My Google Pixel Fold won’t lie completely flat when unfolded — like a puzzle with an ill-fitting piece. And I can’t un-notice that.
Earlier this year, YouTuber Michael Fisher said a Google engineer acknowledged the Fold’s limited flexibility. Paraphrasing the unnamed engineer, Fisher said Google “used a high-friction hinge for rigid positioning” but that the tradeoff was that the Fold can’t open flat unless extra force is applied. Fisher demonstrated this during his hands-on demo.
On Friday, Google told me the Pixel Fold can open to a full 180 degrees and encouraged me to give it an extra articulation. Unfortunately, the unit I purchased never could open fully level. And since I opted not to buy the extended warranty, forcefully pushing against the hinge on a $1,800 phone evokes nothing but pure discomfort. Maybe mine’s a lemon. My CNET colleague Patrick Holland’s Fold can open flat, but he describes using a two-step move to get it to do that.
The Pixel Fold is Google’s first foray into foldable smartphones. Unlike typical slab-style devices, foldables let you turn a normal-looking phone into a mini tablet. The ability to transform the phone allows for more-varied uses. And added screen real estate means reading books and watching movies requires less squinting. But this ability also comes with increased heft, fragility and price, along with other compromises. While Google’s freshman attempt is a valiant effort, there are too many quirks to give it a recommendation over well-refined competitors like the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5.
Read more: Best Foldable Phones of 2023
Now, I must preface: This is a long-term review of my personal Pixel Fold and is separate from CNET’s official review. The device I’ve been using wasn’t sent to me for review by Google. Though some people might claim that I could present bias in this examination as a means of justifying my purchase, rest assured, my ego isn’t that fragile.
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