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6 ways Google can turn the Pixel Fold 2 into my dream foldable phone
The original Google Pixel Fold came out last year at the company's I/O developer conference, after years of rumors. It was Google's first in-house foray into the world of foldables and gave the world a glimpse at how the company saw the form factor and the capabilities it ought to have.
Review: Google Pixel Fold: Samsung's first big competitor comes out swinging
It was well received by reviewers, although it had plenty of quirks. I've had my review unit for about nine months, and it's definitely my favorite folding phone I've used yet. But I know that's not the case for many others.
There are several things I'd like to see Google improve on with the next Pixel Fold, which is rumored to fall in line with the company's flagship phone line and be called the "Pixel 9 Pro Fold." Whatever its name winds up being, here are some features, improvements, and changes I'd like to see in the next version.
1. A slightly taller outer display
I'll be the first to tell you that I love the Pixel Fold's short and stout outer display. The 5.8-inch panel is reminiscent of the good ol' days before phones got super narrow and tall. Everything feels a bit extra spacious, especially the keyboard, which is simply delightful to type on.
Also: 3 ways Samsung can turn the Galaxy Z Fold 6 into my dream foldable phone
But the biggest advantage to a taller, narrower smartphone is the additional vertical height you get for scrolling feeds and websites. The Pixel Fold is nowhere near as tall as most other flagships, and when you're swiping through Instagram or reading an article, it becomes immediately apparent. Photos and videos get cut off, you have to scroll way more to read text, and you begin to feel cramped as a result.
I'm not saying make the Pixel Fold as tall or narrow as the Galaxy Z Fold 5, but maybe something like the OnePlus Open where it's still pretty wide but noticeably taller. That would be the sweet spot.
2. A less hefty design
The times when you want to use the Pixel Fold's outer display can get painful. That's because the phone weighs a ton compared to other phones. We're talking 283 grams (9.98 oz), whereas most phones fall somewhere between 180-240 grams (6.35-8.47 oz). Even the OnePlus Open (a phone that's notably larger than the Pixel Fold) is over 40 grams lighter.
Also: OnePlus' first-ever foldable makes Samsung and Google's look outdated
The added bulk makes using the Pixel Fold's external display tricky with one hand, your pinky starts hurting after a short time, and all you wanna do is put it down. I'd love to see Google shave 30-40 grams off its weight; it would tempt me far less to put it down.
3. Flagship-level cameras
One of the reasons I don't use the Pixel Fold as my main phone is because of the cameras. It's not that they're bad, but they're a number of steps behind the best camera phones from Apple, Samsung, and even Google themselves.
The original Pixel Fold stuck with cameras that were more in line with what you'd find on phones in the Pixel A series, since Google couldn't fit the larger, more capable sensors of the Pixel 7 Pro (the latest model before the Pixel Fold launched) in it. Google's HDR algorithms are still excellent and can kick out great-looking photos and videos despite having less impressive hardware, but it falls flat in a few key areas like zoom, ultra-wide, and low-light.
Also: Google Pixel 8 Pro review: Five months later, still the AI phone to beat in 2024
I get that folding phones don't give you a lot of room to cram in high-end camera hardware, but I'm hoping Google can figure out how to fix that with the next version. Even if they have to make the phone a bit thicker, I'm willing to put up with it if it means I can zoom in further or capture extra detail in my photos.
4. Faster charging
Why does a $1,800 phone only come with 30W charging?
I mean, I question why any flagship phone uses anything slower than 45W, but this is a smartphone that's nearly $2,000 and it takes over an hour to charge from zero to 100 percent. Google has historically had slower charging speeds than the rest of the industry, but I'd love to see the company turn that around with the next Pixel Fold phone.
5. Enhanced durability
I'd love to see extra protection added to the internal folding screen with the next Pixel Fold. Right now, the display feels delicate and fragile, ready to break if you press down on it too hard or you get anywhere close to a beach with tiny grains of sand that could creep their way underneath the OLED.
Also: I tested Lenovo's dual-screen laptop and it improved my productivity in profound ways
I haven't had any problems with the screen during my usage, but that's likely because I refuse to take it anywhere that could get it damaged, which is not how any normal person uses their phone. The water resistance is fairly decent at IPX8, but I think some extra dust/dirt protection would be appreciated by everyone.
6. More software tricks
Google includes a fair amount of software customizations for the unique hardware of the Pixel Fold, like a disappearing app dock at the bottom of the screen, split-screen multitasking, and drag-and-drop. With the next version, I'd love to have access to a more complete suite of software tricks to take advantage of the big folding display.
OnePlus has mastered this with the Open. The company's OxygenOS skin on top of Android includes a boatload of neat features that let you multitask like a pro. From Open Canvas (open three apps at once and slide them over to access another three) to the Recents folder in the dock, Google could take some notes from OnePlus and implement some changes into the core Pixel experience.
Android 15 is set to optimize things further for foldables with features like a persistent task bar, new swipe gestures, and more. Still, it'd be nice to see Google flesh out the experience more and give users more options for multitasking on their folding phones.
Rumor has it that the next Pixel Fold will arrive either this month at Google I/O or later this fall alongside the Pixel 9 series. Whenever it winds up dropping, stay tuned to ZDNET for coverage.