Did Google Out-Fold Samsung? Pixel 10 Pro Fold vs. Galaxy Z Fold 7 Review

Tom's Guide

In Mark’s Pixel 10 Pro Fold review, he puts Google’s foldable head-to-head with the Galaxy Z Fold 7 to see which is the best foldable phone that truly deserves your money. From design and display to battery life, cameras, AI features, and gaming performance, we break down everything you need to know.  The Google Pixel 10 Pro Fold surprises with durability, brighter 8-inch OLED display, bigger battery and powerful AI feature. But how does it stack up against Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold 7, the thinner, lighter and more performance-focused foldable? If you’re shopping for a foldable phone, this Pixel 10 Pro Fold vs Galaxy Z Fold 7 comparison will help you decide whether to buy or skip.

Transcript

00:00The Pixel 10 Pro Fold can't possibly compete with a thinner and lighter Galaxy Z Fold 7, right?

00:05I've been testing Google's new foldable, and to my surprise, it actually gives Samsung a real run for its money.

00:11In my Pixel 10 Pro Fold review, I'm looking past the hype and breaking down the real reasons to buy it over the Z Fold 7, or skip it altogether.

00:19If you're shopping for the best foldable phone right now, this is definitely the showdown you'll want to see.

00:25Right out of the gate, the Pixel 10 Pro Fold scores a big win with a lower price.

00:28It starts at $1,799 for 256 gigs of storage, compared to a somewhat ridiculous $2,000 for the Galaxy Z Fold 7.

00:35And here's the kicker, you can upgrade the Pixel to 512 gigs and still pay less than Samsung's 256 gig option.

00:42When you're dropping this kind of money on a phone, $200 might not seem like a massive difference,

00:46but when you start pricing out the configurations, that lower starting point matters.

00:51Now, let's talk about design.

00:52The Pixel 10 Pro Fold is clearly chunkier than the Galaxy Z Fold 7,

00:56but there's still a definite advantage to this design.

00:59The new gearless hinge has an IP68 rating for water and dust resistance.

01:04That's a first for any foldable phone.

01:06Meanwhile, the Galaxy Z Fold 7 is rated IP48, so small particles of dust can get in there and cause damage.

01:12So yeah, you won't see me taking that phone to the beach.

01:14While we're getting close-ups, this light green jade color is really nice,

01:19but I personally prefer the slate blue moonstone option.

01:22It's just a little more professional looking.

01:24Samsung's blue shadow, though, wins for wow factor in my book.

01:26For surfing the web, streaming Netflix, and running two apps side by side,

01:30you want it to be as vibrant as possible.

01:32And the Pixel 10 Pro Fold outshines the Galaxy Z Fold 7, literally.

01:35It exceeded 2,500 nits brightness in our testing compared to Samsung.

01:41And the front 6.4-inch screen is brighter, too.

01:44Samsung's is 6.5 inches, and it's technically bigger,

01:47but I actually prefer the Pixel's display.

01:49It's wider, which makes typing feel so much more natural.

01:52The only thing I don't like about the Pixel 10 Pro Fold's display

01:55is that the crease is more prominent than on the Samsung.

01:58It's a deeper groove that you can feel and see.

02:02So, how about battery life?

02:03That's another win for Google.

02:05The Pixel 10 Pro Fold packs a 5,015 mAh battery,

02:09compared to 4,400 mAh on the Z Fold 7.

02:12And in the Tom's Guide 5G battery test,

02:14the Pixel lasted 12 hours and 16 minutes.

02:17Samsung tapped out after 10 hours and 44 minutes.

02:21And as for charging,

02:22only the Pixel has magnets for Qi 2 wireless charging.

02:25That means it works seamlessly with Google's Pixel Snap stand.

02:28With the Z Fold 7, you need a whole extra case,

02:31just for Qi 2, which kind of defeats the point, right?

02:34But let me know in the comments

02:35if that's the kind of thing that even matters to you.

02:37Now, the Pixel 10 Pro's Fold camera performance genuinely surprised me.

02:41On paper, the Z Fold 7's 200 megapixel camera

02:44should crush the Pixel's 48 megapixel lens.

02:47But in reality, I ended up preferring a lot of Google shots.

02:50Portraits came out crisper and brighter,

02:52though I'll give Samsung credit for a better bokeh here.

02:55In low light, the Pixel delivered sharper Halloween shots

02:58and brighter flowers outdoors.

03:00And zoom, well, this one isn't even close.

