Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold vs Pixel Fold: What's the difference and should you upgrade?

With the arrival of the Pixel 9 Pro Fold, Google has stepped up its foldable game significantly. A lot has changed here over the original Pixel Fold. Let’s jump in and take a closer look at the new Pixel 9 Pro Fold vs Pixel Fold.

Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold vs Pixel Fold: Specs

Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold vs Pixel Fold: Design, size comparison, and colors

One look and you can immediately see just how different the two phones are. The newer model looks much more polished and has an aspect ratio that is more like a traditional smartphone versus the passport style of its predecessor.

On the rear, you’ll find the differences continue. The Pixel 9 Pro Fold has a redesigned camera bump that takes some inspiration from the rest of the Pixel 9 series, though it consists of two rows and is a bit thicker.

When folded, Pixel 9 Pro Fold has dimensions of 155.2 x 77.1, and it’s just 10.5mm thick. While this would be considered beefy for a traditional phone, the Pixel Fold was much thicker at 12.1mm. it might be thicker, but the Pixel Fold is a bit smaller with dimensions of just 155.2 x 77.1.

Upon unfolding the display you’ll be treated to a much more attractive screen that is not only slightly bigger at 8 inches versus the original’s 7.6-inch panel, it’s also much less chunky and now has a camera cut-out.

The Pixel 9 Pro Fold unfolds to 155.2 x 150.2 with a thickness of 5.1mm, while the Pixel Fold comes in at 139.7 x 158.7 and is slightly thicker at 5.9mm. The new display isn’t just bigger, it also no longer defaults to landscape mode. This is especially important, as the older display had trouble with some apps due to its unique aspect ratio, which resulted in black bars around many apps. This shouldn’t be an issue with the new portrait-style display.

Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold vs Pixel Fold: Features

The Pro Fold sees an upgrade here to the Tensor G4, which is the same chip found across the entire Pixel 9 series and is two generations newer than the Tensor G2 chip found on the original Pixel Fold.

Google’s second foldable might technically be skipping a full generation compared to its successor, but keep in mind the Tensor G3 was a minor update, so the performance difference isn’t as big as you’d see across Snapdragon generations. The Fold Pro does have more RAM, though. The Pro Fold has 16GB of RAM versus 12GB, though Google notes an undisclosed portion of this will be reserved for running Gemini’s multi-modality, which ensures the best possible AI experience.

Battery life is another difference between the two, though marginally at 4,821mAh on the Pixel Fold versus the 4,650mAh battery on the Pro Fold. Despite being smaller, the Tensor G4 is more energy efficient. Hopefully, this means battery life is similar but even if it’s slightly worse, the good news is the Pixel 9 Pro Fold can charge much faster at 45W versus 21W charging on its predecessor.

Google also offers a slightly improved camera experience. While most of the sensors remain the same as the Pixel Fold, the Pro Fold has a new 10.5MP ultra-wide shooter with a 127-degree field of view and support for Macro Focus. For now, it’s hard to say how much better the new camera will be, at least until we get more hands-on time with both.

The Pixel Fold 9 Pro is also getting a Satellite SOS feature which will arrive later this year and will be free to users for the first two years.

The Pixel 9 Pro Fold might not be rocking Android 15 just yet, but it still introduces several new software improvements over the Pixel Fold, though most of these improvements are around AI. Here’s a quick rundown of some of the highlights:

• New Magic Editor features, including auto framing and the ability to change backgrounds entirely.
• Gemini Live lets you have a live, free-flowing conversation with Gemini using natural language.
• Call Notes lets you record your calls, create a transcript, and use Gemini to create a brief summary of the call.
• Pixel Studio lets you generate images using AI as a stand-alone app based on Google Imagen 3.
• Add Me is a new camera feature that lets you take a picture of your group. Next, you’ll take another picture, but this time swapping places with someone. The AI will then stitch together the two images to make it look like you were always in it with the whole group.
• Pixel Screenshots remembers and organizes your screenshots, allowing you to use AI to quickly view its information when needed.

Gemini is also now the default assistant. The Pro Fold even includes a year of free Google Gemini Advanced access, helping you get the most out of Google’s AI assistant.

Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold vs Pixel Fold: Price and availability

The Google Pixel Fold went on sale last year on August 13 starting at $1,799. Thankfully, despite its many improvements, the new Pixel 9 Pro Fold has the same starting price as last year and is available for pre-order starting today!

Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold vs Pixel Fold: Should you upgrade?

Normally we’d never suggest upgrading to a new phone after just one generation, but the Pixel 9 Pro Fold is a special case. If you didn’t like the landscape mode on the Pixel Fold ($1799 at Amazon) or felt its display on the front wasn’t to your liking, the Pro Fold might be a worthwhile upgrade.

If you’re just looking for a better camera and specs? Honestly, the improvement is pretty minor and we’d stick with the Pixel Fold another year. Don’t have either yet? We wouldn’t recommend buying the Pixel Fold even at a discount as the experience is so much better this time around that we feel it’s worth the few hundred you’re likely save on a discounted Pixel Fold.