The Pixel 10 Pro Fold dimensions tell a grim yet promising story

Late last week, we got a sneak peek at the upcoming Pixel 10 series’ dimensions. While all phones in the line-up are getting heavier than their predecessors in the Pixel 9 series, it’s the Pixel 10 Pro Fold that jumped out to me, mostly because it’s eschewing the entire foldable industry’s trend right now.

The Pixel 10 Pro Fold is slightly narrower than the 9 Pro Fold (while also sporting smaller bezels and a larger outer display), but it’s a little thicker when unfolded, even thicker when folded, and 1 gram heavier. When every other foldable is boasting thinner and lighter designs, the Pixel 10 Pro Fold already seems left out as a vestige of foldables’ past. But I have a bit of hope that it’s not all doom and gloom for Pixel foldable fans.

Oh, what a difference a year makes! In August of 2024, when Google announced the Pixel 9 Pro Fold, it had a big advantage over other foldables (read: the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6) in the US and most Western countries. Google’s foldable had considerably slimmed down from the chunky and stubby first-gen Pixel Fold, opting for the more practical narrow+tall display ratio, and going for a very pocketable and hand-friendly 10.5mm thickness when folded. That made the Pixel 9 Pro Fold more lovable and pushed the phone into “easy to recommend” territory. My brother-in-law bought one solely because it was easier to hold and use than the 2024 Galaxy Z Fold 6.

And he’s not alone. After talking to many regular users about foldables over the last few years, I came to the following conclusion: thickness, width, and durability are the biggest drawbacks to usability and adoption. Everyone who saw the original Pixel Fold with me marveled at the tech but instantly claimed, “I could never use that daily.” Why? “Too wide and too thick to hold,” and “afraid I’d break it.”

Putting aside the durability question for a bit, the consensus around size was that a book-style foldable should be as usable as a regular Android smartphone when folded, because no one wanted to bother opening the display each time they had to read or reply to a message. They needed a phone they could walk and text on single-handed; they didn’t want to carry a tablet every second of their lives. The closer a foldable got to a regular phone’s dimensions, the better it was. The big, unfolded display would be an extra perk when they’d have a moment to sit down and enjoy it.

I wholeheartedly agree with those thoughts. And that’s why I enjoyed the Pixel 9 Pro Fold much more than the Pixel Fold. The single-handedness made it a more viable smartphone, as well as being an excellent foldable.

Now, in 2025, Google is taking a minor step back on paper with the Pixel 10 Pro Fold, but it’s a bigger downgrade in reality. The foldable landscape has significantly changed, with many thinner and lighter foldables around. And Google’s biggest competitor in the US has now caught up to it and leaped ahead: The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 is a marvel to look at. It no longer has the tall TV remote control aspect ratio, but a wider and more usable outer display, as well as a super thin footprint when unfolded and — most importantly — when folded. At 8.9mm folded, the Galaxy Z Fold 7 is so much thinner than the Pixel 9 Pro Fold, and everyone who’s used it has praised its one-handed usability in everyday life due to this slimmer profile.

Instead of catching up to this, the Pixel 10 Pro Fold is regressing, adding a few millimeters compared to the 9 Pro Fold, and suddenly becoming the outlier in the flagship foldable race. Samsung literally changed the game overnight with the Z Fold 7, and Google clearly can’t keep up.

For now, we have one valid explanation for the Pixel 10 Pro Fold’s thicker body: a larger battery. An earlier rumor had suggested that Google will up the battery from a 4,650mAh cell in the 9 Pro Fold to 5,015mAh in the 10 Pro Fold — a 7.8% increase. Notably, though, that’s a 13.9% larger battery than the 4,400mAh cell in the Galaxy Z Fold 7, which explains the added thickness as well as the 43 grams of extra weight.

It’s tough to say what the real-world benefits will be before I get to test this myself. Recent Pixels have been notoriously bad with battery life due to the demanding Exynos-inspired Tensor G4 based on Samsung Foundry’s problematic 4nm manufacturing process. The new Pixel 10 series, including the 10 Pro Fold, will sport a TSMC-made Tensor G5, which should improve battery life on paper. Add the 7.8% larger battery, and Google’s new foldable should see significant battery life gains, but will they be enough to match the great battery-sipping Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite in the Z Fold 7, even if the latter has a smaller battery? Time will tell.

My only regret, though, is that Google, just like Samsung, hasn’t adopted the newer, smaller, and more efficient Silicon-Carbon batteries that we’re seeing on OPPO, Xiaomi, vivo, and other foldables. We could’ve had the best of both worlds: a slim phone and a large battery, but Google has decided to skip this new technology and stick to the larger Lithium-ion batteries. Maybe next year, though?

Aside from this battery explanation, we don’t know if anything else is contributing to the Pixel 10 Pro Fold’s chonkier body. Rumors suggest the cameras are staying largely the same, even potentially getting a minor downgrade, too. A larger sensor or better long-range zoom would’ve sweetened the deal a bit and made the thicker body more justifiable.

I’ll have to wait and see if Google surprises me with more unexpected features for the Pixel 10 Pro Fold when it announces it on August 20. For now, though, this is looking like a minor side-step for the series — not an upgrade, not a downgrade either. Perhaps the Pixel 11 Pro Fold will be the real step forward?