Google Pixel Fold 3 Months Later - Review

I spent three (mostly great) months with Google's first foldable, the Pixel Fold, and I have thoughts! This is a pretty long video covering everything about the Pixel, all of its features, Android, and a retrospective of the Pixel line and the now shuttered Nexus and Google Play Edition programs respectively.
As always, if there's anything I missed or if there is anything you would like to know, please leave a comment, if you liked this video, like it, if you didn't like it, dislike it, but if you really really liked it... hit that subscribe button! Thank you all for watching and you have a good day!
Music By: DLYPLNT for AXIOMEDIASLLC
Contact: [e-mail]
Subscribe Today: / @thereviewd
Email: [e-mail]
Timecodes ⏰:
0:00-Like and Subscribe/Chapter Markers
0:21-My First Foldable Perspective
0:41-First Foldable New Habits
1:05-Pricing
1:46-Competing with Samsung
2:11-Announcement and Sticker Shock
3:30-Free Pixel Watch
4:04-Pre-order and Unboxing
4:50-First Impressions
5:28-Materials and Fit & Finish
7:03-Hardware Features and Button Layout
7:50-That Crease
8:06-Hinge/Hinge Quality
9:04-Laptop Mode
11:00-Benefits of Android
12:01-Google Play Edition History
12:49-Google Nexus Program
13:07-Google Introduces the Pixel Line
13:55-My Pixel 2 XL and the Legendary Camera
16:41-Always on Display
17:03-Song ID
17:19-Pixel AOD vs iOS AOD
18:10-Pixel Call Screening
18:41-Assistant on Hold
19:14-Multitasking
20:19-Tensor G2 Experiences
21:04-Displays
21:39-Display Issues Under Direct Sunlight
22:14-How I've Used the Fold
24:05-Battery Life Issues
27:40-Camera Quality
29:55-Video Quality
30:59-Should You Buy One?
34:22-Outro

[@moka21]

Solid review. Really appreciated your perspective and opinions. Also, your production is 💯

[@thereviewd]

Thank you thank you thank you!

[@paulevans8292]

Great video! Really detailed and gives a nice, unbiased review 👍

[@thereviewd]

Thank you thank you thank you!!

[@OMGTWENTYONE]

you did a great video champ. Thank you so much.

[@thereviewd]

Thank you so much for that!!

[@heavycrown005]

awesome practical review.

[@AverageDadOfficial]

Keep it up man 👍

[@thereviewd]

Thank you!

[@jaisonjames2568]

I was looking for this video latest,,, all other video about pixel fold is three months ago Thank u

[@thereviewd]

Thank YOU!

[@mrJay2533]

This is a great review! I've had my pixel fold since it came out, I haven't had any problems except for one and it's the inner screen, I barely use it and it seems like the inner screen has multiple small dents that look like round little bubbles if you look very closely at your screen when it's turned off, but otherwise it's been a great experience so far, once again great review!

[@thereviewd]

Thank you thank you!! I really appreciate the kind words. I’m in the same boat, I use the outer screen mostly, the inner screen for movies and videos but I haven’t noticed any bubbles but the hinges, the metal plates that are exposed have lots of little scratches. Nothing touches them, i assume it’s from the closing and opening but I found that strange.

[@mrJay2533]

@@thereviewd Wow! I just noticed the same thing on mine as well! I guess this what we get for getting “First Gen”.

[@thereviewd]

@mrJay2533 the curse of being an early adopter! Love my Fold regardless, it’s only going to get better.

[@wolf30324]

I have had my pixel fold for about 2 weeks. Things I don't like 1. You can't use face unlock when the phone is open. 2. It sucks you can't wave your hands over the screen to screen shot, instead of having to press the power and volume button at the same time. 3. You can't transfer all your information from your other phone....like your notes. 4. You don't have a secure folder to hide pictures and applications. 5. The cameras could use a better upgraded camera. 6. Need better software to make your phone your way. 7. Looking into opening and running two applications at the same time. 8. Sure wish developer option was better. More options to over clock to make the phone better/faster like Samsung.

