The Pixel 10 Pro Fold isn’t thin, but that might be a good thing

The foldable race has become an arms race of millimeters. Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold 7 stunned us with how impossibly slim it felt in hand — which we confirmed is thinner even than Honor’s Magic V5. Oppo’s Find N5, on the other hand, is right up there with the Fold 7, at 8.93 mm closed, while still managing to cram in a massive 5,600 mAh battery. Both of these phones made one thing clear: the industry now treats thinness as the holy grail of foldable design.

And then there’s Google.

The new Pixel 10 Pro Fold arrives heavier than its predecessor at 258 g, measuring 10.8 mm thick when closed. That’s far chunkier than the Fold 7 or Find N5. Google seems uninterested in chasing thinness (at least for now). Instead, it leans into other priorities: durability, battery life, and usability. But is that really a bad thing?

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Chunky buys you confidence

In our Pixel 9 Pro Fold review, one thing stood out: while we appreciated the sleeker design over the OG Pixel Fold, durability was still a nagging concern. The hinge got improved, but the phone still felt somewhat fragile considering the lack of dust protection (only IPX8 water resistance). Battery life was fine under light use — 16h 25m in our web browsing test — but video and gaming drained it faster than rivals, resulting in the low battery life we are used to seeing on large foldables.

But the Pixel 10 Pro Fold addresses both of these issues. Google has increased the battery size from 4,650 mAh to 5,015 mAh and made its latest foldable phone the first with an IP68 rating (there are a lot of firsts for Pixel phones this year).

While these changes don’t bring the Pixel Pro Fold to that vision of a thin foldable future, they do add a level of confidence in terms of user experience. IP68 means dust can’t sneak in and ruin the inner display. What’s more, that bigger battery, paired with the more efficient Tensor G5, means the Pixel 10 Pro Fold might have the best battery life on a large foldable yet.

In other words, Google has built a foldable that feels more reliable. Yes, it’s thicker, but that thickness buys you peace of mind.

The usability trade-off

This chunkier approach does mean the Pixel 10 Pro Fold is bulkier in pocket than the Fold 7 or Find N5. Samsung’s new Fold practically disappears in hand at just 215 g and sub-9 mm thinness — so thin that we declared “foldables have become thin and light enough” and that “any future improvements should be focused on other areas.” And the Oppo’s Find N5, meanwhile, felt not only thin for a foldable, but thin for a phone in general.

By comparison, the Pixel 10 Pro Fold has more of an old “first-gen foldable” vibe. It’s heavier, will undoubtedly be more difficult to carry around in jeans and purses, and will probably feel like carrying two phones stacked on top of each other. That bulk isn’t something to scoff at, as it will probably be a dealbreaker for a lot of people.

But the point I am trying to make is that it might be worth it!

The case for chunky foldables

Here’s why I think Google’s direction deserves more credit than it will probably get:

• 1. Battery and longevity matter more than thinness.

As I said, every large foldable we have tested so far has performed rather poorly as far as battery life goes (especially those sold in the US). The Pixel 9 Pro Fold had slightly better battery life than the Z Fold 6 and OnePlus Open, but the test results were nothing outstanding, with an estimated battery life of just 5h 43min (the Galaxy S25 Ultra got 8 hours). By thickening the body, Google gains space for a larger battery without pushing thermal limits.

• 2. Durability is luxury on foldable phones.

Oppo’s Find N5 may be impossibly thin, but it still ships with only IPX6/8/9, not full dust protection. Samsung’s Fold 7 is thin, yes, but its hinge wobble on flat surfaces is still a reminder that slim designs can create new problems. By contrast, the Pixel 10 Pro Fold’s IP68 seal and sturdier hinge suggest you won’t need to treat the phone as a baby.

• 3. Foldables are already heavy.

Whether it’s 229 g (Find N5), 215 g (Fold 7), or 258 g (Pixel 10 Pro Fold), none of these phones feel light in absolute terms. You’re still carrying a brick compared to a slab flagship.

That said, there’s a counter-argument worth acknowledging. Thinness does change how you use a foldable phone. The new, thinner foldables like the Galaxy Z Fold 7 and Oppo Find N5 feel less like tech experiments and more like phones you could use daily.

Google’s chunkier Fold suffers from the bad reputation foldables get for being awkward and bulky. For buyers, this newly found thinness is proof that the foldable format is ready for the mainstream. By ignoring that, Google misses out on the one aspect everyone is paying attention to.

The real test is real-life reliability

The Pixel 10 Pro Fold’s success won’t hinge on whether it’s 10.8 mm or 8.9 mm thick. It will hinge on how it holds up — in our tests, but also in people's hands. Will the IP68 rating really prevent dust and lint from creeping in? Will the bigger battery deliver meaningfully better results than the Pixel 9 Pro Fold?

If the answer is yes, then the bulk will feel justified, at least for 2025.

Google’s decision not to chase thinness is both risky and refreshing. Risky, because perception matters: companies like Samsung and Oppo are setting new expectations for slim, elegant foldables, and that’s clearly the direction the category is heading. Refreshing, because Google isn’t just following the trend. Instead, it’s focusing on other things foldables have historically struggled with: durability and battery life.

So is the Pixel 10 Pro Fold missing the point? I’d argue no. It’s simply making a different point, and that’s a good thing in my book. We need variety, so that there’s a decent choice no matter what you value. Google decided to fill in a gap, and instead of fighting to be the thinnest, it chose to offer something the others still don’t.

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