Google Pixel Fold vs Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4: Which do you have to purchase?

• Google / Pocket-lint

  Google Pixel Fold

  A promising choice

  The Google Pixel Fold is the corporate’s first folding cellphone and it brings with it some promising specs, alongside what seems to be a stunning premium design. There’s a big battery on board, good digicam specs and a bloatfree software program expertise too.

  Professionals

  • Premium design
  • Promising specs
  • Bloat-free software program

  Cons

  • No stylus compatibility
  • Costly
  • Massive bezels inside

• 

  Samsung / Pocket-lint

  Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4

  An incredible choice

  The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 is a welcome replace to Samsung’s flagship folding cellphone, providing refined {hardware} for a greater total expertise. The discount of bezels lends to the premium look, with an important end reinforcing its place as a superior gadget.

  Professionals

  • Narrower bezels
  • Flagship cameras
  • Loads of energy

  Cons

  • No S Pen storage
  • Common charging speeds
  • Costly

Google introduced its first folding cellphone within the type of the Pixel Fold at Google I/O in Might, following years of rumours. The gadget joins a really aggressive market, with the likes of the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4, Oppo Discover N2 and Honor Magic Vs. Huawei’s Mate X3 can also be within the combine so there isn’t any scarcity of vertically-folding marvels to consider.

Not all can be found in all areas of the world although. With that in thoughts, the Google Pixel Fold’s largest competitor is arguably the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4. Wish to understand how they examine and which may be the suitable one for you? We have you lined. These are the variations between the Google Pixel Fold and the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 that will help you resolve which is the suitable folding cellphone for you.

Costs, availability and specs

The Google Pixel Fold is offered in two color choices – Obsidian and Porcelain – whereas the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 is available in just a few extra, and a bit of extra thrilling too, relying in your vibe. The usual colors provided on the Galaxy Z Fold 4 are Graygreen, Phantom Black and Beige, however Burgundy can also be accessible as a Samsung Retailer unique.

Each the Google Pixel Fold and the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 can be found globally, in each the US, UK and Europe. The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 costs £1649 in the UK and $1799 within the US. The Google Pixel Fold in the meantime, prices £1749 within the UK and $1800 within the US so it is a bit of dearer than Samsung’s different within the UK, however the identical within the US.

You possibly can see a fast rundown of how the Google Pixel Fold and Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 specs examine beneath, although we’ve got gone into extra element additional down this characteristic. Specs solely inform half the story in spite of everything.

• 	Google Pixel Fold	Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4
  SoC	Google Tensor G2	Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1
  Show	5.8-inch, OLED, 2092 x 1080, 120Hz (cowl) / 6.7-inch OLED, UTG, 2208 x 1840, 120Hz (fundamental)	6.2-inch, OLED, 2316 x 904, 120Hz (cowl) / 7.6-inch, OLED, 2176 x 1812, 120Hz (fundamental)
  Battery	4821mAh, 30W quick charging, Wi-fi charging	4400mAh, 25W quick charging, wi-fi charging
  Working System	Android	Android with One UI
  Entrance digicam	9.5MP, f/2.2 (cowl) / 8MP, f/2.0 (fundamental)	10MP f/2.2 (cowl), 4MP f/1.8 UPC (fundamental)
  Rear cameras	48MP f/1.7 fundamental, 10.8MP f/2.2 ultra-wide, 10.8MP f/3.05 telephoto	50MP f/1.8 fundamental, 12MP f/2.2 ultra-wide, 10MP f/2.4 telephoto
  Dimensions	139.7 x 79.5 x 12.1mm (folded), 139.7 x 158.7 x 5.8mm (unfolded), 283g	155.1 x 67.1 x 15.8mm (folded) / 155.1 x 130.1 x 6.3mm (unfolded), 263g
  Colours	Obsidian, Porcelain	Graygreen, Phantom Black, Beige, Burgundy
  IP Score	IPX8	IPX8
  RAM and Storage	12GB, 256/512GB	12GB, 256/512/1TB

Design and construct

The Google Pixel Fold and Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 share some similarities, as is the case for all vertically-folding telephones, however on the entire, they tackle fairly completely different designs. The Google Pixel Fold borrows from the Pixel 7 devices, that includes a horizontal digicam housing on the rear that spans nearly your entire width of the handset. It is a extra outstanding and deliberate design than you may discover on the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4, making the digicam housing a part of the general look relatively than mixing it in with the remainder of the rear.

The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 contains a extra refined digicam housing within the high left nook, colour-matched to the remainder of the rear. It is much less pronounced than the Pixel Fold, although it’ll come down to private choice as to which you favor. We like each and with digicam housings turning into much more of a characteristic than they have been just a few years in the past, we suspect neither would spark outrage.

