Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold review: in great shape

I can't overstate how nice it feels to use the Pixel 9 Pro Fold's inner screen. I've never felt so smug using all my little apps at the coffee shop on a big screen, folding it in half, and putting it in my pocket. 

Google nailed the hardware this time around. The front screen looks like, well, a normal phone screen. I can't say the same about the previous Pixel Fold's front screen or six generations of Samsung's Z Fold. The Pixel 9 Pro Fold is also light enough that I can forget I'm using a folding phone for whole stretches of time. Imagine!

Google solved a lot of the first Fold's problems, but it hasn't solved all of them. Thankfully, the ones that are left are just folding phone problems. The cameras aren't as good as the cameras on the regular Pixel 9 series. It's still thicker and heavier than even the biggest slab-style phones. It won't be as easy to repair, and it's twice the price of a garden-variety flagship phone. If you're looking for reasons to talk yourself out of a $1,799 purchase, you're welcome.

But for someone who's feeling adventurous and isn't concerned with the drawbacks of folding phone life, I'm sorry to say, you should probably spend $1,800 on this phone. It's that good.

Google took exactly the right cues from OnePlus, splitting the difference between the previous Pixel Fold and the Open. The front screen feels like using a normal screen. It's not much heavier than a normal phone. The inner screen is big. Everything is the way it should be. 

This Pixel Fold may be a "Pro" phone, but it shares screen specs with the standard Pixel 9 and not the Pixel 9 Pro. All three devices have a 6.3-inch OLED, but the regular 9 and the 9 Pro Fold have 1080p resolutions and top out at 1,800 nits in peak brightness mode. The 9 Pro's screen is just a little sharper and brighter, so that's a tradeoff you'll need to make if you want the Pixel that folds in half.

The outer screen isn't quite as "Pro" as it could be, but the inner screen is where the money's at, and it's much brighter this year. That's an important improvement on a device that's supposed to, you know, go outside with you all the time. What's the fun in flexing that big display sitting outside of the coffee shop if you have to squint at it? The boosted peak brightness of 2,700 nits makes it much more comfortable to use outside than the previous generation's screen.