Pixel 11 Pro Fold cracks in bend test despite Google's '3x stronger' claims

Google’s Pixel 11 Pro Fold has failed JerryRigEverything’s popular durability test for a second year in a row. After the Pixel 10 Pro XL literally exploded during the same durability test last year, it looks like Google still hasn’t improved the Pixel 11 Pro’s weakest structural point.

During the YouTuber’s bend test, the phone cracked along both antenna lines next to the hinge. The original Pixel Fold, Pixel 9 Pro Fold, and Pixel 10 Pro Fold all broke at the same antenna line near the hinge during previous tests. That makes the Pixel 11 Pro Fold the fourth consecutive Google foldable to fail in this aspect.

At launch, Google said that it had re-engineered the Pixel 11 Pro Fold to be three times stronger. The company also claimed that its hinge withstands millions of opening and closing cycles in laboratory testing. JerryRigEverything’s test is obviously different from Google’s controlled methodology, but it raises questions about how the phone handles extreme structural stress in the real world. Just imagine a toddler accidentally closing the phone the wrong way.

Things got even worse during the bend test, when the phone’s outer display popped off completely. The glass detached from the device without the need for tools or wires. While the back composite panel remained intact, the battery didn’t come out looking too great either.

Elsewhere, the outer display scratched at level six on the Mohs hardness scale, with deeper grooves appearing at level seven. The flexible inner display scratched at level two, with deeper marks appearing at roughly the level of a fingernail. That’s expected behavior for the softer materials used on foldable displays.

Both OLED panels were also permanently damaged in the burn test. The inner display lasted around 20 seconds under the flame before suffering permanent damage, while the outer display lasted about 13 seconds.

The Pixel 11 Pro Fold’s IP68 rating also didn’t prevent fine particles from getting into the hinge during the test. JerryRigEverything notes that the phone should still offer reasonable water resistance, but the moving hinge mechanism doesn’t seem fully protected from dust and other fine particles.