There’s a decent amount of choice if you’re looking to buy a foldable right now. But if you’re into Google’s ecosystem and are mulling a switch, you should wait until the Pixel 11 Pro Fold becomes available. Google will unveil the foldable alongside the Pixel 11 models on August 12, and the foldable should go on sale shortly thereafter.
Between the Motorola Razr Fold, Samsung’s all-new Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra and the wide Z Fold 8, and the upcoming Pixel 11 Pro Fold, you’re pretty much covered if you want a solid book-style foldable. It’s a little annoying that the Find N6 and the Vivo X Fold 5 — two of my favorite foldables — aren’t available in the U.S., but it’s clear by now that these brands don’t want to branch out into North America.
There’s also the Pixel 10 Pro Fold, and I like Google’s foldable quite a lot even though it doesn’t take the best photos, isn’t the lightest, or the fastest. It has delightful software, and I like the build quality and durability. That said, I wouldn’t recommend buying one at this moment in time — Google is set to roll out decent upgrades this year to the Pixel 11 Pro Fold.
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Recent leaks point to a thinner design, which is honestly something Google should have done last year itself. The rest of the industry made huge strides in this area, and even Samsung started using silicon-carbon battery tech to slot in a 5,000mAh battery in a body that’s roughly the same size and weight as last year’s Z Fold 7 (which had a 4,400mAh unit).
Google absolutely needs to have a noticeably-thinner and lighter foldable, and it needs better cameras. Thankfully, the leaks point to Google delivering a new main camera, so the Pixel 11 Pro Fold should take better photos out of the box. I also want to see a bigger battery, but information has been light on that — what we do know is that Google is using a brand-new Tensor G6 platform that’s built on a 2nm node, so it should have better energy-efficiency, allowing the foldable to last longer.
Where Google absolutely nailed the brief with the Pixel 10 Pro Fold is with the inner and outer OLED panels. They’re calibrated well, have vibrant colors, and get brighter than other foldables, and I want this to continue with this year’s device. Where Google needs to do better is the crease; OPPO showcased how to make a foldable with no visible crease in the Find N6, and Samsung came mighty close to it with the Z Fold 8 Ultra, and Google now has to show how its efforts in this category have panned out over the last 12 months.
If you don’t want to wait and want a foldable right now, the Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra would be the obvious choice. It has the best design, an extensive feature-set, and great cameras. But if you prefer Google’s software and are ready to finally switch to a foldable, I’d suggest waiting until the Pixel 11 Pro Fold goes on sale — we don’t have to wait too long.
Samsung
Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra
Like previous years, the Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra is the go-to choice if you need a foldable and like using Samsung’s software. Otherwise, I’d recommend waiting to see what Google has in store with the Pixel 11 Pro Fold this year.