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Google Pixel Fold
- Thread starter blairh
- Start date
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How have you found the lack of customisation on the PF? That’s the one thing putting me off.
Yes, I have both currently (got the fold 3 at launch and will be sending it as my trade in soon) and I had the Fold 2 for a year before I traded that in for the fold 3. The only thing better about the pixels build that is better than the galaxy is that it has no gap when folded and is thinner. Everything else (when it comes to build quality and fit and finish) is better on the galaxy.
As in, (to my knowledge) you can’t have a different setup on the outer display than the inner display?
I think that would annoy me, and I know when I had a Fold 2 you could customise both.
It’s a completely missed opportunity from Google IMO. Just an option to customise or leave as is would do it.
You are correct. The PF does not allow different cover and inner display pages. The cover display simply mirrors your inner displays where Samsung does allow them to be different.
It does not bother me but I can see where that would bother some. I prefer Samsung OS and it's customization options over Google's version but for me, my decision to get the PF over the GF5 boiled down to cover display usability.
On the PF you can use the cover display for just about everything. With the tall and skinny GF cover display you are forced into tablet mode almost all of the time..
If Samsung had changed to a shorter and wider display this time around for the GF 5, I'd have it instead of the PF.. I hope they make the change for the GF 6 and if they do, I'll be rocking it..
I guess it boils down to user preference. Some don't mind being in tablet mode all the time. If that the case then the GF 5 is the better option IMO. If you don't want to be forced into tablet mode most of the time then the PF wins. Both have their pluses and minuses..
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You are correct. That Monster is not good for y… HOLY **** IS THAT A PIXEL FOLD?!I am a weak man…..
I am a weak man…..
You making it this long shows some strength to me! I’d a taken the under had I had to bet! Congrats.
I got over it quickly. I just decided to get a launcher that I can use on the inside and outside without having home screen scaling issues … there are a few of them that you can customize differently although not that many options..on Samsung last I had the ZF3 I was forced to use stock launcher to achieve the different home screens so that was not good for me either since I hate stock lol
I am a weak man…..
Congrats
welcome to the family you WEAK man lol ..you folded like a cheap suit ….
Gone through the initial setup and used a bit over the past few hours. Quick first impressions:
- Feels like a cross between a recent vintage Pixel and and iPhone 11 Pro (the curved metal frame mostly contributing here). Overall, build quality feels good. Love how it closes flat with no gap between the screen.
- I definitely prefer the form factor over Samsung's methodology...front screen aspect ratio is very much typical smart phone and very easy to use. That being said, here's my hot take....I wish it was taller. I don't want it skinnier but there's room for it to be taller. It's a more squarish form factor than my iPhone 14 Pro. Make it a little taller to give even a bit more front screen real estate and thus also make the internal screen even bigger. I'm not talking a huge inscrease in height but my 14 Pro is about identical in width but maybe another 8mm taller and I don't think it would impact the portability of the Pixel Fold.
- Screens, both inside and out are very nice...good dynamic range and contrast, very smooth scrolling. I do notice the crease, both visually and when running my fingers over it but, doesn't really bother me that much. It is what it is and going to have to deal with it if you want this form factor. Bezels also are a non-issue...I'm looking at the display, not what's immediately outside of it and it doesn't impact my ability to hold and use the device.
Initial gripes or criticisms:
- I'm nearly always pressing the power button or volume buttons when opening the device. Just a bit annoying--going to have to build some muscle memory grabbing the edge lower down the frame.
- Shouldn't be a surprise but the restrictions in customization of the home screens is also annoying. Not the end of the world but something Google really needs to work on and change.
- Also not a surprise but the the app implementation on the inner display also just feels wasteful. I'm going to be comparing my inner display experience to that of my iPad Mini and it already falls down in first impressions here. I use Spark as my email client and on the Fold it's just an extra wide version of the phone app vs. a multi-column set up on the iPad. I'm sure as I explore more of my typical apps I'll encounter similar situations. Here's hoping developers decides to put some work into improving this user experience.
Overall though, very positive first impressions. My intention is for it to serve the needs of both a phone and as a replacement for how I use my iPad Mini and I'm optimistic it can do most of that.
