Google Pixel Fold vs Pixel 7 Pro: Which one should you buy?

With the release of the Pixel Fold, Google has officially made its debut in the foldable smartphone market. At $1,799, though, it’s clear that the Pixel Fold is a premium device with plenty of cutting-edge features. But at the same time, it retains many of the signature Pixel-exclusive AI and camera features we’ve come to expect over the years. So given this shared heritage, you might be wondering: how does the Pixel Fold stack up vs the Pixel 7 Pro and which one should you buy?

Google Pixel Fold vs Pixel 7 Pro: Specs

Even though it’s technically a first-generation product, the Pixel Fold shares many of the same underpinnings as other Google smartphones. Most notably, the AI-focused Tensor G2 SoC is present on both the Pixel Fold and Pixel 7 Pro. It’s undoubtedly a flagship-tier chip, even if it lags behind some of the latest competition, like Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 2.

The two phones also share a similar design language, which Google first introduced with the Pixel 6 series. The metal frame and camera visor have now become distinct elements of the Pixel lineup.

Look just a little closer, though, and the similarities quickly vanish. Of course, the main difference is that the Pixel Fold houses twice as many displays as the Pixel 7 Pro. At 5.8 inches, Google’s foldable features a smaller cover display than the Pixel 7 Pro’s 6.7-inch panel. However, unfolding the former reveals a 7.6-inch display that’s nearly as large as some tablets. In fact, the foldable grants you 66% more display area compared to the Pixel 7 Pro.

For both of the phones in question, Google has packed bright and vibrant OLED displays with 120Hz refresh rates. They all get similarly bright, with a peak brightness of around 1,500 nits.

There are similarities on the software side too, with the same three-year feature update commitment. On top of that, you get two years of Android security updates. With that in mind, you’ll get approximately half a year’s worth of additional updates if you buy the Pixel Fold.

One clear advantage of Google’s foldable smartphone is that the base model includes 256GB of storage and 12GB of RAM. That’s double the storage and 50% more memory than the Pixel 7 Pro. Having said that, you can pay to upgrade both on the latter.

Moving on to durability, Google joins Samsung as one of the only foldable smartphone brands to offer water resistance. The IPX8 rating means you won’t have to worry about accidental splashes, but you’ll need to keep the phone away from dust. The Pixel 7 Pro, with its IP68 rating, is much more well-protected in this regard. The Pixel Fold’s cover display is protected with Gorilla Glass Victus, which matches the Pixel 7 Pro. On the inside, meanwhile, it gets the same ultra-thin glass that Samsung uses on the Galaxy Z Fold 4.

Google Pixel Fold vs Pixel 7 Pro: Size comparison

You do pay a small price for the Pixel Fold’s flexibility in the form of extra weight (71g difference), which translates to an extra 33% vs the Pixel 7 Pro. Not to mention, the added thickness when folded will result in a tighter fit in your pockets. Having said that, Google has done a decent job of minimizing the Pixel Fold’s footprint. The phone features a waterdrop-style hinge mechanism, which allows it to fold flat without any gaps.

The Pixel Fold is wider than the Pixel 7 Pro when folded, which may be just too wide for one-handed use. Google’s non-folding flagship boasts a slightly curved display, making it feel narrower in the hand. Finally, it goes without saying that you’ll need to use two hands whenever you use the Pixel Fold in its unfolded state.

We’ve noted on several occasions that the Pixel 7 Pro is already quite a substantial phone. Google’s foldable takes that up a notch, so I’d recommend trying out both devices before pulling the trigger.

Google Pixel Fold vs Pixel 7 Pro: Camera

Any comparison involving Google’s smartphones would be incomplete without a camera comparison. Let’s start with the good news. You get a triple camera array on the back of both, the Pixel Fold and Pixel 7 Pro. However, the image sensors aren’t the same on both devices.

The Pixel Fold features a 48MP primary, 10.8MP ultrawide, and 10.8 5x telephoto lens. Meanwhile, the Pixel 7 Pro offers a 50MP main shooter alongside 12MP ultrawide and 48MP 5x telephoto cameras. Right off the bat, it’s clear that the Pixel Fold loses out in terms of resolution. But there’s also another aspect that you may notice unless you look closely at the spec sheet. All three sensors on the Pixel Fold are slightly smaller vs the ones you’ll find on the Pixel 7 Pro.