Relating to the remainder of the design variations between the Google Pixel Fold and the Galaxy Z Fold 4, each have a book-style design however the Pixel Fold is shorter, wider and it folds flat, whereas the Galaxy Z Fold 4 is narrower and taller, however there’s a hole subsequent to the hinge when folded. The sides of the Google Pixel Fold are rounded, relatively than flat just like the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4, and they’re slimmer too, although the Galaxy Z Fold 4 is lighter. Each gadgets have a fingerprint sensor positioned on their proper edge they usually each have an influence button right here too, although they’re within the reverse place on the Pixel Fold in comparison with the Galaxy Z Fold 4.

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Open the Google Pixel Fold up and you will find a big show with fairly bigger bezels on the high and backside with a view to accommodate the entrance digicam within the high proper. The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 in the meantime, has a big fundamental show too, however the bezels surrounding it are a lot slimmer as there’s an under-display camera as an alternative. Each gadgets provide a big cowl show on the entrance although, with a centralised punch hole camera on the high.

Each the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 and the Google Pixel Fold are IPX8 rated, which means they deal with submersion in as much as 1.5-metres of recent water for as much as half-hour. It does imply neither are formally rated towards mud although, so preserve that in thoughts.

Show

Relating to the show specifics, the Google Pixel Fold has a 5.8-inch cowl show that provides a Full HD+ decision at 2092 x 1080 pixels for a 408ppi. It is an OLED show and it has a facet ratio of 17.4:9. The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 has a barely bigger 6.2-inch show on the entrance, although it is a HD+ decision at 2316 x 904 pixels for a pixel density of 402ppi. It too is an OLED show, although it has a barely higher facet ratio of 23.1:9. Each the Google Pixel Fold and Samsung Galaxy Z fold 4 provide 120Hz refresh rates on the principle cowl screens, permitting for clean scrolling.

By way of the principle show – as in when the Google Pixel Fold and Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 are each open – the 2 gadgets each have a 7.6-inch display. As with the duvet shows, the principle shows are OLED panels for each gadgets, they each support HDR they usually each have a 120Hz refresh fee. The Pixel Fold presents a 6:5 facet ratio for its fundamental show, together with a 2208 x 1840 pixel decision that delivers a pixel density of 380ppi. The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 in the meantime, has a 21.6:18 facet ratio and a decision of 2176 x 1812 pixels, providing a pixel density of 374ppi.

There aren’t a substantial amount of variations between the 2 gadgets when it comes to show specs, although as we talked about, the bezels surrounding the principle show of the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 are fairly a bit slimmer than the Pixel Fold. The Galaxy Z Fold 4 additionally has a surprising show and the fold is just barely noticeable – one thing that’s stated to enhance additional with the Galaxy Z Fold 5, due out later this 12 months. The Pixel Fold in the meantime, additionally has an important show, although the bezels round it are a lot bigger and extra noticeable than the opponents.

{Hardware}

The Google Pixel Fold runs on the company’s in-house Tensor G2 platform, which you’ll discover within the Google Pixel 7 and Google Pixel 7 Pro, in addition to the mid-range Pixel 7a. The Titan M2 safety coprocessor can also be on board and there are a number of security measures together with 5 years of safety updates.

The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 runs on the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 platform, which launched across the similar time because the Google Tensor G2 chip. Whereas completely different platforms, efficiency could be very related between these two handsets. Each are working highly effective {hardware} greater than able to day-to-day duties, in addition to demanding ones. By way of safety, the Galaxy Z Fold 4 has Samsung’s Knox safety platform on board.

Relating to RAM and storage, the Google Pixel Fold has 12GB of RAM with choices of 256GB and 512GB of storage within the US and UK. The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 has the identical, although it additionally presents a 1TB storage variant too. Neither the Pixel Fold or the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 have microSD assist for storage enlargement.

Comparable-sized batteries are on board the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 and the Google Pixel Fold too, although the Pixel Fold’s is barely larger, which the Galaxy Z Fold 4 wanted in our expertise. The Pixel Fold has a 4821mAh battery, with 30W quick charging assist and wireless charging compatibility. The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 in the meantime, has a 4400mAh battery, with assist for 25W quick charging and there is wi-fi charging assist right here too.

Cameras

The Google Pixel Fold has a triple rear digicam, together with two entrance cameras, certainly one of which is on the duvet show and one is above the principle show. The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 has a triple rear digicam too, in addition to a entrance digicam on the duvet show and a entrance digicam inside the principle show. As we talked about, the Galaxy Z Fold 4 has an under-display digicam for the entrance digicam inside the principle show, whereas the Pixel Fold has bigger bezels across the display to accommodate the entrance digicam on the within.

The Google Pixel Fold’s triple rear digicam is made up of a 48-megapixel fundamental sensor with an f/1.7 aperture and 0.8µm pixel measurement, a ten.8-megapixel ultra-wide sensor f/2.25 aperture and 1.25µm pixels and a ten.8-megapixel telephoto digicam with f/3.05 aperture and 1.22µm pixels. It is a completely different setup to the Pixel 7 Professional and Pixel 7, although lots of the similar options are on board, together with Magic Eraser, Photograph Unblur, Night Sight and Face Unblur. The Pixel Fold has 5x optical zoom just like the Pixel 7 Professional, in addition to 20x Tremendous Res Zoom.