Very nice write up! I agree with you that I wish the PF was taller.Gone through the initial setup and used a bit over the past few hours. Quick first impressions:
- Feels like a cross between a recent vintage Pixel and and iPhone 11 Pro (the curved metal frame mostly contributing here). Overall, build quality feels good. Love how it closes flat with no gap between the screen.
- I definitely prefer the form factor over Samsung's methodology...front screen aspect ratio is very much typical smart phone and very easy to use. That being said, here's my hot take....I wish it was taller. I don't want it skinnier but there's room for it to be taller. It's a more squarish form factor than my iPhone 14 Pro. Make it a little taller to give even a bit more front screen real estate and thus also make the internal screen even bigger. I'm not talking a huge inscrease in height but my 14 Pro is about identical in width but maybe another 8mm taller and I don't think it would impact the portability of the Pixel Fold.
- Screens, both inside and out are very nice...good dynamic range and contrast, very smooth scrolling. I do notice the crease, both visually and when running my fingers over it but, doesn't really bother me that much. It is what it is and going to have to deal with it if you want this form factor. Bezels also are a non-issue...I'm looking at the display, not what's immediately outside of it and it doesn't impact my ability to hold and use the device.
Initial gripes or criticisms:
- I'm nearly always pressing the power button or volume buttons when opening the device. Just a bit annoying--going to have to build some muscle memory grabbing the edge lower down the frame.
- Shouldn't be a surprise but the restrictions in customization of the home screens is also annoying. Not the end of the world but something Google really needs to work on and change.
- Also not a surprise but the the app implementation on the inner display also just feels wasteful. I'm going to be comparing my inner display experience to that of my iPad Mini and it already falls down in first impressions here. I use Spark as my email client and on the Fold it's just an extra wide version of the phone app vs. a multi-column set up on the iPad. I'm sure as I explore more of my typical apps I'll encounter similar situations. Here's hoping developers decides to put some work into improving this user experience.
Overall though, very positive first impressions. My intention is for it to serve the needs of both a phone and as a replacement for how I use my iPad Mini and I'm optimistic it can do most of that.
Lmao. This will be me soon. Now, that the OnePlus Open is delayed some, it gives me time to buy the Pixel Fold to play around with it until I make the OnePlus Open my daily.I am a weak man…..
I used my Galaxy Watch 5 Pro with it for a few days but went back to my Pixel Watch. It works fine but notifications seem to come through more consistently with the Pixel Watch. Kinda hit and miss with the Galaxy.
I also wish it was a hair taller but not going to complain. Really happy with it still. I'll take a bit shorter front screen to have the big screen on the inside.
It's not bad by any means and it may have been more of me not taking the time to tinker with the settings. It just seems like Samsung supports their apps on their watch completely while it's hit and miss with googles apps and others. For instance, using Air Message, I got notifications on my Pixel Watch but not on the Galaxy. Also with the battery widget, the Pixel Watch battery level is displayed whereas the Galaxy just shows up under other Bluetooth devices with no battery level shown. You have to go into the Galaxy Wearable app to see your battery level. Give one a try. You can always return it.
I really hope Google adds features and comes to the table with a better effort on the Pixel Watch 2. Other than it being way too tiny and missing a few features it really is my favorite watch to use with a Pixel device.
Edit: just looked at my settings and several apps were turned off in notifications. Air Message still doesn't play nice but will see if the other apps are more consistent. Still the battery widget thing sucks. I love being able to look at my home screen and see the battery level of all my devices.
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I'm not complaining mind you. Just coming from the S23U and 14 PM is all. The fit finish and build quality is right there with the rest. This is a great smartphone!
Oh i want insinuating you were complaining. And I totally get it. After using my 14PM or S23U it takes some getting used to the shorter screen but at the same time it's also a bit easier to manage one handed and it's definitely better than the narrow Z Fold screen. Hope you enjoy your new toy! Over one month in and it's still the one for me. Honestly didn't think I could put my S23U down for this long.
As an old Galaxy Note user I used to love the S-Pens but I only ever used them for extracting text from photos. Once Samsung started putting text extraction software into their gallery app I realised that I didn't need an S-Pen at all and never missed it on my Z Fold 4. Now that I have an S23U with built in S-Pen once more I'm probably never going to use the S-Pen ever again. I suspect that the vast majority of S23U owners never use theirs either.