[@thereviewd]

1. Face unlock, I’m just realizing I have never tried unlocking with the phone open…it’s using a camera so I don’t know why it doesn’t work unless it’s to do with the resolution. Still weird. 2. The screen shot gesture…that was a pixel 3 feature I feel, they had the little proximity sensor to detect when someone was nearby but I could be wrong. Would be nice though, I’ve generally just used the multitasking gesture to take a quick screenshot. 3. I’ve hated that, sometimes, SOMETIMES, the backups work when I switch phones but I wouldn’t consider myself a power user so I’m sure there’s better ways other than relying on backups and such 4. I haven’t noticed that in google photos…I know there are file vault apps you can get from google play but it’s all about trusting the app and all that good stuff 5. I’ve been conflicted, I was really happy with the sensor they were using from the pixel 2 to the pixel 5, when they upgraded the sensor, the pictures didn’t seem to get that much better. The difference was probably more data in a photo to edit and do things with but the quality didn’t seem to be improved considering it went from a 12mp sensor I believe to 48mp sensor or whatever it was 6. I like the simplicity of pixel ui but there could be better ways to make the software experience better for sure. They are incentivizing developers to adopt the dual screen layout and customize their apps for the experience 7. You could, if you open and app, swipe up from the dock slightly, you can tap and drag to the other side of the screen. Sorry if I’m mistaken 8. For sure, google sticks close to the Apple model of locking the phone down, so power user options like overclocking doesn’t seem to be an option… I could be wrong and it may be an option when you enable developer mode, I’d have to check it out.

[@IkesTechTalk]

DO NOT APOLOGIZE for the length of this video!!!! This was amazing, super in depth, you addressed what you felt were the strengths and weaknesses of the Pixel Fold. As someone who has primarily used the Pixel Fold as well I wanted to ask, how has your battery life and the screen brightness of the inner screen been for you since the December Feature Drop. I've seen reports, and thru my own usage, of both of these areas being addressed. I'm personally getting far better battery life, the phone is running much cooler, and the brightness outdoors seems to hold far longer than it did previously. I'm still holding out for a super actua display on the Fold 2, but it's been a nice improvement to see.

[@thereviewd]

I really appreciate that!! I wanna say battery life improved, I’ve been able to make it a whole day versus in the beginning where I’d need a charger nearby. I think I know my culprit for my battery life woes… wireless Android Auto. On day’s I’m not driving, my battery life was pretty good, better than it’s been, screen on time is probably like 5-6 hours. On work days (connected to android auto), my fold heats up and it’s usually with maps on the display. I’ve killed the app and kept it off the screen but for whatever reason android auto really wants maps on in the background.

[@robcrichlow7287]

Great job on this review! I really liked your giving your history with Pixel phones as part of this review. The Pixel Fold is my first Pixel phone, so I found it very interesting. On the brightness issue of the inner screen, the December update has made this better by not restricting max brightness for a limited amount of time. At least this is my experience. My battery experience after the December update has been very good. Even with my normal usage (phone calls, watching videos, using social media and news apps, and reading books, I will get 40% to 50% at the end of day (going to bed). I suspect that this due both to the phone adjusting to my use and the December update. Thanks for the great review!

[@thereviewd]

Thank you for the kind words! Absolutely, I think it’s important to know the history of googles phones to find out how we got to where we are. There’s been so many iterations and variations on the hardware. I’d switched back to my pixel fold for about a week to test out beeper and I will say the battery was great. What killed it was wireless Android auto synced to my Jeep Grand Cherokee L. But overall battery was great, I’d didn’t notice the difference in screen brightness but I want to test it out based on your feedback and another person’s recommendation.

[@thereviewd]

Also, since the fold was your first pixel, what were you using before?

[@creativecatalyst1]

Great review! I still love my pixel 2. Are you running on Verizon or Google Fi? Any network connectivity issues?

[@thereviewd]

Thank you!! Verizon/Google Fi is what I’ve been using. It’s been solely on Fi recently since I’ve been testing the iPhone. No network issues for me, about what I expect and experienced from any other phone.

