thinnest products in its category, and it’s something many users will appreciate because it’s one of the points where foldables have more room for improvement.

The built-in display is a panel 7.6 inch OLED with 120Hz refresh rate and up to 1,200 nits of brightness. On the outer panel, it remains around 5.8 inches with OLED technology, 120 Hz and FullHD + resolution.

At the build level, the Pixel Fold echoes the materials we’ve seen before in its siblings. We have Gorilla Glass Victus glass, IPX8 resistance water and aluminum for the edges. Although instead of a rectangular camera module that takes up the entire width, we have some sort of island for cameras.

Google Tensor processor and security chip

Google has been choosing its own processors for a while and is repeating the game with the Pixel Fold. We find ourselves inside with the Google Tensor G2 next to it. “Personal AI” function, a set of tools that use artificial intelligence to make recommendations. Added to this is the Titan M2 security chip.

It’s not as powerful a processor as the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, but it offers more than convincing performance as we saw with the Pixel 7. The RAM level is accompanied by 12GB of DDR5 memory and starts for storage ranges from 256GB to 512GB.

Another important point is the battery, and here Google has been quite generous, despite the fact that the body of the device is quite compact. We have a 4,821 mAh battery, which according to Google “More than 24 hours of autonomy” and up to 72 hours with extreme mode. Perhaps the point that falls short compared to others is 30W fast charging.

There is no lack of NFC at the connectivity level, face recognition, fingerprint reader on the power button, 5G and WiFi 6.

More than 50 tailored apps

Google has prepared extensively for the landing on folding mobiles. In addition to including Android 13 (and soon to be upgraded to Android 14), Pixel Fold It will come with more than 50 Google apps optimized for big screens.

As Google explains, they worked with various developers, including Netflix, to adapt the software for the device. Different apps are optimized for the new format offered by such mobile devices.

Pixel Fold adds a new dual-screen taskbar to be able to use two apps at the same time at a normal rate compared to smartphones and drag things between them. Predictably how the software progresses as well, this will be one of the highlights to see if the Pixel differs in folding mobiles.

Pixel stamped photography

If there is an argument that could be differential, here it is. Google’s first foldable product is a Pixel. This means that the quality in the photography department is top notch. The Pixel Fold promises to be foldable with the best camera on the market, according to Google. They know its good reputation at the company and want to make this camera one of the top arguments for the Pixel Fold.

We are faced with a configuration. Triple rear camera with 48MP main sensor along with f/1.7 aperture lens. As always, computational photography is implemented with Super Resolution Zoom and mixed zoom options up to 20x. We have a 10.8-megapixel secondary wide-angle sensor and another telephoto with 5x optical zoom.

Thanks to the hinge, Pixel Fold can be used in a desktop format, in a way, hands-free. Also, thanks to this folding format, the mobile phone has a translation translator mode, so that the addressee sees the translated words at the same time as the user. Another function that Google has is astrophotography.

As for the rest of the cameras, the Pixel Fold comes with an 8-megapixel internal front camera and a 9.5-megapixel external front camera.

Pixel Fold availability and price

The Google Pixel Fold will initially be available in the UK, US, Germany and Japan. It will be available in two colors, black and white, and its official price 1,899 €. Along with the device, Google offers 2TB of cloud storage and Pixel Watch for 6 months.

No marketing intent in Spain has been announced at this time, but that may change in the future.

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