Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold - Unlocked Android Smartphone with Gemini - Advanced Triple Rear Camera System - Foldable Display - Hands-Free Video - Obsidian, 512GB : Amazon.co.uk: Electronics & Photo (original) (raw)

This will be a pretty short review with the hope that others can learn from my mistake.

As you will have guessed from the title, if you buy this phone get yourself a good quality case that also protects the hinge! As you can see (hopefully) in the pictures, from a very small dent in the hinge, the entire internal screen has been rendered useless. This was the result of a short drop (genuinely around 6 inches) having slid out of my pocket, and then landed directly on the hinge itself. This has slightly bent the hinge in and ruined the internal screen. It has now been sent off to be fixed by Google (which in itself was surprisingly a very difficult task to organise) and as it's physical damage, it's not covered by warranty. So my advice - invest in a suitable case (and potentially insurance).

Outside of that, as a phone, in the two weeks I had it I absolutely loved it and I'm sure I will when I get it fixed. The front screen and functionality works so well that I rarely need to open the phone just to be able to use it. The primary function of the internal screen for me was to utilise it's size and accessibility for work (documents/spreadsheets/writing notes/web tools) without having to always carry a laptop with me, which it was perfect for.

Battery life was a lot better than expected, easily getting through a day on my regular usage without any problems. No over heating issues. Screen brightness I've had no problems in bright sunlight. Processing is perfectly adequate and very fast in my experience without doing anything that is massively taxing. Everything seems to run smoothly switching between the front screen and opening up to use the internal screen. Plus some of the features to utilise both screens are really cool and handy.

So overall the phone I was super pleased with up until the accident that damaged the hinge and screen. I appreciate that if I loved the phone and it was my own fault for not having a case (literally arrived shortly after this happened!) then I should probably rate it higher than 3 stars. My reasoning behind only 3 is that although I appreciate the niche quality of the phone in terms of there will be sacrifices in robustness to be able to create a foldable phone like this, I would still expect such an important part of the phone to be just a little bit more robust and able to better withstand a minor impact like that mine had. That being said, if you are interested in this kind of phone/tablet hybrid and would utilise it then this is a brilliant phone - just make sure you protect it appropriately!