I left the Apple ecosystem for the Google Pixel 10 Pro Fold for a month, and now I don’t want to go back.
This year saw several meaningful leaps in the foldable phone market, with a few notable devices reaching our desks for hands-on reviews. The Vivo X Fold5 impressed with its triple 50MP Zeiss co-engineered cameras. The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 arrived with its most powerful hardware yet in its thinnest profile to date. The Google Pixel 10 Pro Fold, on the other hand, arrived with doubts. It has an underpowered Tensor G5 chip and barely any updates to its form factor. I still love it anyway.
So far, I have noticed two very different reactions when people see me using the Google Pixel 10 Pro Fold. The first, mostly from Apple users, is genuine interest. Not just in the foldable form factor, but also in the overall aesthetic. To be fair, the phone’s rounded corners and clean OS deliver an experience that feels distinctly Apple-like. Pre-liquid metal, of course.
The second reaction is doubt, mostly from spec jockeys who have heard about the underpowered Tensor G5 chip, or about the phone supposedly exploding when taken apart. These concerns are not unwarranted, but I do think the prejudice surrounding them does a disservice to the genuine improvements introduced this generation.
With that in mind, allow me to discuss my experience with the Google Pixel 10 Pro Fold, sans exploding battery.
Performance
For many, the Tensor G5 is a deal breaker, especially when paired with a S$2,399 price tag.
In practice, though, it is fast enough for daily use. The chip is clearly designed for productivity and multitasking, and it delivered on that front during my month with the phone. Performance was consistently snappy, with no noticeable lag, even with multiple AI features running in the background. It feels purpose-built for efficiently handling AI workloads across productivity apps, and it does so seamlessly.
One downside I experienced is that the Google Pixel 10 Pro Fold heats up quite easily. This is more evident when playing games like Genshin Impact or Persona 5: The Phantom X, where the phone starts feeling warm to the touch after around five minutes. During normal usage, the phone began feeling hot after about half an hour.
Handling the phone with occasional heat would not have been so bad if it were not bulky.
Ergonomics
It is thick, especially when compared to the ultra-thin foldables released this year. At 10.8mm when folded, it is unwieldy to use one-handed and feels slightly top-heavy due to the camera bump. This improves when unfolded, where the weight distribution feels more balanced and the thinner profile makes it easier to manage.
PixelSnap might seem like a minor update, but it significantly improves usability. Magnetic phone grips make one-handed use easier, and it opens the door to accessories like magnetic wireless chargers. Charging speeds are not particularly fast, but using options like the PixelSnap Charger or the UGREEN Qi2 charger makes the experience far more convenient.
Build quality is solid, too. The gearless hinge enables IP68 water and dust resistance, so you can comfortably work on spreadsheets at the beach, if that is your thing.
The Screens
The 6.4-inch Actua display on the front is slightly bigger than the last generation and remains fully usable as a slab phone. To be honest, one could leave it folded and use it like a normal phone. But why would you, when you can open it up to the 8-inch Super Actua Flex display?
Both screens are bright and the colours look excellent. The inner display, however, has the most noticeable crease among the foldable phones we have reviewed so far. I am not entirely sure if this is due to the gearless hinge mechanism. If it is, I think it is a reasonable trade-off for the IP68 rating. Like most foldable phones, the crease largely disappears when viewing the screen head-on.
Needless to say, the inner screen is best suited for multi-window productivity and my favourite task, editing and taking photos.
Cameras
At this price point, the camera system raises eyebrows, largely because it is unchanged from the previous generation. The setup includes a 48MP main camera, a 10.5MP ultrawide, and a 10.8MP telephoto. On paper, this pales in comparison to the 200MP sensor on the Galaxy Z Fold 7 or the tri-50MP system on the Vivo X Fold5.
The cameras perform exactly as you would expect from last year’s Pixel Fold, with added AI features. While the AI occasionally struggles with recreating fine details, its other photo-assist functions make taking photos fun again.
Camera Coach is a nice touch and intuitive enough for my five-year-old daughter to enjoy using. However, this is something most users will likely experiment with briefly before relying on instinct instead.
The 20x Super Res Zoom is useful, but some images taken at that range come out muddy. For best results, I would recommend sticking closer to the limits of the optical zoom.
The AI
Like other Pixel phones this year, the AI feels thoughtfully integrated rather than intrusive. It is present, but not overbearing, and woven into the experience in a way that feels natural rather than forced.
As a former Apple user, I like Gemini now. Sorry, Siri.
The Ecosystem
To fully appreciate the Pixel lineup, and to truly migrate from Apple, pairing the Pixel 10 Pro Fold with other Pixel accessories is key. The phone works beautifully alongside the Pixel Watch 4 for health tracking and the Pixel Buds 2a, whose Active Noise Cancelling makes daily commutes far more peaceful.
Together, these devices delivered a cohesive Android ecosystem for me, with the foldable phone firmly at the centre of the experience.
Final Thoughts
It is thick, but the shorter screen ratio compared to other foldables makes it easier to slip into a pocket without the edge sticking out.
It gets warm quickly during gaming, but that is largely expected. I rarely push it to high temperatures during productivity tasks, since I usually only need a few minutes to check presentations or spreadsheets.
The cameras are serviceable and actually quite good, as long as you do not rely too heavily on AI enhancements right away.
The Google Pixel 10 Pro Fold may not be the best foldable phone on paper, nor the best value at its current price point. Yet none of that stopped me from enjoying the experience of using it alongside other Pixel accessories. So far, this is the only phone that has given me enough confidence to leave my iPhone at home.
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