Ich habe mir mein erstes Falt-Handy zugelegt – und bereue es

For a long time, the folds were far too narrow and far too thick when they were closed – as if two cell phones had been placed on top of each other. Also the first Google Pixel Fold (test) With its wide format and huge display bezels, it made an extremely unwieldy impression to me.

It took a few generations, but now most phones are not much thicker than normal smartphones, despite the full-format display. Google has also significantly slimmed down its foldable Pixel – assuming that it would have the best software experience, I decided to go with that Pixel 10 Pro Fold to give a chance.

Big screen, few advantages

While I normally love the clean Pixel interface, this was where my first disappointment lay. In my opinion, the Google software makes far too little use of the potential of the large display. My non-foldable Xiaomi cell phone offered significantly better multitasking features, such as freely movable app windows, in just 6 inches. Unfortunately, I look for this function on the huge display of the Pixel 10 Pro Fold in vain. I also noticed that surprisingly few developers have optimized their apps for the large format – I would have expected more from the seventh generation of folding.

What I really like, however, is the two-part Gboard keyboard, which makes typing really fun when it’s open. It’s also surprisingly convenient to be able to read websites in full desktop view comfortably in my hands. And the photos from the really good camera are of course shown off perfectly on the giant display.

On the other hand, watching videos or series on the folding display is rather disappointing. Due to the square format, you always have black bars and the gain in display size is only small. I find it more useful to place the Fold on the table in front of me like a Nintendo DS and only use one half of the display.

Heavyweight among foldables

I really like the look of the Pixel 10 Pro Fold. Especially when opened, it really looks like an advanced piece of technology with its thin frame, which makes the very high price of around 1,900 euros seem at least a little more reasonable. But considering the value, it quickly became clear: a case is mandatory.

Although the official Pixel case tried to be as thin as possible, the slimming effect disappeared immediately. Whenever I hold a normal smartphone in my hand, I realize what a clunker I’m actually carrying with me.

The Pixel bulges in my trouser pocket and is really heavy and thick – and that annoys me much more in everyday life than I would have initially thought possible. Meanwhile I look enviously at my colleague who has the ultralight iPhone Air (test) used in everyday life. I wonder if I’ll have to deal with him next Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge (test) try?

I also found the folding itself to take some getting used to. It’s not that easy to find the right place to open it without accidentally hitting the volume button.

Another, admittedly relatively predictable finding: the more you use the large display, the faster the battery runs out. When I watch videos with it open, I can watch the percentages tumble and often just get through the day. Apparently my expectations were simply set too high here.

Foldable for the first time: My conclusion

I’ve been using the Pixelfalter for almost three months now. Unfortunately, I notice that the weight in my bag is increasingly annoying me in everyday life. At the same time, the moments when the large display comes in handy are becoming increasingly rare.

I have to admit that I simply misjudged some things. I notice that too when… official test report My colleague (who is much more experienced with foldables) read: The battery life of the Pixel is actually comparatively long for a folding cell phone and, unlike me, he finds the folding hinge “pleasantly smooth”. This is one of the reasons why I would like to share this experience report from the perspective of an absolute newbie to foldables.

To make it clear again: The Google Pixel 10 Pro Fold is anything but a bad smartphone – the CHIP test center doesn’t even give it a rating of 1.3 (“Very good”). Nevertheless, I now know that my next cell phone will no longer be a butterfly.