Achim Maier
The Google Pixel Fold is the company’s first foldable smartphone and it’s selling like hot cakes. If you pre-order one of the foldables today, you have to expect a waiting time of at least a month in the Google Store. Apparently, Google estimated the interest to be much lower and therefore didn’t really pre-produce many models.
However, who has already gotten a Google Pixel Fold is Zack from YouTube channel JerryRigEverything. And as usual, he put the Google phone through his usual durability test straight away. Most smartphones in bar form get through this more or less well. Building foldables really stable is of course a much bigger challenge.
As usual, the durability test of the Google Pixel Fold begins with the scratch test. The outer display is covered with glass, so scratches are quite normal from a hardness of 6 on the Mohs hardness scale. From level 7 deeper grooves remain. The inner foldable panel features a plastic screen protector on the ultra-thin glass. This scratches from level 2, leaving deeper grooves from level 3. The sides of the Google phone are metal, as is the SIM slot, and the hinge is polished steel, as is the camera module.
Scratch, burn, bend
Next comes the fire test, in which the exterior display withstands an open flame for about 15 seconds. The foldable display gives up after just eight seconds and is left with permanent damage. Interestingly, the Pixel Fold then turned itself off and wouldn’t turn back on for a minute. Then comes a warning that it has automatically switched off due to a overheating warning. Zack continues with the dust test, which shows no major problems despite the lack of dust resistance.
Finally, there is the bend test. Zack bends the Google Pixel Fold in the unfolded state against the closing direction, which destroys most of the inner display. Interestingly, it is not the hinge that fails, but the antenna lines and pretty much all the rest of the components.
