Last year, the Google Pixel 10 Pro Fold was technically in competition with the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7, but in reality, it was no contest. Google's phone was just too bulky to really be a true peer of Samsung's excellent foldable.
This year, while one might arrive at the same ultimate conclusion, it is more of a real competition. The $1,899 Google Pixel 11 Pro Fold is a clear, marked improvement over its predecessor, thanks largely to a remarkably thinner and lighter form factor. While there are some software improvements to chew on, the fact that the new Pixel foldable is so much more comfortable in the hands than the 2025 model is enough to make it feel more on par with the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra.
Even so, a noticeable price increase year-over-year and Samsung's continued excellence in the space still mean that you're probably better off with a Z Fold. But the Pixel 11 Pro Fold is a very nice phone in its own right, and there are some good reasons to get one if you're in the market for a premium foldable.
Google Pixel 11 Pro Fold review: A $400 price increase hits hard
Speaking of price increases, the Pixel 10 Pro Fold launched at $1,499, and the 11 Pro Fold is launching at $1,899. There are noteworthy improvements from one device to the next, as I'll cover extensively in the rest of this review, but not to the tune of an extra $400. You can blame RAMageddon and the rapid spread of AI data centers for that.
Still, even with a valid economic justification, a price hike is a price hike. It's not good, and I don't want to normalize that sort of thing, no matter how normal it is in 2026.
Easily the biggest change Google made between the Pixel 10 Pro Fold and this model is in the physical design of the device itself. Last year's Pixel foldable was notably thicker and bulkier than the Z Fold 7, to the point where I couldn't earnestly recommend it to anyone, even though it was a perfectly OK device in its own right. Google trimmed the Pixel 11 Pro Fold down substantially, bringing it down to 10.1mm of thickness when folded and 5.0mm when unfolded.
That's compared to 10.8mm and 5.2mm last year, respectively. Google also pared the weight down from around 258g to 239g. All of that is to say that the Pixel 11 Pro Fold is significantly better from an ergonomic and design standpoint than its predecessor. As soon as I picked it up for the first time, I was immediately impressed by how much more svelte it is. The only problem is that the Z Fold 8 Ultra is an even tinier 4.1mm when unfolded, so Samsung still wins in that regard.
Still, Google is closing the gap.
Google Pixel 11 Pro Fold: Design, specs, and price
The new Pixel 11 Pro Fold also only comes in two very drab and boring colors: Olive and Obsidian. Blegh. Here are the rest of the basic specs for the device:
Exterior display: 6.5-inches with 1080x2342 resolution, 1-120Hz refresh rate, and 3,600 nits peak brightness
Interior display: 8-inches with 2076x2152 resolution, 1-120Hz refresh rate, and 3,600 nits peak brightness
Processor: Google Tensor G6
RAM: 16GB
Storage: 256/512GB, 1TB
Battery: 4,806mAh
Rear cameras: 48MP wide, 10.5MP ultra-wide, 10.8MP telephoto with 5x optical zoom
Selfie cameras: 10MP outer and inner cameras
We'll get to camera and battery changes shortly, but one upgrade worth mentioning here is that both displays have seen their peak brightness rise from 3,000 nits on Pixel 10 Pro Fold to 3,600 nits on this device. When you're using the foldable outdoors on a sunny day, the brightness is definitely noticeable. In general, the displays look great, but to my eyes they don't look all that different from last year's model outside of the brightness change.
I will say, though, that the crease in the inner display is fairly visible. It's not a big deal, but Samsung wins that competition this year.
Google Pixel 11 Pro Fold: Performance
As usual, Google has included a new in-house Tensor processor with the Pixel 11 Pro Fold. The Tensor G6 chip makes everyday activities, from web browsing to photography and social media, extremely breezy. I have absolutely zero complaints about the performance profile here, though I should mention that I didn't really have any last year, either. It'd be a big story if a nearly $2,000 phone didn't perform well.
Unfortunately, the Geekbench 7 benchmarking software that we use to put a number on performance does not have Pixel 11 Pro Fold support just yet. Take my word for it, though: Performance is fine on this phone.
