Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold vs Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6: here comes the rivalry! – Ultra-Sim

Intro

Samsung has slowly but surely been moving its product launches earlier and earlier. Now, we reached a point where the summer Unpacked was held in July, instead of August — as it has been for years prior. And, since the slot is free, it seems Google decided to take it!

Design and Size

Hey, look, we can all be Pac-Man

Google takes a slightly different path to designing its foldables. While Samsung insists on keeping the cover screen narrow, so it’s more one-hand, single-thumb-friendly, Google spreads out the Pixel Fold to be wider and thinner. In other words — it feels more like a “regular smartphone” when closed up. At least that’s how it was with the OG Pixel Fold, and all rumors state it’ll be the same with the Pixel 9 Pro Fold.

Last year, we were impressed with the Pixel Fold‘s hinge — it felt strong and sturdy, so we have no reason to believe that the Pixel 9 Pro Fold’s hinge would be soft or shaky. And, with the Galaxy Z Fold 6 — yeah, it feels stiff and reassuring, too. Samsung did manage to achieve IP48 rating — great water-resistance, and some particle protection for objects 1 mm in diameter. So, it’s not exactly dust-proof. Will Google manage to one-up this?

From whatever was leaked, the camera module on the back of the Pixel 9 Pro Fold looks massive — it’s a square, not a vizor, and it’s tucked away in the upper-left corner of the phone’s back. That’s also where the Z Fold 6 has its triple-lens array, which in itself is not exactly small. Safe to say, both of these phones will refuse to lie flat on a table, unless outfitted with a rather thick case.

We can’t say much about weight yet. The first Pixel Fold is kind of hefty, at 283 g, and while rumors have said the next one will be lighter — we don’t have an exact spec yet. The Galaxy Z Fold 6 is kind of on the light side — for a foldable, that is — weighing in at 239 g.

Color options for the Pixel are expected to be Hazel, Obsidian, Porcelain, Rose, while the Galaxy comes in Silver, Navy, Pink, Black, and White.

Display differences

So, we sort of know what we are headed into here — OLED panels, all around, inside and out on both phones. Obviously, Samsung has been cooking its own AMOLED screens for a while now, and it is even accepting orders from other manufacturers — Google included.

Performance and Software

Tensor G4 coming in!

Google is still on the path of making its own silicon for its own phones, and that’s cool and commendable. The Tensor series will reach its G4 generation this year, but our hopes for performance aren’t super-high.

Don’t get us wrong, the Tensors are good enough for what Google wants them to be — powerful enough to run the stock Android. Smart enough to give brains to the Google Assistant and now — Gemini. The Tensor chips have dedicated NPU cores for AI, and image processing pipelines for Google’s excellent camera. Not that other chips don’t — it’s just that Google’s are custom-made to their spec.

Reports say the Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold will come with a 4,560 mAh battery — that’s smaller than the OG Pixel Fold‘s 4,821 mAh cell. It’s early to comment on endurance — mayhaps the Tensor G4 will be more energy efficient and we won’t feel the difference. 

The Galaxy Z Fold 6 has a 4,400 mAh cell, and while it’s not quite a marathon runner, we definitely trust it to take us through a day.

No charging champions here — the Z Fold 6 juices up with 25 W power from an applicable charger, the Pixel 9 Pro Fold may get up to 30 W, but we don’t have good leaks on that front.

Specs Comparison

Speculation

Which one should you buy?

Oh boy, isn’t that the question? We have to say, the Z Fold 6 still has a lot going for it thanks to that S Pen support and Samsung DeX. However, you should also seriously consider what type of external screen you want on your foldable. Samsung insists it has to be narrow, Google is giving you a nice, wide canvas to dual-thumb type on when you don’t feel like opening the phone up.

But also, do you want the Google AI special features, or extreme raw power from the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3? Well… we guess we’ll have a more concrete answer once we know what said special features are — hang tight for the 13th of August, when Google will present the new Pixel phones to the world!