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Google Pixel Fold vs. Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4: Battle of the foldables

How Google's first foldable phone compares its closest competitor on the spec sheet.

Photo by Sam Rutherford/Engadget

After confirming its existence last week, Google has formally introduced the Pixel Fold, its first stab at a foldable phone. Like past foldables, the new Pixel has a vertical hinge that lets it unfurl like a book. When it's folded, you get a more traditional form factor with a 5.8-inch display. Open it up, and you get a wider 7.6-inch screen for multitasking or watching videos. Both OLED panels have 120Hz refresh rates, and the device runs on the same Tensor G2 chip found in last year's Pixel 7 line. Google is pushing the phone's thinness (12.1mm folded, 5.8mm when not), battery ("over 24 hours") and weight (10 ounces) in particular as selling points. It also claims that the near-gapless hinge is built to last over time.

We'll have to review the Pixel Fold before we can speak to that. For now, though, we've laid out how the Fold compares on paper to the most prominent book-style foldable on the market today: Samsung's Galaxy Z Fold 4. No, specs can't tell the whole story with a form factor like this, and both Samsung and OnePlus are expected to launch new foldables in the coming months. But if you want a sense of what the Pixel Fold's $1,799 starting price will get you, here's a quick rundown. The phone is available to pre-order now and will ship in June. For more impressions, check out our initial hands-on.

Google Pixel Fold vs. Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4

Google Pixel Fold

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4

Pricing (MSRP)

$1,799 (256 GB), $1,919 (512 GB)

$1,800 (256 GB), $1,920 (512GB), $2,160 (1TB)

Dimensions

Folded: 139.7 x 79.5 x 12.1mm (5.5 x 3.1 x 0.5 inches)

Unfolded: 139.7 x 158.7 x 5.8mm (5.5 x 6.2 x 0.2 inches)

Folded: 155.1 x 67.1 x 14.2-15.8 mm (6.11 x 2.64 x 0.56-0.62 inches)

Unfolded: 155.1 x 130.1 x 6.3mm (6.11 x 5.12 x 0.25 inches)

Weight

283g (10 oz)

263g (9.28 oz)

Screen size

External cover: 5.8 inches (146.7 mm)

Unfolded: 7.6 inches (192.3mm)

External cover: 6.2 inches (157mm)

Unfolded: 7.6 inches (195mm)

Screen resolution

External cover: 2,092 x 1,080 (408 ppi)

Unfolded: 2,208 x 1,840 (380 ppi)

External cover: 2,316 x 904 (402 ppi)

Unfolded: 2,176 x 1,812 (374 ppi)

Screen type

OLED (up to 120Hz)

External cover: 17.4:9 aspect ratio, up to 1,550 nits peak brightness

Unfolded: 6:5 aspect ratio, up to 1,450 nits peak brightness

AMOLED (up to 120Hz)

External cover: 23.1:9 aspect ratio

Unfolded: 21.6:18 aspect ratio, up to 1,200 nits peak brightness

Battery

4,821 mAh

4,400 mAh

Internal storage

256 GB / 512 GB

256 GB / 512 GB / 1TB

External storage

None

None

Rear camera(s)

Main: 48MP, f/1.7

Ultrawide: 10.8MP, f/2.2

Telephoto: 10.8MP, f/3.05, 5x optical zoom, 20x Super Res zoom

Main: 50MP, f/1.8

Ultrawide: 12MP, f/2.2

Telephoto: 10MP, f/2.4, 3x optical zoom, 30x Digital zoom

Front camera(s)

9.5MP, f/2.2

10MP, f/2.2

Inner camera(s)

8MP, f/2.0

4MP, f/1.8

Video capture

Rear camera: 4K at 30 fps, 60 fps

Front camera: 4K at 30 fps, 60 fps

Inner camera: 1080p at 30 fps

Rear camera: 8K at 24 fps, 4K at 60 fps

Front camera: 4K at 30 fps, 60 fps

SoC

Google Tensor G2

Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1

CPU

Octa-core (2x 2.85 GHz Cortex-X1, 2x 2.35 GHz Cortex-A78, 4x 1.80 GHz Cortex-A55)

Octa-core (1x 3.19 GHz Cortex-X2, 3x 2.75 GHz Cortex-A710, 4x 1.80 GHz Cortex A-510)

GPU

ARM Mali-G710 MP7

Adreno 730

RAM

12 GB LPDDR5

12 GB LPDDR5

Wi-Fi

WiFi 6E

WiFi 6E

Bluetooth

v5.2

v5.2

NFC

Yes

Yes

OS

Android 13

5 years of security updates

Android 12L, upgradeable to Android 13, One UI 5.1

4 years of OS updates

5 years of security updates

Colors

Obsidian, Porcelain

Graygreen, Phantom Black, Beige, Burgundy

Other features

USB-C 3.2 Gen 2, Qi wireless charging, 30W charging, Titan M2 security chip, IPX8 water resistance, 1-year warranty

S Pen support, USB-C 3.2 Gen 1, Qi wireless charging, Reverse wireless charging, 25W charging, IPX8 water resistance, Samsung DeX, 1-year warranty

Follow all of the news from Google I/O 2023 right here.

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