Google Pixel 11 Pro Fold: AI features and HiLight
As always, the Pixel 11 Pro Fold is fully Gemini-powered out of the box. It comes with six months of the Google AI Pro subscription and otherwise has some contextual Gemini-based actions that can occur, usually within the realm of text messages. For example, if someone texts you about a lunch date, Gemini might surface a little visual card with information about the restaurant in question sourced from the internet.
This sort of thing isn't terribly new or exciting (it's also somewhat difficult to test), but I suppose it can help save a little bit of time here and there. The most standout new AI feature actually involves photography. It's called Magic Capture, and the way it works is that you open the Camera app, swipe to a new Magic Capture tab the same way you would swipe between the photo and video modes, and start filming anything that's moving or otherwise dynamic and difficult to capture in still image form.
After you're done filming, the phone will take a few seconds to process a sort of "ideal" photographic still from the video you just took. It can also optionally crop and unblur these photos without your input. Fast-moving animals like New York's lovely pigeons or dogs at a dog park made for decent test subjects; even with the maximum zoom distance of 4x and twitchy, unpredictable subjects, the stills actually came out looking pretty nice.
I am broadly speaking not a fan of the AI creep that's been happening with smartphones in recent years. That said, Magic Capture is genuinely pretty neat and I could see it being very useful for people with kids and/or pets.
One other aspect worth talking about is HiLight, the only real new hardware feature in the Pixel 11 Pro series. It's a little multi-colored light that lives in the rear camera bar, and it lights up either when Gemini is active or when someone calls you. Those are the only two use cases right now. It's neat that you can set custom colors for different contacts, but I really don't understand why Google prioritized phone calls over text messages for HiLight at launch.
As it is, HiLight doesn't add much to the experience.. Maybe it'll get better over time.
Google Pixel 11 Pro Fold: Battery life
As with all devices that Mashable reviews, I tested the Pixel 11 Pro Fold's battery life by looping an HD video on its display until the phone died.
Google rates the Pixel 11 Pro Fold as having more than 24 hours of battery life, but using our testing method, I was only able to get about 24 hours of juice out of the phone's battery, which is smaller than the Pixel 10 Pro Fold's cell. I'm certain you could wring a bit more life out of it by sticking to normal everyday activities like scrolling social media, so this isn't a big deal. It's also about the same result I got out of the Z Fold 8 Ultra, so even though I like Samsung's device a bit more, it doesn't outright win on battery life.
Google Pixel 11 Pro Fold: Cameras
I mentioned earlier that there are arguments to be made for the Pixel 11 Pro Fold over the Z Fold 8 Ultra. The biggest one is definitely the cameras.
That's interesting because Samsung's rear camera array wins heavily on megapixel counts. You only get a 48MP main shooter here, versus a 200MP lens on the Z Fold 8 Ultra. Megapixels usually don't tell the full story, though, and whatever Google is doing behind the scenes with the Pixel 11 Pro Fold's software produces much better-looking shots in certain conditions.
As an example, both phones can digital zoom up to 30x. On the Z Fold 8 Ultra, everything taken at that zoom level looks terrible. It's a bunch of AI-corrected mush that no one should ever substitute for a real photo. On the Pixel 11 Pro Fold, though, 30x zoom images are fairly clear and nice-looking.
The ultra-wide lens also produces vibrant, colorful shots.
Macro photography is always nice to have, as well.
And portrait mode does what you want it to do.
Between all of that and the usefulness of Magic Capture, I would probably recommend the Pixel 11 Pro Fold over the Z Fold 8 Ultra purely on the merits of its cameras. However, you'd be better off getting a traditional flagship phone like a Pixel 11 Pro if photography is really your passion.
Google Pixel 11 Pro Fold: My final verdict
Google has made great strides towards catching up with Samsung in the tablet-style foldable space in the past 12 months.
Simply put, the Pixel 11 Pro Fold is a massive improvement over the Pixel 10 Pro Fold, if only because it's a lot more comfortable to hold. It's still not anywhere near as thin as Samsung's Z Fold 8 Ultra, but it's hard to imagine anything on the market topping that soon.
Even so, its performance is rock solid. I actually think it's better at taking photos than the Z Fold 8 Ultra, and it's generally a very nice phone to use. Maybe next year Google can win the fight.
