ReportWire

Tag: Galaxy Z Fold

  • Google Pixel 10 Pro Fold vs. Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7: How the newest foldable phones stack up

    [ad_1]

    Last month, the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 was released and immediately became the de facto king of the foldable phone hill. But now a new challenger has arrived: The Pixel 10 Pro Fold. The full details are now available in the wake of Google’s splashy launch event, which debuted the Fold alongside the full new Pixel 10 line, a new Pixel smartwatch and two new earbuds, too (see everything Google announced). But the Pixel 10 Pro Fold was the star of the show, and it’s vying with the Z Fold 7 for the title of best foldable — both offer very similar designs, but each bringing something unique to the table.

    Samsung launched its first foldable phone in 2019, so it’s had quite a bit of time to refine the Galaxy Fold over the years. Google on the other hand just released its first Pixel Fold a couple years ago — but has already largely evened the match. And, of course, with enhanced Gemini AI software integration front and center, you’ll have access to Google’s impressive artificial intelligence features at nearly every turn.

    We’ll break down how the Pixel 10 Pro Fold and Galaxy Z Fold 7 stack up to one another. You can also check out our comparison of the Pixel 9 Pro Fold and the Galaxy Fold 6 to see how much has changed in a year.

    Price

    First things first, how much will one of these high-tech folding phones cost you? That is the make-or-break question, after all. The newest Pixel foldable is still less expensive than this year’s Z Fold: it starts at $1,799 while the Galaxy smartphone starts at $2,000.

    You don’t have any other real choices for “book-style” foldables in the US market. The OnePlus Open can be had for $1,499, but it’s almost two years old. And Apple’s most expensive phone is currently the $1,599 1TB iPhone 16 Pro Max — but as a non-foldable model with just a single screen, it’s hardly a straight comparison. If the rumor mill is to be believed, Apple may finally bow a foldable iPhone in 2026.

    Dimensions and display

    It’s a race for the largest display and Samsung won this time — but not by much. The Galaxy Z Fold is just a hair bigger than the Pixel Pro Fold. Both phones’ inner displays are 8 inches across when fully opened, while Samsung comes out ahead on the outer display with 6.5 inches (the Pixel is 6.4 inches).

    As for height, the new foldable Pixel phone is 6.1 inches and the Galaxy Z is 6.2 inches — not a huge difference there. When unfolded, the Samsung wins on size efficiency, packing the identically sized 8-inch internal display into an area that’s 0.3 inches smaller — 5.6 inches versus the Pixel’s 5.9.

    This year, the Pixel 10 Pro Fold’s displays have been upgraded to a Super Actua Flex OLED display with ultra-thin glass. Both the front screen and back cover come equipped with Corning Gorilla Glass Victus 2.

    As for the Galaxy Z Fold 7, it has a Dynamic AMOLED display (inner and outer) and comes with the Corning Gorilla Glass Ceramic 2 on the front and the Gorilla Glass Victus 2 on the backside. The glass is ultra-thin, yet it’s 50 percent thicker than before.

    While slightly bigger, the Galaxy Z Fold 7 is still lighter than the Pixel 10 Pro Fold. The Samsung model weighs only 7.6 ounces — down nearly an ounce from its 2024 model — while its Google competition comes in at 9.1 ounces (the same as last year’s model).

    The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 (left) compared to the new Pixel 10 Pro Fold (right). (Sam Rutherford/Engadget)

    Processor, RAM, storage and battery

    The Pixel 10 Fold Pro runs the Tensor G5 chip — Google says its CPU features 34 percent better performance compared to the Tensor G4 chip.

    The Z Fold 7 is powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy. “Everything feels fast and snappy,” Engadget’s Sam Rutherford said of the Snapdragon 8 Elite performance on the Z Fold 7. (Sam also has first impressions of the Pixel 10 Pro Fold, but speed tests will happen a bit later.)

    Both phones offer the choice of 256GB, 512GB or 1TB storage. On the RAM front, the Pixel Fold delivers 16GB across the line, while the Samsung model reserves that level for the top 1TB storage tier; the small models get 12GB instead. The Galaxy phone will cost you $2,419 if you decide you need the maximum amount of storage, whereas the Pixel Fold tops out at $2,149.

    When it comes to battery life, Samsung’s foldable lasts up to 24 hours with a 4,400mAh battery. The Pixel lasts up to 30 hours thanks to a more capacious 5,015mAh battery rating. Furthermore, the Pixel Fold is certified for Qi2 wireless charging, which Google is branding as “Pixelsnap” across its 2025 Pixel line for the first time.

