Newsletter
Google released a rather compelling foldable smartphone last month. We’re actually here to compare it with the best Samsung has to offer in that regard. In this article, we’ll be comparing the Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold vs Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6. Both of these phones are book-style foldables, though they are quite a bit different. Well, not as different as the Pixel Fold and Samsung’s offerings used to be, but still, there are quite a few differences here.
As per usual, we will first list the specifications of both smartphones and will then move to compare them across a number of other categories. We will compare their designs, displays, performance, battery life, camera performance, and audio output. If you’re looking to upgrade, and are considering these foldables, we do hope that the article will be helpful. One thing to note is that our Pixel 9 Pro Fold review was not yet out at the time of writing this comparison.
Specs
Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold & Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6, respectively
– Screen size (main):
8-inch Foldable LTPO OLED display (120Hz, HDR10+, 2,700 nits)
7.6-inch Foldable Dynamic LTPO AMOLED 2X display (120Hz, HDR10+, 2,600 nits)
– Screen Size (cover):
6.3-inch OLED (120Hz, 2,700 nits)
6.3-inch Dynamic LTPO AMOLED 2X (120Hz, 1,600 nits)
– Display resolution (main):
2076 x 2152
1856 x 2160
– Display resolution (cover):
2424 x 1080
2376 x 968
– SoC:
Google Tensor G4
Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 for Galaxy
– RAM:
16GB (LPDDR5X)
12GB (LPDDR5X)
– Storage:
256GB/512GB (UFS 3.1)
256GB/512GB/1TB (UFS 4.0)
– Rear cameras:
48MP (wide, f/1.7 aperture, OIS), 10.8MP (ultrawide, 127-degree FoV), 10.5MP (telephoto, 5x optical zoom, OIS)
50MP (wide, f/1.8 aperture, Dual Pixel PDAF OIS), 12MP (ultrawide, 123-degree FoV), 10MP (telephoto, 3x optical zoom)
– Front cameras:
10MP (main display, f/2.2 aperture), 10MP (cover display, f/2.2 aperture)
4MP (under display, main display, f/1.8 aperture), 10MP (cover display, f/2.2 aperture)
– Battery:
4,650mAh
4,821mAh
– Charging:
21W wired, 7.5W wireless (no charger)
25W wired, 15W wireless, 4.5W reverse wireless (no charger)
– Dimensions (unfolded):
155.2 x 150.2 x 5.1 mm
158.7 x 139.7 x 5.8mm
– Dimensions (folded):
155.2 x 77.1 x 10.5 mm
153.5 x 68.1 x 12.1 mm
– Weight:
257 grams
239 grams
– Connectivity:
5G, LTE, NFC, Wi-Fi, USB Type-C, Bluetooth 5.3
– Security:
Side-facing fingerprint scanner
– OS:
Android 14
Android 14 with One UI 6.1.1
– Price:
$1,799+
$1,699
– Buy:
Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold (Best Buy)
Galaxy Z Fold 6 (Samsung / Best Buy)
Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold vs Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6: Design
Both of these smartphones are made out of metal and glass. The Pixel 9 Pro Fold is slightly taller, and a lot wider than the Galaxy Z Fold 6. It’s also considerably thinner, which is especially apparent when the devices are folded. These differences are not surprising considering that the Pixel 9 Pro Fold does have a larger main display than the Galaxy Z Fold 6. What’s interesting, though, their cover displays are identical.
The Pixel 9 Pro Fold is quite heavy, though. It weighs 257 grams compared to the Galaxy Z Fold 6’s 239 grams. Both smartphones have a centered display camera hole at the top of their cover displays. The Pixel 9 Pro Fold has a display camera hole on its main display too, while the Galaxy Z Fold 6 utilizes an under-display one. The bezels are not thick on either smartphone. The Galaxy Z Fold 6 does have sharper corners in comparison, though.
The two smartphones do have an entirely different rear-facing camera design, though. The one on the Pixel 9 Pro Fold is rectangular with rounded corners. The phone does have two separate, pill-shaped sets of cameras, though. The Galaxy Z Fold 6’s camera island looks much more regular with three vertically-aligned cameras which are a part of the same camera island. The Pixel 9 Pro Fold comes with an IPX8 certification for water resistance. The Galaxy Z Fold 6 also has a water resistance rating, and an IP48 rating, which is a bit better in comparison.
Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold vs Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6: Display
The Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold features an 8-inch 2076 x 2152 Foldable LTPO OLED display. This panel has an adaptive refresh rate of up to 120Hz, and it supports HDR10+ content. Its peak brightness is at 2,700 nits. The screen-to-body ratio here is at around 89%. The cover display on the phone measures 6.3 inches, and it has a resolution of 2424 x 1080. This is an OLED panel with a 120Hz refresh rate. HDR content is supported, and the display is protected by Gorilla Glass Victus 2. The display aspect ratio is 20:9, and the peak brightness is 2,700 nits.
