5 ways the Galaxy Z Fold 7 beats the Pixel 10 Pro Fold

It’s been an exciting year for foldable phones, thanks largely to the Galaxy Z Fold 7. It’s a phone I haven’t been able to put down since launch. It’s not my daily driver, but it’s become my go-to work phone, the one that always draws a few too many stares for my liking. This is the year Samsung reclaimed mastery over the form factor and reminded everyone that foldables aren’t a fad, they’re the future.

With an earlier launch and record-breaking sales, Samsung set the bar sky-high. So when Google followed with the Pixel 10 Pro Fold, expectations were already stacked against it. On paper, the Pixel 10 Pro Fold is the most durable foldable you can buy. It also packs some impressive software tricks. But while the Pixel 10 Pro Fold brings the muscle, the Galaxy Z Fold 7 brings the mastery. Here are five ways Samsung’s refinement beats Google’s ambition in the foldable face-off, and a few where Google shows it’s not letting up the fight.

If it were up to me, I would make “Design” the first three points on this list. That’s how dramatically different these two foldables feel in hand. It’s not like the Pixel 10 Pro Fold is an ugly phone; it just doesn’t feel as slick as the Galaxy Z Fold 7 thanks to the bulk. The Samsung phone weighs just 215 grams, while the Pixel 10 Pro Fold is almost 50 grams heavier at 258g. The Moonstone colorway I received from Google is really one of my favorite colors on any phone this year, but the Galaxy Z Fold 7’s Blue Shadow is also a winner. Add to that the fact that the Galaxy Z Fold 7 goes for the taller, not wider, aesthetic, which makes it easier and more comfortable to operate with one hand. It also fits the palm so well, I found that not having to use both hands to use the phone most of the time, while it was actually the opposite on the Pixel 10 Pro Fold. I hate to say this, but Google is lagging far behind when it comes to competing with the best foldable phones out there in terms of design, and this may be the last time the company gets away with it. If things don’t change, Google will soon find itself truly at the back of the line as sleeker foldables become the norm next year.

That said, Google does deserve credit for its durability achievements. The Pixel 10 Pro Fold boasts an IP68 rating, making it the most water- and dust-resistant foldable on the market. That’s a big deal. Unfortunately, a durability test conducted by JerryRigEverything showed that Google hasn’t really managed to seal the hinge enough to avoid dust damage. The phone also broke in the bend test, with the battery catching fire at the end, which is something the YouTuber notes has never happened in their experience with any phone! That gives me cause to worry, especially since the Galaxy Z Fold 7 showed exceptional structural strength in the same test.

So yes, Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold 7 is solidly built and very likely longer-lasting when it comes to the number of folds it can sustain in a lifetime, even though it only carries an IP48 rating. That means it’s protected against splashes but not submersion or fine dust.

The Pixel 10 Pro Fold’s inner display is actually brighter than the Galaxy Z Fold 7, and this is extremely noticeable in direct sunlight. That’s because the Pixel 10 Pro Fold’s display peaks at 3,000 nits, while the Galaxy Z Fold 7 goes up to 2,600 nits. But where the Pixel 10 Pro Fold still lags behind is that extremely noticeable crease, especially when you view the screen at certain angles. When you run your finger across the folding display of the Pixel 10 Pro Fold and the Galaxy Z Fold 7, you would no doubt notice the much more pronounced dip in the middle of the former. It also means the crease on the Pixel 10 Pro Fold interferes with content on the display.

Samsung has truly achieved an engineering delight with that thin and light folding screen and reduced crease. The fact that the display of the Galaxy Z Fold 7 is also backed by a titanium plate layer means it should also be sturdier, something that’s very important for a foldable phone that’s subject to repeated stress from opening and closing.

If there’s one thing Pixel phones have built their reputation on, it’s photography. Unfortunately, and surprisingly, the $1,800 Pixel 10 Pro Fold doesn’t live up to that legacy. Foldable cameras have rarely impressed me in the past, but we already saw the Galaxy Z Fold 7 flip that script. Google’s setup, on the other hand, feels a bit dated.

That’s because Google hasn’t changed a thing compared to the Pixel 9 Pro Fold. The Pixel 10 Pro Fold carries over the exact same camera hardware as its predecessor, and with it, the same old issues. In good lighting, you’ll get solid stills, but switch to video and things quickly fall apart. Zooming in mid-shot results in jerky transitions and wobbly footage you’ll never want to share. In contrast, Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold 7 handles zooming with finesse, especially with that slick zoom slider.