[@piczoo]

Great review! Very comprehensive as well. I've had my Pixel fold for 3 weeks now, really is a great device, I came from a galaxy fold 4, I much prefer the aspect ratio of the Pixel. I agree with the always on display, i really like it, the weather and songs playing. Battery wise, I tend to charge mine when ever im in the car.

[@thereviewd]

thank you for the kind words!! It's the little things, the song ID and simple always on display has always been something I appreciated in every pixel. If you move away from the pixel you don't really know how much you miss those details until you come back. Things like that don't change your life but they make using the phone more fun... even in standby lol yep, that's what gave me enough confidence to know I wouldn't need to be near a charger in fear of having a dead phone.

[@piczoo]

@@thereviewd Definitely! I have considered in the future changing to the OnePlus Open, but I do think I would miss the Pixel UI. Even with the weather, just having it in colour is a nice little touch. And setting a timer, having it present at all times, I do like Apple's implementation of AOD as well.

[@thereviewd]

The one plus open seems really cool and I do like Oxygen OS (I think One Plus still calls it that) since it’s pretty close to stock android. For iOS I feel a bit let down, I see what they were going for though, make the always on display mimic the Lock Screen so it’s consistent but I like the info being easy to find, for whatever reason it doesn’t feel that way.

[@NXTratedSTAR]

Thank you for the video first off. Definitely appreciated and I have a question because I have the pixel 6 Pro and it gets extremely hot especially when I'm on Duo meet or doing a video. Does the pixel fold get hot?

[@thereviewd]

Thank you!!! Yeah for me, that’s the experience, all of my phones warm up pretty good and the battery gets zapped whenever I’m doing any kind of video. I once spent about an hour on FaceTime on an iPhone and it really killed the battery. With the microphones going, camera active, data being sent and received I don’t think there’s any way around it.

[@ewanmcnulty]

Thanks for including the photo comparisons against the Pixel 6 Pro! I'm debating upgrading from the 6 Pro to a Fold but I can see that from a purely specs point of view the cameras would be a step down, but with so much of the Pixel photo experience being software I didn't know what the actual effect would be on the pictures. Plenty of reviewers comparing to the camera to other current phones which isn't much help as a real world example, so I appreciate you going back and comparing to older phones which people are more likely to be upgrading from.

[@thereviewd]

Thank you! No problem at all, I think the pixel has been so consistent for so long, it’s important to show everyone just how good they are and how it’s been. Honestly, after all this time, the camera is fantastic, going from the pixel 6 pro to the fold is a really really good upgrade!

[@matttavener2888]

I got this phone 2 days ago. Its quality!

[@naokisatoh4698]

Amazed you can take such a brilliant photos by Pixel2...

[@thereviewd]

That camera was incredible, photos were almost always better than you’d expect.

[@bad65dad]

I got mine 4 months ago only 900.00 Att no trade in at launch. I still have my Z Fold 3 for 2 years now on the shelf. Running Android 14 beta from the start the best software they keep improving everything . The newest features are very good last almost 2 days battery. I'm getting 7 to 8 hours on screen time. It's the best form factor. It's the Foldable Camera I've ever used.

[@thereviewd]

Not bad at all! I usually get mine from google direct and I traded my pixel 7 pro, I usually don’t take the carrier offers because they usually come with commitments, not sure if att had one at the time or not but Verizon (my carrier) always requires a 3 commitment to get any credits. I only recently got onto android 14, when they officially released it I was on the iPhone 15 pro to get a review done for that. Definitely will go back so I can see how the extra battery changes things. Form factor wise, I 100% agree! It’s the most useful foldable because it’s as good as using a normal sized phone. And the camera, it’s still the best camera, it takes great photos consistently. Always impressed with the look of the pictures.

[@ronbrooks6547]

Best Form Factor for a Foldable phone. Love it, however i hope the taller runors for the Pixel Fold 2 are true. Keep the same width and get taller.

[@thereviewd]

Agreed. That would pretty great, form factor similar to most large phones, inside display would benefit too.