The Galaxy Z Fold 6, on the flip side, has a 7.6-inch Foldable Dynamic LTPO AMOLED 2X main display. This panel has a resolution of 1856 x 2160, and it has an adaptive refresh rate of up to 120Hz. HDR10+ content is supported, and the brightness goes up to 2,600 nits. The cover display on the phone measures 6.3 inches and has a resolution of 2376 x 968 pixels. It’s a Dynamic LTPO AMOLED 2X panel. It has a refresh rate of up to 120Hz and a peak brightness of 2,600 nits. Gorilla Glass Victus 2 protects this panel.
All four of these displays are really good. They’re vivid, have good viewing angles, and are more than sharp enough. The touch response is also really good on them. It’s worth noting that the crease is quite visible on both smartphones, there is some difference, but it’s not that big. Some other companies do a better job of minimizing it. The blacks are deep on all four displays. The brightness is quite similar, and they’re all bright enough. There are no glaring differences between these panels, all of them are quite good.
Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold vs Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6: Performance
The Google Tensor G4 SoC fuels the Pixel 9 Pro Fold. That is Google’s brand new 4nm processor. The company also includes 16GB of LPDDR5X RAM inside of this phone and UFS 3.1 flash storage. The Galaxy Z Fold 6, on the other hand, is fueled by the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 SoC. That is Qualcomm’s 4nm chip, and it’s paired up with 12GB of LPDDR5X RAM, while Samsung also utilizes UFS 4.0 flash storage.
The Galaxy Z Fold 6 is technically a more powerful smartphone when it comes to performance-related specs. It has a more powerful processor and faster flash storage too. That’s not something you’d notice in day-to-day use, though. Both smartphones are quite snappy regardless of what you do. That includes heavy multitasking, by the way. So you don’t have to worry about that, at least not at the moment.
The differences do become visible during gaming. The Tensor G4 is not made for gaming, though you can play games on the Pixel 9 Pro Fold without a problem. Do note that the phone does heat up quite a bit during demanding games, and if you play on top-end graphics, you’ll also notice some stutters. The Galaxy Z Fold 6 does handle demanding games noticeably better, which is not surprising. If you’re not a gamer, however, both smartphones will serve you just fine in regards to performance.
Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold vs Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6: Battery
The Pixel 9 Pro Fold has a 4,650mAh battery on the inside. The Galaxy Z Fold 6, on the flip side, includes a 4,400mAh battery pack. We did not get a chance to test out the Pixel 9 Pro Fold battery life properly just yet, but it is promising. It could actually be quite similar to what the Galaxy Z Fold 6 offers based on initial impressions, but we’ll hold off on making that call. The Galaxy Z Fold 6, on the flip side, is able to cross the 7-hour screen-on-time mark, but it all depends on your usage.
There are two displays here to consider. It will all depend on how much you use which displays, what apps you have installed and how you use them, what your signal strength is throughout the day, and so on. There are so many variables to consider. Your mileage may vary because of all that. Our Pixel 9 Pro Fold review is coming, though, so you’ll get far more information once it’s out.
The Pixel 9 Pro Fold supports 21W wired and 7.5W wireless charging. Do note that the phone does not support charging via the Pixel Stand, however. The Galaxy Z Fold 6 supports 25W wired, 15W wireless, and 4.5W reverse wireless charging. Neither smartphone charges particularly fast, unfortunately. On top of that, neither of them ships with a charger in the retail box.
Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold vs Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6: Cameras
The Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold has a 48-megapixel main camera, a 10.5-megapixel ultrawide unit (127-degree FoV), and a 10.8-megapixel telephoto camera (5x optical zoom). There is a 50-megapixel main camera on the Galaxy Z Fold 6. A 12-megapixel ultrawide camera (123-degree FoV) is also included, as is a 10-megapixel telephoto unit (3x optical zoom).
The Galaxy Z Fold 6 does have a better main camera sensor, but all the other sensors on these two smartphones are not particularly impressive. The Galaxy Z Fold 6 tends to provide good-looking images, but not the best in the class. There are foldable smartphones out there that do a better job. The saturation can still be too high, and the colors can be off too. It also doesn’t particularly shine in ultrawide and telephoto sections.
The Pixel 9 Pro Fold, based on our initial impressions, is visibly behind its Pixel 9 siblings. Google’s camera processing can only do so much, and in direct comparison, the images are not that good. The phone could be a better option for photos than the Galaxy Z Fold 6, though. We cannot yet make that claim, as we have not fully tested the phone just yet (at the time of writing this article), but our review is coming, so stay tuned for that.
Audio
Both of these smartphones ship with stereo speakers. Both of those setups are good and are loud enough. They’re not the best we’ve seen in foldables, but they’re more than good enough. The sound quality coming from them is also not bad.
What you won’t find on either phone is an audio jack. You can use their Type-C ports, though, for wired audio connections. Alternatively, Bluetooth 5.3 is available for wireless audio connections.