The Google Pixel Fold does many things well, but it also has problems, so it struggles to compete with other popular foldable Android phones. However, you can solve many of these problems and turn the problematic phone into a great one.
We walk you through the biggest problems with the Pixel Fold and how to solve or mitigate them. We recommend exploring all the best features of the Pixel Fold, as its unique elements help it stand out in the ever-narrowing crowd of Android phones.
One of the biggest and most noticeable problems with the Pixel Fold is the inconsistent scaling applied to apps. While most of Google’s apps are designed to fit the Pixel Fold’s outer and inner screens in horizontal or landscape mode, some popular apps, including Instagram and Yelp, don’t.
The only “fix” for this is to keep your Pixel Fold in portrait mode. Portrait mode doesn’t create as many errors, thanks to the phone’s unique aspect ratio. We recommend keeping landscape mode for apps like Calendar or Drive or for watching media.
Many users have noted the Pixel Fold’s poor charging speeds and battery life. The Pixel Fold has a max charging speed of 21W, so you can’t solve this by buying a new charging brick. However, there are a few ways you can improve its battery life.
You can increase the phone’s battery life by activating adaptive battery, turning off smooth display, and adjusting your Pixel Fold’s screen brightness. We have a detailed guide on all the settings you can tweak to improve the Pixel Fold’s battery life.
When closed, pressing the Pixel Fold’s power button might turn on the inner screen alongside the outer screen. This is not an issue with the Pixel Fold, but with some cases that use magnets in their design. These magnets interfere with the inner screen, causing it to turn on unexpectedly alongside other problems.
The only way to resolve this is to buy a case without magnets. There are plenty of great Pixel Fold cases that don’t use magnets. Double-check before you buy, as they often don’t clearly state whether they use magnets.
Complaints about the durability of the Pixel Fold were widespread even before it launched, with some reviewers noting the phone’s inner screen broke after a few days of use. If your Pixel Fold arrived broken or has other hardware issues, contact Google Support for a replacement or fix. We recommend taking preventative steps to avoid it breaking in the first place.
Many of the inner screen issues stem from a small gap in the hinge, which traps particles between the Pixel Fold’s bezel and screen protector. This is an issue across foldables. Buy a case that doesn’t leave a gap around the hinge (like the spine of a hardback book) that can minimize the amount of dust entering the phone.
The Pixel Fold stops a few degrees short of lying flat when opened. If you apply force, you can make it lie completely flat for a while, but we don’t recommend doing this. After some time with the Fold, we found that the phone became more resistant to lying flat the longer we used it. Applying more force can cause issues with the hinge.
Don’t apply additional pressure when opening the Pixel Fold. One of the best things about the phone is that the hinge holds it tight at any angle apart from flat. Open it to its limit and leave it there.
The inner and outer screens of the Pixel Fold aren’t identical. While the outer screen is higher quality than the inner, users have noted that it can become unresponsive. Opening and closing the phone is a temporary fix. You can also tweak some settings for a permanent solution.
If this doesn’t solve the problem, follow Google’s official guide to fix a Pixel screen that isn’t working correctly.
If two apps are open simultaneously on the Pixel Fold’s inner screen, closing the phone causes one app to disappear when you reopen it. This is intended behavior. The Pixel Fold only keeps the active app open on the inner screen when the phone is closed.
There is no way to resolve this problem. You can minimize the frustration by tapping the more important app once before closing the phone. This ensures it stays open when reopening the phone.
The Pixel Fold is more prone to overheating than any other Pixel phone. This is a design flaw. There isn’t a way to permanently stop it from growing uncomfortably warm. However, you can do a few things to keep the internal temperature low. If you’re charging your Pixel Fold or are in a warm environment, don’t perform these actions:
The Pixel Fold suffers from many problems that aren’t common to all foldables. If your experience with the Pixel Fold is too frustrating, we recommend exploring the other great Android foldables.
Maybe if we start telling people the brain is an app they will start using it!
