Nowadays all the big phone companies are making foldable phones. Even Apple, which often takes a long time before joining a trend, is planning to introduce one in the coming years. And yet, almost 6 years after the launch of the Samsung Galaxy Fold brought these phones into the mainstream, a foldable phone is still not as good as a flagship phone. There are still compromises involved, big compromises in some ways.

This is why whenever someone asks me for my recommendations I always recommend a proper flagship phone rather than a foldable phone. What this essentially means is that while a foldable phone may seem temptingly the top choice due to its high price, in its capabilities and usability it is often inferior to phones like the iPhone 17 Pro Max or the Google Pixel 10 Pro. There are many reasons for that.

Design is a big reason. A foldable phone is a tricky phone to design. It should be extremely thin so that when folded it is not bulky and heavy. It also needed to take care of many components, such as two screens, multiple cameras with redundancy, and careful positioning of components along the foldable metal spine. This is quite complicated.

All of this results in bland hardware, especially camera hardware, compared to a true flagship phone. For example, the Pixel 1o Pro Fold – which is one of the better foldable phones – has a camera system that’s more in line with the camera system you’ll find in the regular Pixel 10. Compared to the camera system on the Pixel 10 Pro XL, the Pixel Fold has a simple camera system. This problem is not exclusive to Pixel phones. The same is the case with foldable phones from other companies like Samsung and Vivo. Their foldable phones also come with toned down hardware.

Then there’s the display crease. Over the years, companies have worked hard to reduce this. But it’s still enough to irritate more discerning users. When you open the foldable phone, you can see a crease in the middle along its spine. This is more noticeable when the display is showing an image in a light color. This becomes a topic of discussion when you are trying to enjoy a movie in 4K or when you are reviewing some high-resolution and high-fidelity photos. This is a technology limitation that holds back foldable phones.

Given this state of foldable phones, why would anyone like them or want them? Well, desires are rarely rational. Logic is not the only component of our lives. In fact, logic should not always be the only component. Otherwise, life will become joyless.

The truth is that foldable phones can be attractive in some ways. They scream future. Most notably, they are stylish and (still) somewhat unique. It makes them an object of desire, something you can show off. The fact that they cost so much adds to their appeal even more. So, chances are that despite everything, you would still want a foldable phone.

And if you do, I have a recommendation: the Google Pixel 10 Pro Fold.

Now, this is not the most powerful foldable phone. Thanks, Tensor G5 Chipset! But it offers pretty good performance, and it runs well and also has somewhat better battery life than some of the others. Again, thanks Tensor G5 chipset! But the main reason to prefer the Pixel 10 Pro Fold over others is its display and software.

Display. Or rather displays, because there are two. Both the outer screen and the inner – larger screen – are pure joy. These are some of the best screens I’ve seen on a phone. This matters more in case of a larger screen, it looks absolutely gorgeous when you are watching something on it.

Two, there is software. I prefer Google’s version of Android compared to the Android versions that Samsung etc. put on their phones. It’s official Android in a way, given that Google also creates the software and then lets others customize it. In Pixel phones, this Android is clean and tasteful. More importantly, Gemini is the AI ​​that powers various features and parts of Android 16. This AI is just as useful on the Pixel 10 Pro Fold’s larger screen as other phones that don’t have AI features. Most importantly, this is also due to the free one year of Gemini Pro that you get with the Pixel 10 Pro Fold.

Of course, it also has some limitations. The most notable among these is storage. Google is only offering 256GB in its Pixel Fold variant – and there’s only one in India. Doubling it, or even 1TB, would have been much better, especially at its asking price. But having said that, overall as a package among all the foldable phones this year, the Pixel 10 Pro Fold is the one I like the most in terms of usability.