[@bcdt1947]

Just a few opinions and a suggestion. Go to developer options and set the contrast to high. Improves the already impressive display and no issues in the sun. Not really sure where you're getting that video is not good. Dude, it's excellent. Captured Metallica brilliantly. 5G diminishing the battery? Conspiracy Theory.

[@thereviewd]

I appreciate the display suggestion, definitely trying that. Video though is good, but compared for instance to an iPhone, it’s still a solid 2nd. 5G killing the battery is fact though, specifically on 5G UW (Verizon). This is the case for any phone unfortunately, 5G modems are still inefficient especially when pulling UW speeds but as the modems progress so will the efficiency. Sidenote: how was Metallica live??

[@bcdt1947]

@@thereviewd actually, I've heard about Verizon 5G issues. I've been with T-Mobile for decades. Excellent service. Metallica was great. But, it almost seemed like it could've been the end, or closer to the end. Just an observation.

[@psgiles]

There a number of folding phones that would be doing better here if the major US carriers offered them so people could ‘upgrade’ to them

[@thereviewd]

100% agree

[@elho001]

Big 👍 for pointing out that Samsung with all it's bloat-ware, own app store and deviation from stock Android behaviour just is no option, no matter how nice the hardware may be. On the usage, I do not agree though - reason to consider a foldable to me is the screen real estate, not to consume media, there's yet bigger tablets with a better matching aspect ratio for that and nothing I do on the road anyway, but to read websites and maps one at a time in a decent size and get a on screen keyboard with keys that are not half the size of your fingertips only (or move any numbers and punctuation to secondary pages).

[@thereviewd]

Great point, I can definitely see the use cases. Reading books is a big one. If I’m on vacation I’m generally bringing my kindle to read, in theory I’d have my fold to do that. It really nice to have the screen real estate especially when you’re browsing. Honestly it’s very good at many things, I think what I noticed for me, since the outside screen was so good I found myself using that most of the time and opening the inside for videos, or having apps open side by side. But you’re right, there’s many many use cases.

[@thereviewd]

On the point of Samsung… they are arguably have the best hardware on the market if I’m being honest. Premium through and through but I just can’t get with One UI and like you said, the bloatware. But as the saying goes, to each their own.

[@psgiles]

For $1800 it should come with a stylus that worked on the outside display

[@thereviewd]

I was so against the s-pen for so long and then tried one and saw the utility. That’s definitely a leg up for Samsung and their z fold. On the carrier convo, there’s so many great phones outside of the US that we don’t have access to. With a little support it’d be nice.

[@el3ctr1c4l]

Switched to Pixel Fold from S23 Ultra and the 1st thing I've noticed was the battery life, much better standby. A few things Google needs to improve though... : - the phone heats up baddy when using it on Android Auto (cable connected), I'm guessing that is charging at the same time as well, it shouldn't do that IMO, if it reaches 100%, the phone should stop the charging ! Imagine using Android Auto in 30+ degrees weather.......inside your car -not folding all the way (flat) -customisable Always On (just on/off ???) -no sound EQ -no Wi-Fi 6E in Hotspot mode despite the fact the phone has it, but it's disable in UK ???????????????? On what planet does Google leave on, may I ask ? On S23 Ultra I had the option to toggle either 2.5G, 5G or 6. They need to fix this, cuz this is "Ridicurous" All in all I'm happy with the phone, perfect form factor, that's the main reason I've gone with the switch, not the obvious when carrying it in my jean's pocket. Just a few days ago, heard some chaps from a pawn shop saying that they do not take Pixels any more, cuz "they're shit" - some mixed bag over here, I respectfully reserve the right to no comment on this....

[@thereviewd]

Absolutely! like it makes me nervous how hot it gets and specifically through Android Auto. I have other issues but I think it's specific to my car and wireless Android Auto (time to connect, laggy, freezes frequently). Yeah, that crease can get distracting especially when you view from an angle. They add (some) customization to the AOD but it isn't really configurable the way others are. I personally prefer the simplicity of the Pixel AOD vs something like Apple's which is just the lock screen. Sound EQ specific to the built in speakers or when listening through Bluetooth? oooooh I had no clue! I've testing the S24 Ultra and I had no clue that was a thing, thank you! Yeah, of the foldable available the Pixel Fold was the one with what I felt was the perfect form factor. From leaks I've seen, they're keeping the shape relatively the same but making it bigger in just about every respect, outside display, inside display, etc. That's an interesting take, on the US side, a lot of companies don't offer much in the way of trade in or they don't accept trade ins at all for the Pixel and I assume the reason is liability with the display but I have no proof. Personally speaking, I think it's the best foldable at the moment... still! But we have the Fold 2, the Galaxy Fold 5 (??) and hopefully others coming to the US.