We’ve spoken at length about the importance of camera sensor sizes in the past. So it goes without saying that the Pixel 7 Pro has the advantage on paper. Simultaneously, however, Google’s smartphones are known to have some of the best post-processing on the market. We’ve seen the company use its computational photography tech to deliver some impressive results in recent times. In fact, the affordable Google Pixel 7a rivals more expensive smartphones with better on-paper camera hardware.

All of that is to say the Pixel Fold will still deliver excellent results in most shooting conditions. We’ve rated the Pixel 7 Pro as one of the best camera phones money can buy and expect Google’s foldable to perform nearly as well. Rest assured, though, we’ll put the Pixel Fold’s cameras through their paces in our full review.

For a glimpse of Google’s photography prowess, here’s a quick look at some sample photos from the Pixel 7 Pro.

The Pixel Fold also features two front-facing cameras, one for each display. Once again, though, they’re technically not quite as good as the single one present on the Pixel 7 Pro. The latter also features a wider field of view, letting you fit large groups in your shots comfortably. Alternatively, unfolding the Pixel Fold lets you use all three rear cameras — simply frame your shot on the cover display.

Google Pixel Fold vs Pixel 7 Pro: Battery life

The Pixel Fold and Pixel 7 Pro share identical processing hardware, so we can expect similar battery life from a chipset standpoint. In our testing, we’ve found that the Pixel 7 Pro’s battery lasts a full day and then some. That’s thanks to the large 5,000mAh battery, which is larger than the one Google has included in the Pixel Fold.

Going by that spec alone, we can estimate that the foldable won’t last as long. Moreover, battery drain will accelerate quickly when you use the inner display on the Pixel Fold. Remember, the Pixel Fold sports a 66% larger display vs the Pixel 7 Pro when unfolded. Of course, that also means you can earn back a lot of endurance if you use the smaller cover screen for most tasks.

It’s more of the same when it comes to fast charging. The Pixel 7 Pro can take nearly two full hours to charge from 0-100. The same will likely hold true for the Pixel Fold as well, depending on how well the device manages heat. Both phones ship without an adapter in the box, but you can use any USB Power Delivery PPS charger.

While both smartphones support Qi wireless charging, the Pixel Fold tops out at 7.5W vs the Pixel 7 Pro’s 12W. Furthermore, the Pixel 7 Pro supports faster 23W wireless charging on the Pixel Stand (2nd gen) as well as reverse wireless charging. Also known as Battery Share, this handy feature lets you top up accessories like Bluetooth earbuds by letting your phone act as a wireless charger.

Google Pixel Fold vs Pixel 7 Pro: Price

Unlike some other smartphone brands, Google doesn’t charge as much for the Pixel 7 Pro relative to its premium internals. At a starting price of $899, it undercuts competition like the Galaxy S23 Ultra and iPhone 14 Pro. Simultaneously, it delivers impressive build quality and camera performance on par with or even beyond those phones.

However, the company hasn’t followed the same strategy with its debutant foldable. The Pixel Fold launches at a whopping $1,799. That’s the same as Samsung charges for its premier folding smartphone. Having said that, the base variant of the Pixel 7 Pro only ships with 128GB of storage and 8GB of RAM. If you need 256GB instead, you’ll have to pay $100 more, which brings the total to $999. That narrows the gap between the two Google flagship smartphones a little, but there’s no doubt that the Fold is much more expensive.

If it helps, we’ve seen deals on the Pixel 7 Pro that knock a few hundred dollars off its launch price. You’d have to wait a few months for that to happen with the Pixel Fold as it hasn’t even hit store shelves yet. It’s already up for pre-order, with sales officially kicking off in June.

Google Pixel Fold vs Pixel 7 Pro: Which one should you buy?

Does the Pixel Fold offer $800+ worth of value over the Pixel 7 Pro? It depends on your intended use cases for each phone. If you see yourself being more productive with a larger display, the foldable is certainly worth considering. However, if you were hoping for even better camera performance from a Google smartphone, the extra cash won’t get you anywhere.

From a pure numbers perspective, it makes sense to go for the Pixel 7 Pro. It features a premium build, excellent image quality, and solid battery life. But all of those will also likely be nearly true of the Pixel Fold with the added utility of a larger canvas. So which one would you pick?