    Cameras

    For many shoppers, a phone is only as good as its cameras, and both of these phones bring a strong lens game. Each has three rear cameras, though they’re different aesthetically. You’ll notice the Pixel has a larger camera bump with two rows, while the Galaxy has a thinner vertical line of cameras.

    The Pixel 10 Pro Fold’s rear camera array consists of a 48MP wide sensor, a 10.5MP ultrawide and a 10.8MP telephoto with 5x optical zoom. All three offer “Super Res Zoom” up to 20x with optical and electronic image stabilization. Per our own Sam Rutherford, the potential drawback here is that Google played it safe: “The biggest potential shortcoming of the P10PF is that its camera hardware is largely staying the same. Granted, that’s not a huge deal because the previous model had the best photo quality of any foldable phone.”

    By comparison, the Samsung Galaxy Fold 7 rear camera trio includes the same 200MP wide-angle camera as the company’s Galaxy S25 Ultra, but carries over the 12MP ultrawide and 10MP telephone from the Z Fold 6. Zoom levels are 3x optical and 30x digital.

    While we have yet to put the Pixel 10 Pro Fold cameras through their paces, Sam was still liking last year’s Pixel Fold versus the Galaxy Z Fold 7 when he reviewed the latter: “At night, the Fold 7’s shots remained surprisingly sharp. I still prefer the Pixel 9 Pro Fold due to its more accurate white balance and often sharper focus, though Samsung’s phone isn’t far behind.” And the entire Pixel line’s cameras are (of course) supercharged with some new Google Gemini AI niceties, like the Camera Coach feature that enables voice-controlled photo editing.

    Both the Pixel and Galaxy offer similar 10MP specs on their front and inner selfie cameras.

    Color options

    If you like having multiple colors to choose from, the Galaxy Z Fold 7 is winning in this category. It comes in Mint, Jetblack, Blue Shadow and Silver Shadow. Mint is only available if you buy your phone online — you won’t be seeing that one in stores.

    As for the Pixel 10 Fold Pro, your options are Moonstone and Jade.

    Full specs comparison

    Google Pixel 10 Pro Fold

    Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7

    Starting price

    $1,799

    $2,000

    Dimensions

    Folded: 6.1 x 3.0 x 0.4 inches (155.2 x 76.3 x 10.8mm)
    Unfolded: 6.1 x 5.9 x 0.2 inches (155.2 x 150.4 x 5.2mm)

    Folded: 6.2 x 2.9 x 0.4 inches (158.4 x 72.8 x 8.9mm)
    Unfolded: 6.2 x 5.6 x 0.2 inches (158.4 x 143.2 x 4.2mm)

    Weight

    9.1 oz (258g)

    7.6 oz (215g)

    Processor

    Tensor G5

    Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy (3nm)

    Display

    Inner: 8-inch Super Actua
    Outer: 6.4-inch Actua

    Inner: 8-inch Dynamic AMOLED
    Outer: 6.5-inch Dynamic AMOLED

    Storage

    256GB / 512GB / 1TB

    256GB / 512GB / 1TB

    RAM

    16GB

    12GB (for 256GB, 512GB configs) | 16GB (for 1TB config)

    Battery

    5,015mAh | “Up to 30 hours”

    4,400mAh | “Up to 24 hours”

    Camera

    Main: 48MP wide (F1.7) | 10.5MP Ultrawide (F2.2) | 10.8MP Telephoto lens (F3.1) with 5x optical | Super Res Zoom up to 20x
    Front: 10MP (F2.2)
    Inner: 10 MP (F2.2)

    Main: 200MP Wide (F1.7) | 12MP Ultrawide (F2.2) | 10 MP (F2.4) Telephoto (F2.4) with 3x optical zoom
    Front: 10MP (F2.2)
    Inner: 10MP (F2.2)

    Stylus support

    No

    No

    Colors

    Moonstone, Jade

    Mint (online only), Jetblack, Blue Shadow, Silver Shadow

    Updated August 21, 2:26PM ET: Added a section comparing the cameras on both phones.

    [ad_2]

    Katie Teague

    Source link

  • Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 review: The king, but for how much longer?

    Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 review: The king, but for how much longer?

    [ad_1]

    No one has been making foldable phones longer than Samsung. And for the first few years, the sheer number of improvements we got on the Galaxy Z Fold line meant it didn’t really have any competition. But more recently, the pace of innovation has slowed while new challengers like the OnePlus Open and Pixel Fold have arrived. Now for 2024, Samsung has reinforced the Galaxy Z Fold 6 with a stronger but significantly lighter frame, a new ultra-wide-angle camera and a bunch of AI-powered tools. Unfortunately, not much else has changed, leaving us with a very iterative upgrade. So while the Galaxy Z Fold 6 remains the best all-around big foldable on the market, it feels like complacency is eroding Samsung’s lead among flagship flexible phones.