[@Princegio23]

Pixel fold looks like a kid table

[@Mikivli]

The pixel 8 pro fixes the video if you watch MKBHDs autofocus episode shot on it. It’s the recent corvette video

[@thereviewd]

Yep the video looked good and the audio magic eraser worked REALLY REALLY well but he was having issues with the camera over doing the color tones for his face. Otherwise big improvement on video for the 8 especially with the… video boost is it called coming soon? Sounds like a great all round camera.

[@toneloc79]

I'm hoping the pixel fold 2 or 3 be better then the one and that they wont kill the folding phones

[@thereviewd]

Such a loaded comment but so good 😂 I look at it like what Samsung has done, they started with the z fold and pretty much nailed down the design. They’ve continued to iterate, refine, and improve. The big question is though, will google kill it…

[@NVGEAR]

It's sooooooo annoying that the screen doesn't open fully flat until you force it slightly further to be 180 degrees. Once you are aware of this cant get it out of your head lol 😂

[@thereviewd]

… (continues to force the screen flat)

[@NVGEAR]

@@thereviewd great review btw, liked and subbed.

[@thereviewd]

🙌🏼 thank you thank you thank you!! (Still forcing both sides down)

[@gcforreal]

Youd lose so many useful features if galaxy flagships ised vanilla sndeodi ...i just don't get thr fascination with having no features especially on a foldable or expensive flagship. Vanilla android is very visually appealing though

[@thereviewd]

I think you hit it on the nose, visually it looks great, from a feature perspective Samsung does all sorts of things with their phones and with Android that definitely help make it really stand out. Samsung devices though are just more superior from design and build perspective.

[@arthoparvez8370]

Samsung fold 5 is best.. The ui experience is also the best... Are u agree with me? Then like ❤

[@Gamer_85]

The narrow screen is absolutely NOT harder to use on the Z fold. The form factor actually makes it easier to use as its narrower in the hand. Dont just say things youve heard other people say! Also, 'incredible processor'? Are you sure? The G2 is MILES behind the SD 8 gen 2!

[@thereviewd]

I have bigger hands and the limited time I’ve had with the galaxy z fold, the narrow screen would be fine for me but in the reviews I’ve watched, the feedback was similar; too narrow, harder to use, outside display wasn’t as usable. Based on that feedback I found myself perfectly fine using the outside display on the Pixel. Hopefully I can get my hands on a Galaxy z fold one day and test myself. I appreciate the feedback though! I say incredible because from a fluidity standpoint, it’s buttery smooth (OS, transitions, photo and video processing) but Qualcomm is without a doubt the market leader and they’re in virtually every phone (their modems are in iPhones). With sd 8 gen 3 coming, they’re just making it better. My optimism with tensor is that this is only the 3rd generation and there are big improvements and as with most things it’ll get more efficient and more powerful.

[@lmills8031]

Agreed

[@markkendall6144]

The Samsung front display needs to change its garbage compared to what other manufacturers are doing now,Samsung time to change.

[@ogeddes]

I owned a Fold 5 and got rid of it as the cover screen was unusable for me. Pixel Fold format is way better. I don't believe we will see Samsung launch another in that form factor as I think all its competitors have demonstrated its seriously flawed.

[@peacelove8395]

​@markkendall6144 no thanks, I and more than 10 million other Fold users prefer the singlehand usability. All these other wider front display foldables tend to have you use the front screen 90% of the time and the inner bigger display only 10% of the time (MKBHD Quote). Sorry but why am I shelling out £1500 for a feature I will only use 10% of the time? Utter nonsense