It is finally here! The phone I’ve been waiting on for years at this point is not just a figment of my imagination any longer and we have it here in the office after such a long, long wait. Though my excitement was palpable, I was able to hold it together on the morning the Pixel Fold arrived here in the studio, patiently waiting until the cameras were rolling before even thinking about taking it out of the box.
Many times devices come to us already opened or we’ve previously had some hands-on time at an event, but this time around that wasn’t the case at all. Instead, in this video, you’re not only seeing my reaction to the packaging; you’re seeing my real, first time reaction to the device itself. And there’s no denying my reaction.
The Pixel Fold is a work of art
Handling this phone for only a short time reveals one thing for certain: the build quality is absolutely top of the line. Between the soft edges, the etched glass around back, and the ridiculous thinness of the Pixel Fold, it is undeniably beautiful as a piece of hardware.
The outer screen is the size you want for nearly one-handed use and the inner display looks great as well, giving you a small tablet when you want it with a gorgeous 120Hz display. And with a design that truly folds flat and the attention to little details like soft corners when using the phone closed up, I can tell you already that I prefer this design and feel to any foldable I’ve used in the past.
I also immediately liked having a capacitive fingerprint reader as well, though I imagine this will take some getting used to during my review period. Other niceties include a very nice set of speakers, snappy performance, and some of the same tablet navigation tricks I’ve liked on the Pixel Tablet so far.
But I’m going to need time with this device to form my real opinions. From even the earliest moments of using it, I realized quickly that there will be some time needed to really get used to this form factor again. With the case on, this phone feels decidedly large in the hand, and with an outer screen so usable, I’m curious what types of activities I’ll find that I end up actually feeling the need for the larger, inner display.
But those are personal preferences I’ll hold onto for the actual review. For now, I’m blown away by the build quality, the look and the feel of this device. But the honeymoon phase will surely end, and in the time afterwards, I’ll need some questions answered, like:
- Is Android on this size screen any good these days?
- Will there be apps that I really feel compelled to use on the big screen?
- What are the killer apps that will make me not want to go back to a standard slab phone?
- And will any of this warrant the huge price tag?
Rest assured, I’ll be looking into all of that and more as I put this phone in my pocket for the next few weeks. While I absolutely love the idea of a phone/tablet hybrid in my pocket, I’m well aware that there will need to be a few great application scenarios for this all to make sense. This is an expensive piece of tech, and like all expensive hardware, the Pixel Fold needs to prove its worth in my pocket. I’m not sure how it will all turn out, but I’m rooting for this one for sure!
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