Samsung has a new book-style foldable to offer, the Galaxy Z Fold 7. This is the most powerful foldable smartphone the company has announced thus far, and it’s a major improvement over its predecessor. In this article, we’ll compare it to the best Google has to offer at the moment. In other words, this is a Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 vs Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold specs comparison. The Pixel 10 Pro Fold is probably coming next month, but until that happens, this is the comparison to do.
Both of these phones are book-style foldables. Despite that, however, they’re notably different. You can easily tell which is which, while you’ll notice a major difference when you hold the two phones. We’ll first list the specs of both devices and will then compare their designs, displays, performance, battery life, cameras, and audio output. Let’s get to it, shall we?
Specs
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7
Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold
| Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 | Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold | |
|---|---|---|
| Dimensions (unfolded/folded) | 158.4 x 143.2 x 4.2mm / 158.4 x 72.8 x 8.9mm | 155.2 x 150.2 x 5.1 mm / 155.2 x 77.1 x 10.5 mm |
| Weight | 215 grams | 257 grams |
| Main display | 8-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X (1-120Hz) | 8-inch Foldable LTPO OLED (up to 120Hz) |
| Cover display | 6.5-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X (1-120Hz) | 6.3-inch Foldable LTPO AMOLED (up to 120Hz) |
| Resolution | 2184 x 1968 / 2520 x 1080 | 2152 x 2160 / 2424 x 1080 |
| Chipset | Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy | Google Tensor G4 |
| RAM | 12GB (LPDDR5X) | 16GB (LPDDR5X) |
| Storage | 256GB/512GB (UFS 4.0) | 256GB/512GB (UFS 3.1) |
| Main camera | 200MP (f/1.7 aperture, OIS, Quad Pixel AF, 0.6um pixel size, 85-degree FoV) | 48MP (f/1.7 aperture, 1/2.0-inch sensor size, 0.8um pixel size, dual pixel PDAF, OIS |
| Ultra-wide camera | 12MP (f/2.2 aperture, Dual Pixel AF, 1.4um pixel size, 120-degree FoV) | 10.5MP (f/2.2 aperture, 1/3.4-inch sensor size, 127-degree FoV, PDAF) |
| (Periscope) telephoto camera | 10MP (f/2.4 aperture, PDAF, 36-degree FoV, 3x optical zoom) | 10.8MP (telephoto, f/3.1 aperture, 1/3.2-inch sensor size, dual pixel PDAF, OIS, 5x optical zoom) |
| Selfie camera | 10MP (f/2.2 aperture, 1.12um pixel size, 85-degree FoV) | 10MP (f/2.2 aperture, 1/3.94-inch sensor size, PDAF) x2 |
| Battery size | 4,400mAh | 4,650mAh |
| Charging | 25W wired, 15W wireless, 4.5W reverse wireless (charger not included) | 21W wired, 7.5W wireless (charger not included) |
| Colors | Blue Shadow, Jetblack, Silver Shadow | Obsidian, Porcelain |
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 vs Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold: Design
Even though they’re both book-style foldables, their designs are quite different. They have the same size of the main display, but the Pixel 9 Pro Fold’s cover display is smaller. The two phones are working with different aspect ratios too, which makes the Galaxy Z Fold 7 taller, and a lot narrower in comparison. That goes for both its folded and unfolded orientations. Samsung’s phone is also a lot lighter. It’s 42 grams lighter, to be exact, which is a huge difference.
It is worth noting that the Galaxy Z Fold 7 is also thinner in comparison, that goes for both folded and unfodled orientations. It is quite noticeably thinner. Both of them are slippery, due to the metal + glass build. The Galaxy Z Fold 7 is more boxy in comparison, as in its corners are sharper. Both phones have a display camera hole on both displays. On the cover one, it’s centered on both phones, but that’s not the case on the main displays, as it sits in different spots.
Both phones have a flat frame all around. The Galaxy Z Fold 7 includes a power/lock key below the volume buttons, while it’s the other way around with the Pixel 9 Pro Fold. You’ll also notice a major difference with the camera setups on the back. The Galaxy Z Fold 7 has a more minimalistic approach with three vertically-aligned cameras which are placed on a pill-shaped camera module. The Pixel 9 Pro Fold has a larger, rectangular camera module with two pill-shaped cutouts for cameras. Both devices includes three rear cameras.
The Galaxy Z Fold 7 comes with an IP48 certification for water and dust resistance. The Pixel 9 Pro Fold offers inferior IPX8 water resistance certification.
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 vs Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold: Display
The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 has an 8-inch Foldable Dynamic LTPO AMOLED 2X main display. That display has a resolution of 2184 x 1968, and it has a screen-to-body ratio of around 90%. Adaptive refresh rate (1-120Hz) is supported here, as is HDR10+ content. The peak brightness is 2,600 nits. The cover display measures 6.5 inches, and it’s a Dynamic LTPO AMOLED 2X panel. It also has an adaptive refresh rate of up to 120Hz, while the Gorilla Glass Ceramic 2 protects it. The resolution here is 2520 x 1080 pixels.
The Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold, on the flip side, has an 8-inch Foldable LTPO OLED main display. It offers an adaptive refrsh rate (1-120Hz), and it supports HDR10+ content. The peak brightness here is 2,700 nits. The screen-to-body ratio is around 89%, while the resolution used is 2152 x 2076 pixels. The cover display, on the other hand, measures 6.3 inches, and it’s an OLED panel with a 120Hz refresh rate. HDR content is supported, while the Gorilla Glass Victus 2 protects it. The rsolution is 2424 x 1080 pixels, and the aspect ratio is 20:9. The peak brightness this display can offer is 2,700 nits.
All four of these displays are very good, actually. They are not only vivid and offer good viewing angles, while they also get bright enough when you need them. All four displays also offer a high refresh rate of up to 120Hz, and the creasage situation is under control too. We really don’t have complaints on these displays, both companies did a very good job. Granted, it would be nice to see a high-frequency PWM dimming, but… it is what it is.
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 vs Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold: Performance
Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy processor fuels the Galaxy Z Fold 7, a 3nm chip. That is an overclocked version of the company’s most powerful chip. It is paired with 12GB of LPDDR5X RAM here, and UFS 4.0 flash storage. The Google Tensor G4, a 4nm chip, fuels the Pixel 9 Pro Fold. That processor is backed by 16GB of LPDDR5X RAM inside the phone, while Google opted for UFS 3.1 flash storage here. Neither phone supports storage expansion.
With that being said, we haven’t been using the Galaxy Z Fold 7 for long now, but its performance is sublime. That is to be expected as it’s using the same chip, RAM, and storage as some other flagship offerings from the company. The Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold can keep up, to a degree, even though the Galaxy Z Fold 7 is snappier when compared directly. It does have a more powerful SoC, not to mention faster storage. Still, the Pixel 9 Pro Fold is plenty fast, that’s for sure.
If you are choosing one phone for gaming, you should probably go for the Galaxy Z Fold 7. Our gaming testing will be conducted as part of a full review, but based on what we’ve seen from the Pixel 9 Pro Fold, and the specs at hand, the Fold 7 is likely the better choice. The Google Tensor G4 chip is not made for gaming. It’s perfectly fine for games that are not too graphically intensive, though.
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 vs Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold: Battery
A 4,400mAh battery can be found inside the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7. The Pixel 9 Pro Fold, on the other hand, includes a 4,650mAh battery. There are foldables of this size on the market that offer much more battery capacity due to silicon-carbon batteries. Unfortunately, neither of these two phones offer such a battery. You’ll be glad to know that the Pixel 9 Pro Fold does offer good battery life, however, while the first impressions with the Galaxy Z Fold 7 are also positive.
We’ll have a much more complete picture of the Galaxy Z Fold 7’s battery life in the near future, but the initial impressions are not bad. We haven’t been using it for long at this point, though, so keep that in mind. The Pixel 9 Pro Fold can handle more intense use, though, without a problem. It doesn’t have the best battery life of any foldable, not at all, but the battery life is good. It will all depend on your usage, though, as there are two displays to consider here, amongst everything else.
What about charging? Well, the Galaxy Z Fold 7 supports 25W wired, 15W wireless, and 4.5W reverse wireless charging. The Pixel 9 Pro Fold, on the other hand, supports 21W wired and 7.5W wireless charging. In other words, neither phone charges particularly fast. The Fold 7 will take around an hour and 25 minutes to fully charge, while it takes about 10 minutes more for the Pixel 9 Pro Fold to do it. Neither phone ships with a charger in the box.
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 vs Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold: Cameras
Both of these phones have three cameras on the back. The Galaxy Z Fold 7 includes a 200-megapixel main camera (1/1.3-inch sensor size), along with a 12-megapixel ultrawide snapper (120-degree FoV). The third camera on the back of the phone is a 10-megapixel telephoto unit (3x optical zoom).
The Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold, on the other hand, has a 48-megapixel main camera (1/2.0-inch sensor size), along with a 10.5-megapixel ultrawide unit (1/3.4-inch sensor size, 127-degree FoV). The third camera here is a 10.8-megapixel telephoto unit (1/3.2-inch sensor size, 5x optical zoom).
You’ll be able to read more about the Galaxy Z Fold 7’s camera performance in our upcoming full review, as you can about Google’s phone in our Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold review, which is already out. The Pixel 9 Pro Fold does a good job, but not great. There are other foldables that do a better job in the camera department. Granted, the phone doesn’t exactly have the most modern sensors, so don’t expect miracles. Most people will be happy, though, as Google’s image processing does most of the heavy lifting. If you’re using the cameras in low light, however, do stick with the main snapper.
Samsung did improve the main camera compared to the Galaxy Z Fold 6. A well-known 200-megapixel snapper is now included, and we do have high opes for it. The phone does not have a periscope telephoto camera, unfortunately, while that telephoto unit is not the best. The same goes for the ultrawide camera, but… at least the main camera did get a major boost, at least on paper.
Audio
Both of these phones do include stereo speakers. We haven’t tested the Galaxy Z Fold 7’s yet, but the Pixel 9 Pro Fold does offer good sound output. Its speakers are loud enough, and the sound output is good in general.
There is no audio jack on either of these two smartphones. You can opt to use their Type-C ports, though, if you’d like to connect your wired headphones. The Fold 7 supports Bluetooth 5.4 for wireless connectivity, while the Pixel 9 Pro Fold uses Bluetooth 5.3.
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