    Photo by Sam Rutherford/Engadget

    Even without a new main camera, Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold’s sleeker design, brighter screens and native stylus support are enough to maintain its rank as the best big foldable phone on the market.

    Pros

    • Super bright and colorful display
    • Even lighter chassis
    • Great battery life
    • Native stylus support
    Cons

    • Even more expensive than before
    • Same main camera as the previous two Z Folds
    • S Pen not included
    • Charging speeds could be faster

    $1,900 at Samsung

    After eliminating the gap between the screen (when closed) on last year’s phone, Samsung has adjusted the Galaxy Z Fold 6’s dimensions again for 2024. But the changes are so small you have to measure them in millimeters. When closed, the phone is just over one millimeter thinner and when you open it up (in portrait), the main screen is 2.7mm wider but one millimeter shorter. It’s not a ton, but you do get a little more room for activities. And of course this also affects the exterior Cover Display, which is about 1mm wider as well — just enough to make using its on-screen keyboard more forgiving.

    Elsewhere, the entire phone is sharper, from its boxier edges to the more squared-off corners on both screens. Samsung also says the Enhanced Armor Aluminium used in the Z Fold 6’s chassis is about 10 percent stronger than before, but I hope you’ll forgive me for not dropping it on purpose just to find out. Holding everything together is a new dual-rail hinge. And this time, I think Samsung has nailed the perfect balance between something that’s easy to open but also holds its position when you want it to. But the biggest design upgrade is a 14-gram weight reduction compared to the previous model. Granted, that might not sound like much, but now the Z Fold 6 only weighs around 4 grams more than its non-foldable cousin, the S24 Ultra. And on an already heavy phone, this change makes a big difference.

    As for the displays, as someone who’s been using the Pixel Fold a lot recently — which has a solid screen in its own right — can I just say, Samsung’s panels are so choice. Not only has peak brightness improved to 2,600 nits for both displays just like on the standard S24 family, Samsung has subtly shrunk and flattened the bezels, so the phone looks even more like a magazine come to life. And until I see something better, this is simply the best screen on a big foldable right now.

    On the Galaxy Z Fold 6, Samsung increased peak brightness for both of its displays to 2,600 nits, which is the same as on the standard Galaxy S24 line. On the Galaxy Z Fold 6, Samsung increased peak brightness for both of its displays to 2,600 nits, which is the same as on the standard Galaxy S24 line.

    Photo by Sam Rutherford/Engadget

    The Z Fold line has never been slow and this year we got the same upgrade to a Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chip as we saw on the S24, while base RAM is staying pat at 12GB. And as you’d expect, the Z Fold 6’s performance is fast and responsive. There’s no lag when doing pretty much anything and thanks to the addition of a larger vapor chamber on the inside, the phone stays cooler during longer sessions, which is a nice bonus to all the gamers out there who like playing on a truly big-screen device.

    When it comes to photography, I’m a bit disappointed with the Z Fold 6, not because it can’t take a decent pic, but because I know Samsung can do better. For this go around, Samsung has stuck with a trio of rear cameras, opting for a new 12-MP sensor for the ultra-wide lens — and it’s pretty good. But at the same time, the ultra-wide lens is the one I use the least in daily use, and it’s not close.

    The only significant change to the Z Fold 6's photography is the addition of a new 12-MP sensor for the phone's ultra-wide lens.The only significant change to the Z Fold 6's photography is the addition of a new 12-MP sensor for the phone's ultra-wide lens.

    Photo by Sam Rutherford/Engadget

    The other two cameras – the 50-MP main and 12-MP telephoto with a 3x optical zoom — are solid, but they’re the same ones Samsung used on at least the previous two generations. In a photo of some strawberries, the Z Fold 6 produced a delicious pic with deep saturated hues and great details. At the same time, though, you can also see the slightly exaggerated warm tones you often get from Samsung cameras. And at night, the Z Fold produced a beautiful pic of a flower in a very tricky backlit environment.

    The issue is that after Google released the Pixel Fold, Samsung doesn’t really have an excuse for saddling the Z Fold 6 with downgraded photography when compared to the S24 Ultra. The Pixel Fold has a longer 5x optical zoom and an edge in overall photo quality. Just take a look at two zoom shots taken by the Z Fold 6 and the Pixel Fold. In a vacuum, Samsung’s photo doesn’t look bad. But then take a look at the Pixel’s image. It’s noticeably sharper and more detailed.

    [ad_2]

    Sam Rutherford

    Source link