Here’s a quick example of what I’m saying. Below is a video I captured using the Pixel 10 Pro Fold, zooming in mid-video:

And here are the results from the Galaxy Z Fold 7:

That said, both phones can deliver eye-pleasing photos. Samsung still leans toward punchier tones that sometimes stray from reality, while Google’s color science stays more true-to-life.

Still, the Fold 7’s camera leap is impossible to ignore. Samsung upgraded its main sensor from 50MP to 200MP, added autofocus to the ultrawide, and refined video processing with its new ProVisual Engine. The results show. The Fold 7 feels like a leap forward, while the Pixel 10 Pro Fold feels like it’s standing still.

But hey, Google’s camera software is a different story altogether. I especially loved the new touches, like being able to see a quick preview of your last shot while taking new photos, and how you can set the phone to automatically trigger helpful dual-screen camera features such as Rear Camera Selfie, Dual Screen Preview, or Made You Look mode when you open the camera.

When it comes to software, Samsung’s advantage becomes clear the moment you start multitasking. One UI feels like it was built for a foldable, not just adapted to one. Everything from how apps resize when you switch between the cover and inner screens to how easily you can drag, drop, and stack multiple windows feels more refined.

The Galaxy Z Fold 7 offers a stronger sense of continuity as you open apps on the outer screen, unfold the phone, and find them exactly where you left them. Fold it into tabletop mode, and apps naturally stick to one half of the screen, just as you would expect. You can even open up to three apps at once in split-screen view, compared to only two on the Pixel 10 Pro Fold. Samsung simply gives you more freedom and flexibility here, even though I appreciated Google’s 90:10 multitasking split.

Samsung’s years of fine-tuning software for foldables really show. One UI now feels like an interface that understands the foldable form factor and how people would actually use it.

In contrast, Google’s multitasking experience still feels like a stretched-out Pixel interface, which is no doubt clean and simple, but not as deeply optimized for a dual-screen setup. One of the biggest frustrations I had was how apps behave when switching between the inner and outer displays or when moving into tabletop mode. There’s often a black screen for a few seconds before the app adjusts, and some streaming apps refuse to adapt at all. The same apps, meanwhile, work seamlessly on the Galaxy Z Fold 7. It all reinforces the sense that Google’s software is still catching up to its hardware. The Fold 7, on the other hand, doesn’t just make good use of its large inner screen; it feels like it was designed around it.

When it comes to performance, the gap between the Galaxy Z Fold 7 and the Pixel 10 Pro Fold is pretty obvious, and you don’t need benchmarks to see it. Performance on Tensor chips has never been comparable to top-tier Snapdragons, and it shows. Samsung’s phone, powered by the Snapdragon 8 Elite, simply feels faster and more fluid in day-to-day use.

App launches, multitasking, and UI animations all move with a smoothness that the Pixel 10 Pro Fold’s Tensor G5 can’t quite match. Even for someone like me who doesn’t usually care about raw numbers, the Galaxy Fold 7 just feels snappier, more responsive, and better tuned for heavy-duty tasks. The Pixel 10 Pro, on the other hand, tends to become a bit sluggish at times. I couldn’t help but notice some scroll jitters here and there, as well as slight stutters when many apps are in use.

It’s not that the Pixel’s performance is terribly behind the Fold 7. In fact, it has a decent advantage when it comes to battery life with its 5,015 mAh battery compared to the Galaxy Z Fold 7’s 4,400mAh cell. But just for the snappiness of it all, I’d still go for the Snapdragon-powered Galaxy Z Fold 7.

In conclusion, I don’t think the Pixel 10 Pro Fold is a total write-off. Google is definitely headed in the right direction when it comes to durability, display brightness, and clever software features.

But when it comes to the full foldable experience, the Galaxy Z Fold 7 wins on nearly every front. Be it design, display engineering, cameras, software fluidity, or performance, it’s hard to fault the Galaxy Z Fold 7. Even though it’s more expensive compared to the Pixel 10 Pro Fold, the Fold 7 is the phone I’d pick without hesitation if I had that kind of money to spend.