I could never afford the Pixel 9 Pro Fold – and these leaked specs make me glad I can’t
I’ve been using my current phone, the Pixel 6 Pro, since launch and have known for a long time that it was reaching the end of its life. After deciding against upgrading to the Pixel 8 Pro last year, I’m firmly committed to buying one of the three upcoming Pixel 9 Pro models – one of which is the Pixel 9 Pro Fold.
I’m not going to lie, I’ve been debating whether or not to buy the Pixel 9 Pro Fold. Google did a great job with the original Pixel Fold, one of the best foldable phones, and there are some high expectations for its successor. The only problem is the damn price. The Pixel Fold started at $1,799 at launch, and we fully expect the 9 Pro Fold to cost at least that much — maybe more if Google pulls a Samsung punch.
That price is the main reason I probably won’t be getting the new foldable Pixel. Non-foldable phones are expensive enough as it is, and I can’t really justify spending that much on a smartphone. Thankfully, some of the leaked specs, especially the camera, make me pretty glad I don’t have that much money to spend.
The Pixel 9 Pro Fold’s camera specs are disappointing
Earlier this month, we heard a rumor based on the Camera FV-5 app’s device database that said the Pixel 9 Pro Fold will have a 48MP main camera lens and a 10MP selfie camera, which isn’t all that impressive. 48MP is what the original Pixel Fold offered on the back, and while 10.5MP is a bit better than 9.5MP, it still doesn’t compare as well to phones with 42MP, 35MP, or even 12MP selfie cameras.
The database didn’t reveal any details about the ultra-wide or telephoto lenses, which means Google could still surprise us by ditching the 10.5MP lenses from the original Pixel Fold. That would definitely be a good thing, but depending on what upgrades there are, the cameras could still fall behind those on the other two Pixel 9 phones.
There is no single factor that guides me in choosing my phones, but camera performance is an important one. Before buying the Pixel 6 Pro, I was a staunch OnePlus user, but I was disappointed by the mediocre camera performance too many times and decided to upgrade to something better – while still maintaining a clean Android experience.
Google Pixels regularly top our list of the best camera phones because they offer a solid mix of quality hardware and software. And since I prefer an optical zoom lens rather than relying solely on a digital one, that led me to the Pro models. In my case, the extra cost was worth it thanks to that camera lens (and the larger screen).
Of course, camera hardware isn’t everything, and Google Pixels are the perfect example of that. Google was one of the last major phone companies to adopt the multi-lens camera, adding a second lens to the Pixel 4 only in 2019. Before that, the company insisted that its software was so good that the second camera wasn’t necessary, and there was no denying that those cameras were very good.
And thanks to advances in AI and machine learning, these days those photos should be better than ever – all thanks to software. So we can’t say for sure how much better or worse the Pixel 9 Pro Fold’s camera might be compared to the Pixel 9 Pro and 9 Pro XL. The fact that the main camera might not be the same as the non-foldable models doesn’t make me confident.
Costs still make the latest foldable devices difficult to justify
If I’m going to pay a premium for a foldable phone, I expect it to at least match the flagship equivalent. Ideally, something better would help make that price more worthwhile, but that might be asking too much. Just look at the difference between the camera hardware on the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra and the Galaxy Z Fold 6.
Fortunately, rumors suggest that the Pixel 9 Pro Fold won’t fall into the same traps as its predecessors and will come with similar hardware – like the Tensor G4 chipset, 16GB of RAM, and a 6.3-inch cover display.
But the question remains whether adding a larger 8-inch foldable interior display justifies the rumored $1,799 price tag, especially when foldables like the Galaxy Z Fold 6 and OnePlus Open offer additional features like S Pen support or the best multitasking interface we’ve ever seen on a smartphone. But when it comes down to it, that price always comes back to the foldable screen.
It’s a gimmick, there’s no doubt about that, and anyone who says otherwise is just plain wrong. But it’s a cool gimmick. It’s pretty cool to have a tablet-sized display without having to carry a tablet around. But is this gimmick worth nearly $1,800? Not on its own.
Therein lies the main problem with foldables – the astronomical price. Not only are they almost twice as expensive as many non-foldable flagships, but they don’t necessarily feel like they justify the price of two phones. Just a hinge and an extra-large screen.
The costs have dropped in some places. The OnePlus Open recently lowered the starting price to $1,399 and the Motorola Razr 2024 and Motorola Razr Plus 2024 still remain under $1,000. However, the Galaxy Z Fold 6 has increased its price by $100 and now starts at $1,899, so the problem of high prices is unlikely to go away anytime soon.
Conclusion
I’ve used foldable phones a lot and generally had good experiences with them, but would I ever buy one myself? I might be tempted to get a flagship flip phone like the Motorola Razr Plus in 2024 one day, but I’d still have to consider whether my money would be better spent on a non-foldable phone. As for the larger book-style foldable phones, like the Pixel 9 Pro Fold is supposed to be, that’s not expected to happen anytime soon.
Not only do I not have enough money to buy such an expensive device, I couldn’t justify it even if I did. And the fact that the specs of foldable phones are always disappointing compared to their non-foldable cousins means it’s far less likely that I’d ever want to spend that much money on one.
Hopefully, over the next few years, phone makers, including Google, will get the message and offer more incentives to spend so much money on a single device.
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