Survey shows Pixel fans are losing faith in Google's foldable phones

Aug 4, 2026 — 5:38 AM ET

With the Pixel 11 series launching in just a few days, all the hype is currently centered on Google’s next traditional flagship lineup. It’s therefore pretty easy to forget that Google actually has a secondary flagship line, one that folds in on itself and costs so much more than the base Pixel products.

I remember the hype surrounding the first Pixel Fold back in 2023. “Finally, a foldable phone from a big manufacturer to tackle Samsung’s stranglehold on the market!” many exclaimed. However, given the Pixel 11 Pro Fold rumors we’ve spotted thus far, it’s worrying that Google has seemingly stopped innovating and started settling.

So, what is the point of the foldable Pixel lineup? That’s a question my colleague, Dhruv Bhutani, asked in a recent feature, and we wanted to know your opinion on that take, too. In that piece, we asked readers, “Are Google’s foldables still competitive?” The results are below.

This survey racked up slightly more than 2,800 votes during its run last month, and it’s not good reading for Google. A vast portion of respondents no longer believe in the Pixel foldable hype. More specifically, around 39% of voters believe that the overall hardware package is holding the device line back, while 23.6% believe that the software saves the overall experience.

While commenter pasterjohn writes, “I personally love my pixel foldable 10,” not everyone agrees.

“The Pixel 10 fold is the worst telephone I have ever bought. Camera, software, apps all negative in this phone. Completely disappointed. I bought it for almost 1800 £ and almost useless phones,” writes bruno.isernia1.

Which Google Pixel 11 Pro Fold upgrade would win you over?

Some commenters also don’t believe the Pixel foldable’s software is the “winner” many think it is.

“The software doesn’t even compare to oneplus foldable yet and oneplus is leaving the US…” writes reader Ronan Tetsu.

Others had far more nuanced takes, like commenter bqchiu, who highlights the pros of the Pixel Fold line over its closest rival, the Galaxy Z Fold series.

While it’s entirely fair to criticize Google’s hardware, especially when the Fold remains noticeably heavier and thicker than its rivals while skimping on flagship-level battery and camera sensors, chasing raw specs is a trap. In daily use, gimmicky hardware like Samsung’s sluggish 200MP sensors often just translates to frustrating shutter lag, whereas the Pixel’s highly optimized, instant photo processing actually captures the moment. Google definitely needs to close the physical gap, but the daily user experience is still won on software, and their strides in generative AI make the Pixel Fold a far more intuitive, future-proof investment than any bloated, spec-heavy competitor. I swapped to Samsung Z Fold 7 this past year and have been sorely disappointed, definitely switching back to Pixel.

These two poll options accounted for just under two-thirds of the vote. So what do the rest of our surveyed readers think?

Well, a swathe of respondents aren’t ready to write off the Pixel Fold line just yet. Just over a quarter (28.3%) of voters plan to “wait for the Pixel 11 Pro Fold to decide” if the lineup is still competitive, while a further 9.2% are keeping an eye out for Apple’s foldable instead.

Given the Galaxy Z Fold 8 series’ recent launch, Apple’s incoming foldable, and the myriad other players in the market, do you feel that the Pixel Fold lineup remains competitive in the foldable phone space? Does the Pixel 11 Pro Fold have a chance against the Galaxy Z Fold 8 series and other rivals? Leave a comment with your thoughts below.