03:02The Pixel 10 Pro Fold has a 5x optical zoom

03:05versus 3x for the Samsung.

03:08And at 10x, Google's photos pulled way more detail,

03:11although you do get a longer 30x digital zoom

03:14for the Samsung versus 20x for the Pixel.

03:16The Z Fold 7 only really pulled ahead with macro shots.

03:20If you want to see more side-by-side camera comparisons,

03:23including video footage,

03:24I dropped the full written review in the description.

03:26Definitely check that out.

03:29One last advantage I think the 10 Pro Fold

03:31has over the Z Fold 7 comes down to AI.

03:34The Pixel 10 Pro Fold has so many AI features.

03:37Some of it feels like overkill,

03:38but features like auto best take for group photos

03:41and MagicQ for servicing info from your calendar mid-call

03:44are genuinely useful.

03:46Samsung AI also does have a lot of Gemini experiences throughout,

03:50but naturally the best and newest intelligent features

03:53are reserved for Google's own hardware.

03:55But arguably the most important feature,

03:57instant access to Gemini Live,

03:59is not exclusive to the 10 Pro Fold,

04:01just to make that clear.

04:03Fancy AI tricks only get you so far.

04:06When it comes to actually living with the foldable every day,

04:09the story changes,

04:10and if you ask me which foldable phone

04:12I'd want to carry around each day,

04:14it would be the Galaxy Z Fold 7, hands down.

04:17The Pixel 10 Pro Fold measures 5.2 millimeters thick when open

04:20and 10.8 millimeters when closed

04:23compared to 4.2 and 8.9 for the Z Fold 7.

04:26You can see that it's a pretty significant difference.

04:29And the Pixel weighs 9.1 ounces

04:31compared to just 7.6 ounces for the Z Fold 7.

04:34So for me,

04:35the Pixel 10 Pro Fold is a back pocket phone

04:37and the Samsung is slim enough for the front.

04:39And you really notice the difference

04:41when you're holding these foldables for a long time,

04:43such as when you're playing games.

04:44Speaking of games,

04:47the Pixel 10 Pro Fold's Tensor G5 chip

04:49just doesn't stack up

04:50to the Snapdragon 8 Elite inside the Samsung.

04:53Playing Destiny Rising,

04:55I'm seeing gorgeous graphics and mostly smooth gameplay,

04:57but I noticed some dropped frames in heavy action scenes.

05:01Lab results back this up.

05:02The Pixel 10 Pro Fold trails the Galaxy Z Fold 7

05:05by 1,500 points in one 3D Mark test,

05:08and it couldn't even run other graphic tests

05:10that the Galaxy Z Fold 7 can.

05:12And in video transcoding,

05:14Samsung finished in 52 seconds

05:16while the Pixel took over two minutes on our test.

05:19That's a huge gap if performance matters to you.

05:22And if you're looking for more in-depth benchmarking,

05:25check out that link in the description I mentioned earlier.

05:27Now, this one is hardly a deal breaker,

05:29but I do think it's worth pointing out

05:31that the Pixel 10 Pro Fold

05:32is limited to running two apps side by side.

05:34The Galaxy Z Fold 7 can run three apps at once,

05:37so that gives you a bit more flexibility.

05:39At least it's easy to create app pairs on the Pixel

05:41and drag-and-drop content between windows.

05:46Overall, I ended up liking the Pixel 10 Pro Fold

05:48more than I expected.

05:50If I could mash the two together,

05:51my dream foldable phone would have all of the Google strengths,

05:54dustproof design, brighter displays, bigger battery,

05:57packed into Samsung's thin and light hardware.

06:00But we don't live in that world quite yet,

06:02so we gotta choose.

06:04For $200 less,

06:05the Pixel 10 Pro Fold is seriously compelling.

06:08But as my daily driver,

06:09I'd still go with the Galaxy Z Fold 7.

06:11It just feels more like a regular phone

06:13and not a foldable.

06:14And that matters.

06:16So what about you?

06:17Would you pick the Pixel 10 Pro Fold

06:19or the Galaxy Z Fold 7

06:20as your everyday foldable?

06:22Drop your thoughts in the comments.

06:23I really want to hear what you think.

06:25And don't forget to like this video,

06:26subscribe,

06:27and check out the full Tom's Guide review

06:29in the description for more photos,

06:31benchmarks,

06:31and comparisons.

06:32For Tom's Guide,

06:33this is Mark Spoonhour.

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