I have never understood the "take a quick note" thing. I can hardly fit any scrawled text onto the screen! It's also much quicker to open the notes app to type a proper note IME.
1. With the Galaxy, the last couple of degrees when opening the device, it springs open and snaps into place, the pixel you have to push it the full way through.
2. Never said anything about the size of the bezels, I said the feel of the bezels. The plastic they used and the finish is harder and shinier than that of the galaxy. My galaxy fold is 2 years old and you can’t see any scratches, though I can feel them if I run my nail through it. The pixel also has a hard sharp edge between the bezel and screen.
Pixel Fold
Galaxy Fold 3
3. Because the Pixel doesn’t open all the way, there is a little flex at the end, you can see in Jerry Rig Everything video where he tests the durability. It’s not wobbly or anything, but definitely not as sturdy as the galaxy.
4. See my pictures, it doesn’t open flat. You can even see like 90% of youtube videos mentioning this. Congrats if it’s something you don’t notice.
Pixel Fold
Galaxy Fold 3
5. I said it’s more noticeable because it doesn’t fully open, again see my pictures.
Pixel Fold
Galaxy Fold 3
6. Again, I’m not the only one talking about how scratch prone the aluminum finish is, plenty of YouTubers mention it too in their reviews. Again, congrats if you don’t see it.
And this is all comparing to my Galaxy Fold 3, I’ve only played with the 5 briefly at Best Buy. This is also the last time I will address this, I’m not going to sit here and argue about the fit and finish of the 1st gen pixel compared to that of a galaxy that is now on version 5. Plus I do love this device and I don’t want its negatives to be my main focus, but you are making it my focus. Congratulations to you that you don’t notice these flaws, but they do exist.
Edit: well crap, looks like I’ll be going to Verizon tomorrow, screen has a light bar running down it.
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You know my thoughts on launchers 😜I got over it quickly. I just decided to get a launcher that I can use on the inside and outside without having home screen scaling issues … there are a few of them that you can customize differently although not that many options..on Samsung last I had the ZF3 I was forced to use stock launcher to achieve the different home screens so that was not good for me either since I hate stock lol
Edit: well crap, looks like I’ll be going to Verizon tomorrow, screen has a light bar running down it.
[/QUOTE]
Ughhh that sucks ...sorry to see it and good luck with Verizon
Ughhh that sucks ...sorry to see it and good luck with Verizon
Damn!😡1. With the Galaxy, the last couple of degrees when opening the device, it springs open and snaps into place, the pixel you have to push it the full way through.
2. Never said anything about the size of the bezels, I said the feel of the bezels. The plastic they used and the finish is harder and shinier than that of the galaxy. My galaxy fold is 2 years old and you can’t see any scratches, though I can feel them if I run my nail through it. The pixel also has a hard sharp edge between the bezel and screen.
Pixel Fold
Galaxy Fold 3
3. Because the Pixel doesn’t open all the way, there is a little flex at the end, you can see in Jerry Rig Everything video where he tests the durability. It’s not wobbly or anything, but definitely not as sturdy as the galaxy.
4. See my pictures, it doesn’t open flat. You can even see like 90% of youtube videos mentioning this. Congrats if it’s something you don’t notice.
Pixel Fold
Galaxy Fold 3
5. I said it’s more noticeable because it doesn’t fully open, again see my pictures.
Pixel Fold
Galaxy Fold 3
6. Again, I’m not the only one talking about how scratch prone the aluminum finish is, plenty of YouTubers mention it too in their reviews. Again, congrats if you don’t see it.
And this is all comparing to my Galaxy Fold 3, I’ve only played with the 5 briefly at Best Buy. This is also the last time I will address this, I’m not going to sit here and argue about the fit and finish of the 1st gen pixel compared to that of a galaxy that is now on version 5. Plus I do love this device and I don’t want its negatives to be my main focus, but you are making it my focus. Congratulations to you that you don’t notice these flaws, but they do exist.
Edit: well crap, looks like I’ll be going to Verizon tomorrow, screen has a light bar running down it.
I've been dealing with a lot of tall phones, I find this perfect, I honestly don't think we need it any taller