Thursday, November 14, 2024

My Pixel Fold will never be a better foldable than the Galaxy Fold – we need another redesign

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I’ve been using the Pixel 9 Pro Fold pretty much since launch, and Google’s second attempt at a foldable has managed to convince me folding phones are here to stay – even if they won’t be everybody’s cup of tea.

Even though this isn’t a long-term review, I’ll go ahead and put it out there – the Pixel 9 Pro Fold is a very solid PHONE – not just a folding phone.

When we put aside the familiar Pixel shortcomings like the OK battery life and mid-range chipset, Google’s latest foldable has incredible displays (arguably the brightest panels on a foldable), great day-to-day performance, more than good enough cameras, and it actually feels great to hold and use… for the most part.

Unfortunately, I’ve discovered that (for me), the foldable experience with the Pixel Fold starts to fall apart once I open it up. And if the goal of buying this phone is to “open it up”… Mountain View, we’ve got a problem!

I hate to say it, but the Pixel 9 Pro Ford’s biggest (8-inch) problem might be a major dealbreaker for some (like me)

To get right to the point, even though the inner 8-inch screen of the Pixel 9 Pro Fold might just be the brightest and (technologically) best folding phone screen on the market, the square aspect ratio (and overall size) Google’s gone for is simply… awkward.The square 8-inch panel is actually perfect for running two (regular phone size) apps side by side – it’s literally like having two large Pixel phones glued together, which quite simply lets you do twice as much… at once.

The problem comes when you find out the “running two apps side-by-side” thing is just about the only advantage of having a large square display at your disposal.

Typing is by far my least favorite thing to do on the 8-inch screen of the Pixel 9 Pro Fold, because of the square shape and large and awkward (for typing) screen size.

The even bigger problem is that the Pixel 9 Pro Fold is pretty much a square and no matter which way you turn it, so the typing experience simply never feels right, and that’s a dealbreaker for writers like me.

Add to that Google’s horrible keyboard experience (I tried Microsoft Swift – it’s just as bad), and the Pixel 9 Pro Fold becomes a no-go for someone who types all day long.

To be fair, your mileage might vary – especially if your hands are larger, but I still believe the square nature of the screen isn’t ideal for typing.

I’m not buying another Pixel Fold if Google doesn’t change the square aspect ratio – just make it like the Galaxy Fold

All in all, this design choice turns out to be the biggest issue I have with my Pixel 9 Pro Fold, which happens to automatically push me towards the obvious alternative – the Galaxy Z Fold 6 (which I now consider switching to).

I’m pretty much convinced the rectangular Fold 6 is what a foldable should look and feel like now (perhaps a bit larger?) as you can easily type with two hands, holding the phone in the (obviously) correct (vertical) orientation.

And of course, you can just spin it around to get the extra horizontal space if you need to run 2/3 apps at once, or watch videos – or if your hands are extra large and that’s how you want to type on the inner screen.

All in all, I’ll keep using the 2024 Pixel Fold simply because I already have it, but if I had to make a choice (again), I’d choose the Fold 6 over the Pixel without hesitation.

But simply put, if the inner display feels underutilized and uncomfortable to use for basic things like typing and watching videos, this results in a major problem for the FOLDABLE Pixel, which relies on that inner screen to justify its existence. It’s really no rocket science.

Samsung shouldn’t get rid of the rectangular Fold design

Now, am I saying Google should go back to the (vastly different) original Fold design? Maybe… Maybe not. Perhaps the perfect compromise will be to copy the Galaxy Z Fold 6’s aspect ratio, or I suppose make the screens a bit larger while keeping the rectangular shape, which feels just right for both typing and watching videos.

Or you know… make a Huawei Mate XT trifold competitor? Just kidding. Google is 5 years away from that.

Are you with me, or are you with me?

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