I hope the Pixel 10 Pro Fold camera is better than rumored, here’s why

One of last year’s best surprises was the redesigned Pixel 9 Pro Fold. Google’s second-generation folding phone fixed most of the challenges identified with the Pixel Fold and positioned it as the folding equivalent of the Pixel 9 Pro series.

Flagship performance, a squared design, and the iconic porcelain white colorway all helped the Pixel 9 Pro Fold to feel part of the current lineup rather than as a separate product range as Samsung did with the Galaxy Z Fold 6 and Galaxy Z Flip 6. 

Yet, there is one area in which the Pixel 9 Pro Fold is distinctly inferior to its siblings in the same lineup: the camera. The best folding phones have still failed to match their non-folding cousins in the camera, and the Pixel 9 Pro Fold is no different. 

I had hoped that the upcoming Pixel 10 Pro Fold would be different, but while the rest of the lineup will get noticeable improvements, the Pixel 10 Pro Fold will have minor changes, at least if the latest rumors are to be believed. Here’s why that would be a mistake for Google.

The Pixel 9 Pro Fold camera (versus the Pixel 9 lineup)

Like the Galaxy Z Fold 6, the Pixel 9 Pro Fold features a strong main camera and low-resolution ultrawide and telephoto cameras that feel somewhat like an afterthought. By comparison, the rest of the Pixel 9 lineup features the same strong main camera, but where applicable, paired with better quality ultrawide and/or telephoto sensors.

Here’s how the Pixel 9 Pro Fold camera compares to the rest of the Pixel 9 lineup:

The Pixel 9 Pro Fold is the most expensive phone in the Pixel 9 lineup, costing $1,800, but the cheapest phone — the Google Pixel 9a, which launches in a few days — has a better camera, at least on paper. In particular, the 13MP ultrawide camera will yield slightly better-quality photos than the 10.5MP ultrawide camera on the Pixel 9 Pro Fold. For context, the Pixel 9a costs $449, a quarter of the price.

Now look at the Pixel 9, Pixel 9 Pro, and Pixel 9 Pro XL, and the key problem with the Pixel 9 Pro Fold camera becomes apparent. The Pixel 9 is priced at roughly a third of the Fold, yet the ultrawide camera is significantly better. In addition, although the 10.8MP telephoto on the Pixel 9 Pro Fold offers 5x optical zoom, it’s lower quality than the 48MP telephoto on its Pro siblings.

How the Pixel 9 Pro Fold compares to the competition

At the time, the Pixel 9 Pro Fold matched the competition, but in the past year, we’ve also seen some improvements in the key competition. The biggest of these is the Galaxy Z Fold 6, and the Pixel 9 Pro Fold is nearly identical to Samsung’s flagship folding phone. However, looking at the global market, it becomes apparent that Google needs to evolve the Pixel Fold camera. 

Google’s key challenge is that these folding phones are more than 1mm thinner and feature better cameras. The Honor Magic V3 set records for thinness last year — which stood until the Oppo Find N5 launched two months ago — but despite this, it features a compelling 50MP periscope telephoto alongside the 40MP ultrawide. Meanwhile, the Oppo Find N5 also features a 50MP periscope telephoto but pairs with a lower-resolution 8MP ultrawide camera.

The periscope telephoto lens on the Find N5 and Magic V3 offers ~3-3.5x optical zoom and a 6x hybrid zoom that relies on a combination of telephoto and AI processing. Throughout the past year, this camera setup has proven to be extremely effective, and given how effective Google has been with inferior hardware in the past, I would love to see what Google could do with this setup.

The latest Pixel 10 Pro Fold camera rumors

Unfortunately, it looks quite likely that we’ll be waiting at least a year to find out. A recent leak revealed that Google only plans major changes for the Pixel 10, not the rest of the lineup. The Pixel 10 will get a dedicated telephoto camera — a first for Google’s entry-level devices — while the Pixel 10 Pro and Pixel 10 Pro XL will feature the same camera as the Pixel 9 Pro lineup.

The Pixel 10 Pro Fold? There is a change, and it’s not what you may expect. The telephoto and ultrawide cameras are expected to stay the same, and instead, Google is rumored to be using the same 50MP main camera found in the Pixel 9a. This will ultimately further enhance my key issue with Google’s folding phones.

Where Google could get it all wrong

My biggest issue isn’t hardware-related; it’s how Google has positioned its folding phone. Using the Pro branding leads to expectations of a Pro experience. While the Pixel 9 Pro Fold camera bears many hallmarks of the Pixel 9 Pro camera, it lacks the overall polish that its Pro siblings have.

Samsung faces the same challenges with its folding phones. Oppo and Honor have already proven that it is possible to feature a flagship-quality camera in a folding phone without compromising the other key areas too much. 

The Oppo Find N5 features primary and telephoto sensors that wouldn’t be out of place on a flagship phone and has proven extremely capable in my testing. Meanwhile, the Honor Magic V3 features three large sensors that would also pass muster on a flagship phone. 

Folding phones have long meant that customers have to choose and, ultimately, spend more money on a phone with two screens but more compromises. The Find N5 and Magic V3 proved that a folding phone could feature a flagship triple camera, and I had hoped that Google would follow suit, but this rumor suggests otherwise. Will the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 deliver instead?