Google has surprised everyone by confirming that its next foldable will be known as the Pixel 9 Pro Fold, instead of the previous expected Pixel Fold 2.
The Pixel Fold was undoubtedly one of the best folding phones you can buy, combining a slender, premium design with impressive cameras and great displays. But there were a few key drawbacks, including that high price tag.
The Pixel 9 Pro Fold is now rumoured to ditch Pixel Fold’s unique form for a taller display, plus introducing slimmer bezels. And a rebranding is likely to bring it more in line with the Pixel 9 and 9 Pro this time around.
What else will the next generation of foldable from Google surprise us with? Here’s everything we know about the Pixel 9 Pro Fold at this point.
When will the Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold be released?
In an official teaser video, Google has confirmed that it will be holding a launch event on 13 August 2024. The use of ‘IX’ – the Roman numeral for 9 – in the title all but confirms that the Pixel 9 range will be unveiled.
And in another teaser, Google confirmed that its next foldable will be called the Pixel 9 Pro Fold. As a result, it’s almost certain that Google’s next foldable will be launching on 13 August.
For context, Google launched the original Pixel Fold in May 2023. While an update cycle hasn’t been determined yet, seeing a new model before the end of 2024 wouldn’t come as a surprise.
How much will the Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold cost?
As for pricing, it’s currently a matter of speculation. The original Pixel Fold starts at £1,749/$1,799, putting it roughly in line with the £1,799/$1,899.99 Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6.
However, the Honor Magic V2 undercuts both at £1,699.99/€1,999. There’s also the OnePlus Open, which remains the cheapest of them all with a launch price tag of £1,599/$1,799.
Unfortunately it looks like the Pixel 9 Pro Fold won’t be getting any cheaper. In fact, it’s likely to be even more expensive.
According to Deelabs, leaked pricing from a French retailer suggests the 256GB model will cost €1,899, while you’ll pay €2,029 for the 512GB version. It remains to be seen how accurate that will be.
Be sure to check out our best Pixel phone deals when the 9 Pro Fold launches.
What specs and features will the Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold have?
The latest leaks about the Google Pixel 9 series, revealed by 91mobiles (in partnership with leaker OnLeaks) and Android Authority, provide a detailed look at the upcoming Pixel 9 Pro Fold.
They give away significant information about the phone. If true, there wouldn’t be many surprises left for Google to reveal at the event.
Design
In February 2024, CAD-based renders from popular leaker OnLeaks (via SmartPrix) offer the most detailed look yet at the device.
Based on these, the Pixel 9 Pro Fold features a taller, rounded outer display and a new camera module, a departure from previous Pixel designs. When folded, the Pixel 9 Pro Fold measures 155.2 x 77.1 x 10.54 mm, making it thinner than the 12.1mm original.
The new camera module is split into two sections, and houses three cameras, a flash and a microphone. That allies with early Pixel 9 renders (also from ) that share a very similar camera module design.
Display
According to Android Authority, the Pixel 9 Pro Fold will ditch its unique form factor for a taller display that’s more in keeping with the competition.
The Pixel Fold features a 5.8-inch outer display with a resolution of 1,080 x 2,092, a 120 Hz refresh rate, 408 PPI and HDR brightness of 1,200 nits. The inner display measures 7.6 inches with a resolution of 2,208 x 1,840, a 120 Hz refresh rate, 380 PPI and HDR brightness of 1,000 nits.
Jim Martin / Foundry
Jim Martin / Foundry
Jim Martin / Foundry
In comparison, the Pixel 9 Pro Fold is rumoured feature a 6.24-inch outer display with a resolution of 1,080 x 2,424, a 120 Hz refresh rate, 425 PPI and HDR brightness of 1,800 nits. The inner display could be larger at 8.0 inches, with a resolution of 2,152 x 2,076, a 120 Hz refresh rate, 374 PPI and HDR brightness of 1,600 nits.
