The Google Pixel Fold is here, and it has one major competitor, the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4. The question is, which one is the big-screen folding smartphone to buy?
The Z Fold 4 is 155mm tall x 67mm wide, while the Pixel Fold is 140mm x 75mm, making it shorter and wider, and therefore will probably feel more like a non-folding phone. For reference, a OnePlus 11, which doesn’t fold, is 163mm tall and 74mm wide. It’s the thickness where you’ll notice the most difference, though. The Z Fold 4 has a small gap between sections when folded up, so it’s 15.8mm at the hinge and 14.2mm where the two parts meet.
Samsung’s choice of colors is also more enticing. The Samsung exclusive Burgundy is very tempting, along with the more easily obtained Graygreen option, which joins the more standard black and Beige colors. For the Pixel Fold, you have the choice of Obsidian or Porcelain … and that’s it. Google has chosen its Tensor G2 processor, which is also used in the Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro, with 12GB of RAM and a choice of either 256GB or 512GB internal storage space. The battery has a larger capacity of 4,821mAh and is recharged using a 30W USB-PD 3.0 charger. Neither phone comes with a charging block, but both do have Qi wireless charging. Google claims 24 hours of use from its battery.
If it can extract great performance from its three cameras, the Pixel Fold has the opportunity to become the foldable phone of choice for camera fans. We aren’t going to know until we review the phone, but there’s considerable promise given Google’s camera history. That said, the Galaxy Z Fold 4 is available right now, and we know it takes decent photos, so it gets the win.Pixel Fold vs. Galaxy Z Fold 4: software and features The Galaxy Z Fold 4 has Android 13 with Samsung’s One UI 5.