Pixel 10 Pro Fold vs Pixel 10 Pro XL: Another battle unfolds

The Google Pixel 10 series is right around the corner, and there are a slew of interesting updates in store for us. The second iteration of the new Pixel Pro XL model is particularly interesting, and given the price tag, it begs an interesting question.

Should you go down the foldable route and get the Pixel 10 Pro Fold or stick to the conventional form factor and opt for the top model in the lineup, the Pixel 10 Pro XL? In this preliminary comparison we’ll try to answer this exact question.

Google Pixel 10 Pro Fold vs Google Pixel 10 Pro XL expected differences:

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There are no huge changes to the design when it comes to both the Pixel 10 Pro Fold and the Pixel 10 Pro XL. These devices follow the path charted by their respective predecessors. That being said, they are conceptually different from one another – one has two displays and folds in half, while the other employs a more conventional candy bar design.

The result is two phones that differ in size and weight. The Pixel 10 Pro XL is lighter, although not by much, while the Pixel 10 Pro Fold is thicker folded and also narrower. The camera bump is also different between the two, the 10 Pro Fold uses the same square-ish camera housing as its predecessor, while the 10 Pro XL model opts for the evolved camera bar – a long horizontal camera bump.

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In terms of resolution, pixel density and display refresh rate, things look bound to remain unchanged. Both phones will most likely feature a 120 Hz refresh rate (across all displays when it comes to the Pixel 10 Pro Fold). 

This means that the Pixel 10 Pro XL still has an advantage with its 1344 x 2992 pixels resolution, resulting in around ~486 PPI, while the Pixel 10 Pro Fold PPI figures are ~373 PPI for the main screen and ~422 PPI for the cover screen. But then again, it has two displays.

There’s a big change when it comes to hardware this year. Google has decided to swap the manufacturing of the Tensor chip from Samsung foundries to TSMC. This might not sound like a big deal, but there are inherited advantages resulting from this change.

TSMC has better yield and better quality of the silicon compared to Samsung, and industry experts expect a decent boost in both performance and efficiency on the Tensor G5. The architecture and core layout are also different, potentially alleviating the not impressive battery life on some Pixel devices of late.

The good news is that both the Pixel 10 Pro Fold and the Pixel 10 Pro XL will get the new silicon being part of the same series.

In terms of RAM, both phones are expected to get 16GB of LPDDR5, but there’s a difference in onboard storage. The Pixel 10 Pro XL has a 1TB option, which might be godsent for some, while the Pixel 10 Pro Fold caps at 512GB. No microSD card slot on eighter of those two.

Fitting a powerful camera system on a foldable is proving to be a difficult task, at least for Google. The Pixel 10 Pro Fold is expected to carry over more or less the same camera system from its predecessor with one 50 MP main camera, a 10.5 MP ultrawide, and a 10.8 MP telephoto.

The huge camera bump on the Pro XL (jokingly called “the shelf”) allows for much more wiggle room when it comes to camera hardware. The Pixel 10 Pro XL is expected to have three big sensors on its back: a 50MP main one, a 48 MP ultrawide, and another 48 MP sensor under the periscope telephoto camera.

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Google has always been at the forefront of image processing (ever since the first Pixels), and it’s too early to sign off on the Pixel 10 Pro Fold, even though it appears to have inferior camera hardware.

We will include comparison samples once we lay our hands on the new Pixels.

There are no surprises when it comes to the battery and charging situation. According to the latest information, both phones will inherit the battery capacities of their predecessors, meaning the Pixel 10 Pro XL will still have an advantage of about 400 mAh.

Another potential advantage for the Pixel 10 Pro XL is the lack of a second screen. Powering just one 6.8-inch panel could prove to be beneficial for longevity, but that depends on many variables and specific use cases.

At the end of the day, it boils down to whether you want a foldable or a conventional phone. The Pixel 10 Pro Fold is an evolution of the foldable idea and will take things a notch further, bringing some upgrades, but fundamentally it’s still a foldable. This brings the ability to have a tablet-like device on demand but also requires some sacrifices.

The Pixel 10 Pro XL, on the other hand, is a conventional candy bar phone, and this comes with certain advantages. It has a bigger battery and a better camera system and is also expected to be cheaper than the Pro Fold, even though there are talks about a potential price hike for the Pixel 10 Pro XL.

We will update this comparison with benchmarks and samples once we get the new Pixel device in our lab, so stay tuned!