Commentary: The Pixel Fold has a lot of room to improve. We’ll find out what’s next for Google’s foldable phone on Aug. 13.
The Pixel Fold has a lot of room to improve. We’ll find out what’s next for Google’s foldable phone on Aug. 13.
Google got a lot right with the Pixel Fold, namely its spacious cover screen and high-quality rear camera system. But Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold 6 just went on sale, and its sleeker design and a lighter build makes me want more from Google’s next foldable, the Pixel 9 Pro Fold.
The search giant will introduce the Pixel 9 Pro Fold at an event on Aug. 13, during which we’re expecting to learn more about Google’s smartphone plans. Above all else, I want Google to do what no foldable phone maker has done yet: Invent compelling new software features specifically for foldable phones.
I may sound like a broken record. But as the release of the Galaxy Z Fold 6 shows, phone makers still haven’t progressed much in terms of software that takes advantage of multiple screens. While the ability to prop open the device to take a photo or view apps in split screen mode is helpful, I want to see more creative ways to make use of the two screens you get with a foldable phone.
The Pixel 9 Pro Fold is expected to arrive just as the foldable phone market continues to grow, although it still represents a small portion of the overall phone market. In a report provided to CNET, the International Data Corporation stated that foldable shipments grew 33% year-over-year in the first quarter of 2024.
A new processor and some design tweaks are likely in store for Google’s next foldable, the latter of which Google has already confirmed through images posted on its website. But here’s what the Pixel 9 Pro Fold needs to keep pace with Samsung and address my biggest criticisms about the original Pixel Fold.More innovative software features
The Pixel Fold (and other foldable phones) could use more creative software features.
If you’re going to pay top dollar for a foldable phone, you want an experience that feels notably different from that of a regular, bar-type phone. For some, the benefit of having both a tablet-sized internal screen and a phone-sized screen may check that box. But now that foldable phones have been widely available for around five years, I was hoping to see more from companies like Google when it comes to the software.
We’re still treating book-style foldables as if they’re just larger smartphones when there’s an opportunity for them to be a new type of device entirely. I recently wrote that Samsung should adopt a feature similar to Apple’s Standby mode for the Galaxy Z Fold 6’s cover screen, and I think Google should do the same.
In fact, it’s in an even better position to do so. Not only is the Pixel Fold’s front screen wider than the Galaxy Z Fold 6’s, but Google can draw from its experience with the Pixel Tablet to create a smart display-style interface for the cover screen.
