The Google Pixel Fold, Google’s first foldable smartphone, has just hit the market and we already have our first controversy about the device. As it appears, The Pixel Fold doesn’t “unfold” completely, opening 180º.. A cell phone will typically open about 176º and the user needs to force the hinge to rotate 180º. The reason for this is the heavy-duty hinge chosen by the company, and it seems that Google was aware of the implications of this choice.

technically you yes, you can open Pixel Fold 180º, but for this you have to press the hinge a little, and the movement will not be as smooth as, for example, in the Galaxy Fold. During a press release at I/O 2023, Google said it was a 180-degree foldable smartphone. “you turn around [o Pixel Fold] and features a large 7.6-inch display that opens with a special 180-degree hydrodynamic friction hinge.“. The company promotes the device as the strongest hinge on the market, so opening it 180º does not pose a risk to the device.

Pixel Fold with 176º aperture

As we can see, the opening of the device does not naturally reach 180º, which gives a bad effect when you have to leave the device on a hard surface. While a forced full opening is possible, we can’t say yet if the Pixel Fold’s durability will remain the same.

A review by Android Police reveals initial “problems”: “Instead of opening 180° to form a flat surface, the two halves of the display stop at about 176°. In the hand, it is not very noticeable, but if you just put the device on the table, you can immediately see it.“.

According to the explanation of Google engineers, the company decided to use a rigid hinge, which provides more strength to the device, as well as guaranteeing less thickness. Because of this, the device (logically) became more rigid. Big Tech claims that stiffness won’t be an issue and the device can be opened to 180º, but that certainly shouldn’t make users happy.

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Source: BGR, Android Police.

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