The new Google Pixel 11 Pro Fold is clearly not the highlight of Google's flagship lineup for 2026. It's an iterative upgrade on last year's Pixel 10 Pro Fold, which in itself, was a minor upgrade over the Pixel 9 Pro Fold.

You could look at the Pixel 11 Pro Fold and say Google is not even trying. Same design, same questionable crease, not a lot of improvements in thickness and weight, so what's Google trying to do?

If you ask me, this isn't the foldable to buy if you already have the Pixel 10 Pro Fold, or even the 9 Pro Fold, but if you want a foldable and you love Google's Pixel ecosystem, it's the best you can get now, and it's still competitive in its own way.

The Pixel 11 Pro Fold looks and feels better than the 10 Pro Fold

Minor changes make all the difference

In hand, the Google Pixel 11 Pro Fold is very reminiscent of the 10 Pro Fold that I've been using for a year. But I could instantly tell this was a different phone. It feels significantly thinner, even though the difference is only 1mm on paper.

The 10% lighter body (239g vs last year's 258g) helps a lot, too. It feels less hefty, less wrist-straining. There's a reason the Pixel 10 Pro Fold is only my secondary phone, and it's that I don't want to carry or hold it multiple hours a day, but the Pixel 11 Pro Fold might fix that.

I still need to check that out over a longer period of use, but I can imagine that this year's phone will be easier to slip in a pocket, more comfortable to hold for longer periods of time, both folded and unfolded, especially with one hand.

The hinge feels so much smoother and more durable, too. Google says its three times stronger, and I want to believe it. There's something better about the way this phone unfolds and folds that feels less fragile than my Pixel 10 Pro Fold.

The crease is still visible, but a little less pronounced than last year (check the last photo above), but I'm a little worried about the camera bump. The all-glass protrusion looks much more problematic to me than last year, and may not be easily protected by cases. We'll have to see how it holds up.

Overall, though, there are enough improvements here for Google to tap itself on the should and say it did a good job, even if tech geeks like us would've wanted much more. But Pixel fans won't care all that much.

Google is competing with Samsung in its own way

This isn't a specs war, but a usability war

Now, to be fair, I have not held Samsung's latest excellent Galaxy Z Fold 8 or Z Fold 8 Ultra, so I can't compare the two with Google's Pixel 11 Pro Fold, or see the creases side by side, but on paper, the latter is still thicker (10.1 mm vs. 8.9mm) and heavier (258g vs. 215g).

It also comes with the Tensor G6, which obviously won't hold a candle to the excellent Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 for Galaxy. The 48MP main camera doesn't seem as good on paper as Samsung's 200MP shooter, nor is the 10.5MP ultrawide as impressive as Samsung's 50MP.

But the Pixel 11 Pro Fold makes up for its shortcomings in other areas — a proper 5x telephoto lens instead of Samsung's measly 3x one, a higher brightness display, and built-in Qi2 magnets with Qi2.2 wireless charging up to 25W. Those certainly make up for the extra thickness.

Additionally, I don't understand how Google has fixed the problem of dust resistance in its foldables for two years now, and Samsung is still stuck with a bad dust ingress and forcing its users to babysit their phones with pocket lint, dust, and questionable environments.

Both Galaxy Z Fold 8 models have an IP48 rating, so they're only protected against particles larger than 1mm. That's big grains of sands. The Pixel 11 Pro Fold, like the 10 Pro Fold, has an IP68 rating, and is essentially dust-proof.

If I'm plunking down around $2,000 on a foldable, I'd rather see it survive a beach trip — or my jeans pocket. This is inexcusable from Samsung, honestly. Even other brands have caught up already, so it needs to fix this soon. Its hinge should be tighter and impermeable.

You get this foldable for the Pixel ecosystem, not the spec sheet

Hardware-wise, the Pixel 11 Pro Fold continues Google's tradition of focusing on durability and usefulness. In the US, this will still be the foldable with the highest durability, the best zoom camera, and the built-in Qi2.2 magnets.

It'll also be the foldable that allows you to benefit from Google's entire software suit. Everything from the smart call blocking and handling features to the tight Gemini integration, Gboard's impressive new Ramble dictation, and more.

Beyond that, Google is bringing a slew of new camera features to the Pixel 11 series, which I think are game-changers, and the Pixel 11 Pro Fold will benefit from most of them.

Don't buy this phone if you need high benchmark numbers, but if you want the entire Google experience on a phone that unfolds into a mini tablet, it'll be your only chance. Or, you know, get a discounted Pixel 10 Pro Fold. They'll surely be cheaper now!