Just a few years ago, the idea of foldable phones being a big enough business for both Samsung and Google to be duking it out on the foldable frontlines seemed like a pipe dream. And yet, here we are.
Sure, they both run Android, but the Pixel 10 Pro Fold and Galaxy Z Fold 7 are fairly divergent from there. Physical form factor, in particular, is one area to watch this year. Without wasting any more time, let's jump in and do some comparing.
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 vs. Google Pixel 10 Pro Fold
Both phones are expensive, but what do you actually get for the money?
Price
Competing smartphones usually have somewhat equivalent price points, but the Z Fold 7 and Pixel 10 Pro Fold actually have a decent-sized gap between the two in terms of cost.
That's not to say either one is cheap, though. Google's foldable starts at $1,799, while Samsung's starts at $1,999. You're technically "saving money" by going with the Pixel, but perhaps savings aren't really part of the equation when buying such expensive hardware. That part is up to you.
Design
Credit: Joe Maldonado/Mashable
In previous years, competing Google and Samsung foldables diverged somewhat in terms of physical dimensions, but the difference is stark in 2025.
That's because Samsung went all-in on making the Z Fold 7 its thinnest foldable yet. It's just 8.9mm thick when folded and a mere 4.2mm unfolded, weighing just 215g. It's thicker than a regular smartphone, sure, but not by that much. Unfortunately for Google, while the Pixel 10 Pro Fold doesn't seem prohibitively beefy by any means, it's noticeably bigger and heavier. Pixel 10 Pro Fold is 10.8mm thick when folded, 5.2mm when unfolded, and weighs 258g.
One could argue that the Pixel 10 Pro Fold's dimensions aren't necessarily problematic just because they're bulkier than the competition, and that might be true. But there's no doubt which of these phones is going to be more comfortable to hold for long periods of time.
Specs
Credit: Joe Maldonado/Mashable
Here are the basic specs for the Z Fold 7:
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8-inch AMOLED inner display with 2184x1968 resolution and 120Hz adaptive refresh rate
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6.5-inch AMOLED cover display with 2520x1080p resolution and 120Hz adaptive refresh rate
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Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy chip
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12/16GB RAM
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256/512GB/1TB memory
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4,400mAh battery
And here's what you get for $200 less on Pixel 10 Pro Fold:
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6.4-inch external display with 1080x2364 resolution and 120Hz adaptive refresh rate
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8-inch internal display with 2076x2152 resolution and 120Hz adaptive refresh rate
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Google Tensor G5 chip
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16GB RAM
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256GB/512GB/1TB storage
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5,015mAh battery
Now this is where things get even more interesting. Both phones have similar enough displays that it would be nitpicking to point out the minor differences that do exist, with one exception: Pixel 10 Pro Fold maxes out at 3,000 nits of peak brightness, while Z Fold 7 only goes up to 2,600 nits. That could make a difference in broad daylight, so it's interesting that Google's figure is higher despite the lower starting price.
The same holds true of RAM, as Samsung's cheapest Z Fold 7 variant only has 12GB while every Pixel 10 Pro Fold has 16GB. It's possible that the Samsung foldable will still do better on benchmarking tests because of its chipset, and it's also possible (and even likely) that day-to-day performance on both devices is good enough for none of that to matter. Still, it's worth mentioning.
As is the difference in battery sizes. One big compromise Samsung made by going ultra-thin is that the battery in the Z Fold 7 is considerably smaller than the one in Pixel 10 Pro Fold. Real-world testing will have to wait for now, but the Z Fold 7 didn't last 24 hours under stress testing for our review. If Pixel 10 Pro Fold can surpass that, one could seriously argue that you're getting a better value by going with Google's foldable.
AI features
Credit: Screenshot: Google
There's a decent amount of AI parity between these two devices, but major differences remain.
With the launch of the Pixel 10 line, the Pro Fold can do live language translation during phone calls and offer users a personalized daily hub featuring important schedule reminders, a weather forecast, and more. Samsung's 2025 flagships can also do these things, so that's a bit of a wash. Both of these devices introduced the ability to drag and drop AI creations from one app to another during split-screen view (exclusive to foldables), so again, there isn't really a winner there.
Both phones also have some basic AI photo editing tricks, though Google's handset arguably goes further this year than Samsung's. On Pixel 10 devices, you can use text prompts to edit photos, which some people might find preferable to doing it themselves. The new Camera Coach feature also offers help on how to properly compose shots, though it remains to be seen exactly how well that works.
In summary, Google offers a bit more, but Samsung owners aren't missing out on that much.
Cameras
Credit: Joe Maldonado/Mashable
Here are the camera specs for Z Fold 7:
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Rear lenses: 200MP wide, 12MP ultrawide, 10MP telephoto with 3x optical zoom
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Front lenses: 10MP on both exterior and interior displays
And here's what you get on Pixel 10 Pro Fold:
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Rear lenses: 48MP wide, 10.5MP ultrawide, 10.8MP telephoto with 5x optical zoom
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Front lenses: 10MP on both exterior and interior displays
It's very difficult (or impossible) to directly compare these two camera arrays without having both devices on hand, though obviously Samsung's foldable having a 200MP main shooter certainly feels like a big advantage over the 48MP module on the Pixel 10 Pro Fold. Again, in practice, it's very possible that the Pixel takes better photos overall, but we can't prove that yet.
One thing Google does have is better optical zoom on the telephoto lens. Google's zoom lenses have been some of the strongest in the game for a few years now, while I've noticed plenty of imperfections with Samsung zoom shots over the same time period.
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