Pixel 11 Pro Fold costs $100 more, and reviewers disagree on how big its battery is

If you were waiting for the Pixel foldable to get cheaper, it went the other way. TechRadar puts the Pixel 11 Pro Fold at $1,899 in the US against $1,799 for last year's model, a $100 increase for a phone that is thinner and lighter than the one it replaces.

How much thinner depends on who is measuring. The Verge makes it 0.7mm thinner when closed and 19g lighter than the Pixel 10 Pro Fold. Google's own claim, as reported by Android Authority, is about 1mm thinner and roughly 10 percent lighter.

The battery numbers do not line up either. Engadget and The Verge both report a drop from 5,015mAh to 4,806mAh, with The Verge calling the new capacity only a little smaller than before. TechRadar reports a steeper fall, to 4,750mAh, and says it was surprised by it.

Charging partly answers for that. Wired stays at 30 watts, and wireless jumps to 25 watts on a compatible puck thanks to Qi 2.2 support, up from 15 watts, per Engadget. The Verge notes that Google's foldables remain the only ones to support Qi2 magnetic wireless charging at all, and this one does it faster.

Durability is where the pitch gets loud. The phone keeps its IP68 dust and water rating, which Engadget points out is better than the IP48 on Samsung's Z Fold 8 line, and the new glass fibre composite back is three times more durable than before by Google's count. Android Authority quotes the company going further: virtually impossible to crack.

Inside is the Tensor G6, which TechRadar describes as the first 2nm-process mobile CPU. Engadget lists Google's figures as up to 25 percent faster web browsing, 20 percent better power efficiency and 15 percent quicker app loading, alongside a Titan M3 security chip aimed at increasingly complicated cyberattacks.

The main camera has a new sensor that Google says is 50 percent better in low light. Magic Capture, per TechRadar, analyses 500 frames to pick the right shot, then crops and unblurs it into something usable.

HiLight, the glowing LED element, is the part reviewers are least sold on. Right now it does two things, a multicolour glow when you talk to Gemini and a monocolour glow when a favourite contact calls, and The Verge reports that support for message notifications is coming later with no word on whether it will ever cover notifications generally. Android Authority found the LED basic, five colour options, the results bright enough but muted rather than vibrant. Engadget calls the lack of text support at launch a miss. Google says more functionality is coming over time.

The Verge's read on where this lands: the 11 Pro Fold's aspect ratio sits between the two extremes of Samsung's 2026 lineup, the stocky Z Fold 8 and the skinny Z Fold 8 Ultra, and even with the price hike it still feels competitively priced against either.

The Pixel 11, Pixel 11 Pro, Pixel 11 Pro XL and Pixel 11 Pro Fold are all official and open for pre-order. Android Central also flags a new sign language-to-text feature in Google Translate.