The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 has a 50-megapixel fundamental digicam with an f/1.8 aperture and 1.0µm pixel measurement, a 12-megapixel ultra-wide digicam with f/2.2 aperture and 1.12µm pixel measurement and a 10-megapixel telephoto digicam with f/2.4 aperture and 1.0µm pixel measurement. There’s a good stability of color and high quality between all three lenses in our expertise, with pictures which can be colour-rich and saturated. In low-light circumstances, we discovered the ultra-wide sensor struggled, however the principle sensor carried out properly in nearly all lighting circumstances.

The Galaxy Z Fold 4’s digicam make up is completely different to Samsung’s equal flagship smartphone, which is now the S23 Ultra, although would have been the S22 Ultra when the Galaxy Z Fold 4 launched. Once more although, lots of the similar options are on board, together with Evening, Meals and Professional digicam modes, in addition to 3x optical zoom and 30X House Zoom. The House Zoom is fairly pointless after round 10X, dropping the flexibility to focus and usually not producing one of the best pictures, however 10X continues to be fairly a distance.

On the entrance of the gadgets, the Google Pixel Fold comes with a 9.5-megapixel sensor with an f/2.2 aperture and 1.22µm pixels for the duvet show digicam. The within digicam – the one above the principle show – is an 8-megapixel sensor with 1.12µm pixels and a f/2.0 aperture. The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 in the meantime, has a 10-megapixel sensor for the duvet digicam, with an f/2.2 aperture and 1.22µm pixels, whereas the within show is a 4-megapixel under-display digicam with an f/1.8 aperture and 2µm pixels. The quilt show sensor is nice, and you need to use the show because the digicam monitor, which is beneficial. We averted utilizing the under-display digicam, nonetheless, because the added layer between the lens and topic resulted in fairly hazy photos.

Software program

The Google Pixel Fold runs on pure Android, delivering the same expertise to the Pixel 7 Professional or the Pixel 7, at the very least whenever you use the gadget closed. It is clear, constant and there is minimal bloatware, making for an important total consumer interface. When open, the Pixel Fold’s interface has been tailored to accommodate the bigger show, permitting for multi-tasking, watching films and dealing. There are additionally intelligent options like Reside Translate Interpreter Mode that makes use of each the internal and outer screens concurrently for simpler face-to-face conversations in numerous languages.

There’s additionally a tabletop mode for hands-free pictures, comparable to starry skies and not using a tripod, or watching a film. As you would possibly count on, there is a Break up Display choice too, which lets you open two apps side-by-side and drag and drop photos, movies, hyperlinks, and textual content from one app to a different rapidly and simply.

The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 in the meantime, runs on Android with Samsung’s One UI excessive, so whereas it is also an important expertise, there’s extra bloatware on the Galaxy Z Fold 4 than you may discover on the Pixel Fold. Samsung has its personal digicam app, browser, e mail app, and many others, all of that are largely pointless. There are some nice options on board the Galaxy Z Fold 4 although, together with cut up display just like the Pixel Fold, the place you possibly can have apps side-by-side and drag and drop between them. There’s additionally a helpful activity bar on the backside of apps on the Galaxy Z Fold 4 that make entering into cut up display good and easy.

Just like the Pixel Fold, you possibly can fold the show right into a sure place to have it sit up so that you watch films, or YouTube with the film showing on the high and the controls on the backside. The Galaxy Z Fold 4 additionally helps S Pen performance – one thing the Pixel Fold would not – and it has assist for Samsung’s DeX too, which helps you to use the Fold plugged in or linked wirelessly to a show for a PC-like pc interface.

Google Pixel Fold vs Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4: Which do you have to purchase?

On the entire, the Google Pixel Fold and Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 are very related when it comes to their choices. They each provide highly effective {hardware} and software program, and whereas they differ in design, they each look nice so this aspect will come down to private choice.

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The bezels are definitely bigger on the Pixel Fold, although this might imply a greater digicam expertise from the within digicam, while additionally providing a cleaner software program expertise with much less bloat and there is a bigger battery too. We’re nonetheless finalising our testing of the Pixel Fold’s digicam and battery so we’ll replace this characteristic as soon as we’ve got achieved that, although throughout our time up to now, we’ve got actually appreciated the bigger show on the entrance of the Pixel Fold.

The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 in the meantime, has a few additional options, just like the S Pen assist and we already know it is a good performer as we have reviewed it in full, with nice digicam efficiency total and loads of energy. If you happen to’re after a folding smartphone, it is possible you may be glad with both the Google Pixel Fold or Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 nonetheless, so the selection will in all probability come right down to the design you favor, or the software program expertise you’ll relatively have.

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