The smartphone that grew up, but forgot to have fun

The phone doubles down on strength and design, but are the extra heft and modest upgrades satisfactory?

- Shouvik Das shouvik [e-mail]

When Google unveiled the Pixel 9 Pro Fold last year, it was instantly clear as to what the company was trying to achieve with it.

After a first attempt at a foldable phone that felt distinctly work-in-progress, Google hit it out of the park last year with a phone that felt like it wasn’t just a proof of technological abilities—much like the Nokia communicators from two decades ago, it felt like a phone that suited boardrooms and expensive suits. The Pixel 10 Pro Fold, launched by Google earlier this month, does more of the same—yet, it doesn’t quite feel the same.

‘There are two main reasons for it, and they are both linked to what one may make of the innovation journey that companies are taking. In July this year, Samsung launched a new take on the Galaxy Z Fold 7. While its tall aspect ratio and narrow in-hand fit isn't ideal for conventional ergonomics, Samsung's new take on the foldable felt refreshing, ideal and suitable: all thanks to how slim the phone is. Yet, Samsung made little to no compromises with the Galaxy Z Fold 7 it still got a flagship-grade processor and camera.

The Google Pixel 10 Pro Fold, meanwhile, makes it clear that Google has a different idea for the foldable form factor. Instead of making it slim, Google is likely viewing the foldable phone as a differentiated offering: one that would be used by those who don’t mind the heft, and in fact even embraces it. This, in turn, creates a few problems.