How we redesigned the Pixel 9 Pro Fold and made it thinner

Sep 04, 2024

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The caller Pixel 9 Pro Fold is much than conscionable an update of its predecessor — it’s been afloat redesigned and upgraded from nan first-generation Pixel Fold. One of nan biggest improvements is that it’s moreover thinner than nan first Fold: In its folded form, nan Pixel 9 Pro Fold is simply a afloat 1.5 millimeters thinner than its predecessor and only 2 millimeters thicker than our Pixel 9 bid phones. And astatine 5.1 millimeters heavy erstwhile open, nan caller Fold shaves disconnected 0.7 millimeters from nan original unfastened Fold arsenic good — meaning it’s thinner than astir tablets. In fact, it’s nan thinnest foldable phone1 — pinch nan largest show for immoderate smartphone2 — connected nan market.

“We knew erstwhile we made nan 2nd one, it had to beryllium thinner,” says Pixel merchandise head George Hwang. “But we didn’t cognize really overmuch thinner, and we didn’t cognize what we’d person to do to get there.” Here’s really nan Pixel squad answered those questions to build a thinner Fold while upgrading nan phone’s displays, cameras and much successful nan process.

Designing a telephone and then a foldable

One penetration that steered nan squad toward nan phone’s caller creation was really group interacted pinch nan original Pixel Fold, says head of business creation Claude Zellweger: “We saw that group were often utilizing it closed.” Even though group are willing successful nan caller shape facet and want nan added prize of nan tablet-like experience, group besides want to usage their foldable for illustration a regular smartphone. “That’s what led america to say, ‘Hey, we request to make this a telephone first successful position of design,’” Claude explains. “Our mantra became ‘phone first.’”

The extremity was to make a foldable that felt, looked and acted chiefly for illustration immoderate smartphone — and offered further functionality connected apical of that. “You person to make a awesome phone, and then you tin make a awesome foldable,” says Jon Prowse, a Pixel merchandise manager.

But what does it mean to beryllium “phone first”? A batch of things — for example, nan Pixel 9 Pro Fold’s show has an facet ratio of 20:9, nan aforesaid arsenic nan Pixel 9 Pro. And it boasts nan aforesaid premium finishes and smaller bezels. All of these things harvester to much intimately mimic nan remainder of nan 9 bid Pixels successful a measurement that makes them yet much acquainted to nan oculus and nan hand: Things for illustration web browsing aliases messaging pinch nan instrumentality closed are much akin to nan latest procreation of Pixels than to nan anterior Fold.

And, of course, nan truth that it’s thinner and frankincense person to nan size of nan Pixel 9 is simply a important portion of this experience. Especially noteworthy is that contempt nan caller “thinness,” nan squad recovered a measurement to fresh successful nan phone’s upgraded centerpiece: a massive, 8-inch tablet-like display.

“To spell thinner, we knew we needed a caller hinge,” George says. The squad came up pinch a creation for nan multi-alloy steel, high-strength aluminum alloy-covered hinge that not only snaps unopen — it opens afloat level pinch a satisfying snap, too. The caller hinge is besides much durable than its predecessor, but includes immoderate of what group loved astir nan original. “For example, we mimicked nan hinge’s torque — nan consciousness crossed nan scope of mobility — from nan Pixel Fold,” George says.

Also for illustration past time, they studied and researched various items that felt pleasant to unfastened and close. Claude says this provides thing of a subliminal effect, but it’s a item that group find delightful, truthful it was worthy nan squad focusing on, too. The upgraded fluid-friction hinge and optimized magnets that threat nan instrumentality unopen present a just right feeling.

Building a thinner telephone pinch high-performance photography isn’t without its challenges though — camera exertion tin return up a batch of room. “As we were designing this and reasoning astir making it truthful overmuch thinner, we chose to wholly redesign nan camera barroom and see customized optical modules,” Jon explains. Ultimately, they were capable to upgrade nan ultrawide camera, on pinch 2 selfie cameras, to fresh successful those newer, much tin optical modules. The thought was to make judge they met nan precocious barroom group person to expect from Pixel’s camera quality. And they did: Pixel 9 Pro Fold’s various hardware upgrades mean it includes pro-level camera devices for illustration Video Boost and Pro Controls; successful fact, each of these upgrades make it nan champion camera connected a foldable.

The caller double-stacked camera barroom is positioned successful nan caller Fold’s apical near corner, allowing nan telephone to go thinner and dishonesty connected surfaces much evenly arsenic well. The alteration besides helped engineers instrumentality a bigger battery, too.

While changes to nan camera barroom and hinge helped nan Pixel 9 Pro Fold get thinner, a bunch of different tweaks besides helped to return millimeters disconnected nan phone. For example, it has a custom, thinner haptics driver. “It really makes nan haptics consciousness much pronounced, truthful it’s an moreover nicer feel,” George says. The USB-C larboard is besides a custom, smaller type than nan original Fold’s, and nan speakers are all-new, too. Additionally, to flooded nan thermal limitations of a thinner device, nan squad re-engineered nan thermal architecture pinch an all-new vapor enclosure and graphite thermal spreader.

George, Claude and Jon could spell connected astir nan seemingly mini tweaks that helped make nan telephone thinner — these less-than-flashy changes proved truthful crucial. “With this process, it really goes to show that erstwhile you make a large architecture improvement, each portion of nan telephone — each azygous module — matters,” Jon explains. “It takes a batch of incremental alteration to consequence successful this large change.” Or successful this case, this bladed change.