The latest leak from 91mobiles and OnLeaks also claims very similar dimensions – a 6.3-inch display when folded and an 8-inch display when unfolded.
If true, the Pixel 9 Pro Fold will adopt a more traditional foldable form factor, with a nearly square aspect ratio for the inner display, moving away from the short and wide design of the Pixel Fold. The resolution and PPI (pixels per inch) will need to be slightly adjusted to accommodate the changes in display sizes, reflecting significant improvements in display quality and user experience for the upcoming Pixel 9 Pro Fold.
Performance
An undisclosed source revealed to Android Authority that Google is testing the Pixel 9 Pro Fold internally with the Tensor G4 chipset (codenamed “zumapro”), shifting from earlier versions using the Tensor G3 (codenamed “zuma”).
If true, it’d mean the Pixel 9 Pro Fold will probably use the same chipset as the Pixel 9 and 9 Pro. However, even the Tensor G3 would be a significant upgrade on the current Tensor G2.
Jim Martin / Foundry
Jim Martin / Foundry
Jim Martin / Foundry
The Tensor G4 is anticipated to bring slight improvements over the G3, though it’s not clear what these might entail.
According to the Android Authority leak, prototype versions of the Pixel 9 Pro Fold boast 16GB of LPDDR5 RAM and 256GB UFS 4.0 storage, both of which would be upgrades. A recent leak from 91mobiles also suggests that the phone will feature 16GB of RAM.
As a reminder, the original Pixel Fold shipped with a base 12GB of LPDDR5 RAM and 256GB of UFS 3.1 storage.
The increase to 16GB of RAM is significant, as it would mark the first time Google launches a smartphone with more than 12GB of RAM. This upgrade also seems to support Google’s strategy to enhance on-device AI capabilities through its assistant named Pixie, as per The Information.
Cameras
According to leak from 91mobiles, the Pixel 9 Pro Fold is thought to feature a 10Mp selfie camera, 48Mp main camera, 10.5Mp ultrawide sensor and a 10.8Mp telephoto lens. Based on this, the inner display camera may have been removed.
On the original model, there were five lenses: 48Mp main, 10.8Mp ultrawide, 10.8Mp telephoto, 9.5Mp front, 8Mp inner.
In general, camera performance was very good, so it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Google leave the hardware alone. Even if that ends up being the case, there may be improvements to the software image processing, though.
Battery
A report from MySmartPrice uncovered a certification for an upcoming, unidentified Pixel model.
The device in question features a 4942mAh battery, so it’d make sense for this to be the Pixel 9 Pro Fold. The original model featured a 4800mAh battery, so this would be a useful upgrade.
As highlighted in our Pixel Fold review, we found that some days concluded with battery levels comfortably remaining around 20-25%, yet it needed charging in the evening on other occasions. A larger and better optimised battery could make battery life longer and more consistent.
Jim Martin / Foundry
Jim Martin / Foundry
Jim Martin / Foundry
There’s still no information as to whether the 30W wired and 7.5W wireless charging will get any upgrades. However, according to 9to5Google, the Pixel 9 Pro Fold might support the latest Qi2 wireless charging standard.
Software
The Pixel 9 Pro Fold is almost certain to run Android 14 at the very least. The earlier launch in 2024 means Android 15 out of the box is unlikely, but it probably won’t be long (learn about new features in Android 15, plus which phones can expect to get Android 15).
The leaked materials also highlight some of the expected features of the Pixel 9 lineup. Notable mentions include the Gemini AI assistant, Circle to Search and a function allowing users to search through their screenshots.
The Pixel 9 series is also set to include emergency SOS with crisis alerts, seven years of security and feature updates, and one year of free access to Google’s advanced AI model, Gemini.
This is all the information we have at the moment, but stay tuned, as we’ll continue to update this article as more details emerge. In the meantime, you may also be interested in the best foldables and best Android phones to see what the Pixel 9 Pro Fold will be up against.
You can see how these features compare to previous Pixel phones in our guide to the history of the Pixel phone.
