This Pixel Fold durability test is one of the worst I’ve ever seen | Digital Trends

Google’s first foldable phone, the Google Pixel Fold, left a pretty solid first impression. Not just because it’s a Pixel with all its camera and software goodness that can also pull off a foldable trick. Instead, Google has really surprised with elegant and exquisitely thin hardware.

In Google’s own words, the Pixel Fold has a slimmer profile than any other foldable phone while offering the strongest hinge around. But it seems that all the efforts made to achieve a slim profile have also had an impact on the durability of the phone, especially its bezel.

JerryRigEverything recently put the Pixel Fold through its own brutal durability test and it failed the stress and bending test quite spectacularly. While the hinge withstood aggressive exposure to dust and external pressure, it was the metal frame that buckled and broke near the antenna line. And he did it everywhere.

Now, you probably won’t be faced with a real-life scenario where you have to open the phone and apply pressure to the ridge of the hinge from the opposite end. But you may want to be careful with holding the phone open and mistakenly placing a heavy object on it. Or maybe, just sitting on it.

Foldable phones are notoriously fragile, and even a small misalignment in the hinge parts or frame could permanently break it. Either the phone refuses to open fully, or the display just gives up, or sometimes both, with no sign of visible external damage.

Samsung foldable phones withstood JerryRigEverythings stress tests thanks to a sturdy frame and solid hinge mechanism. But the Pixel Fold has more problems than just a flimsy frame prone to breaking under practical stress. To begin with, the surrounding metal structure can be seen bending and breaking along both axes.

Unlike its Samsung rival, the Pixel doesn’t appear to have a locking mechanism to prevent the phone from opening in the opposite direction or beyond its natural 180-degree form factor. But there’s still a threshold, and once it’s crossed, the Pixel Fold refuses to close even in its natural half-rotation cycle.

With the frame breaking spectacularly, the battery pack on that side has also buckled, which poses another major hazard.

So, here’s our advice. If you spent $1,800 on Google’s shiny foldout, make sure you handle it gently and pay extra attention to it in explained form because that’s when it’s susceptible to stress-induced damage.

But there’s more to the Pixel Fold’s durability issues than a stately failure in a simulated durability test. Several buyers and journalists have reported that their Pixel Folds screen gave up out of nowhere and that the hinge makes strange noises when the phone is opened or closed.

Google proudly claims that the Pixel Fold is the thinnest of its kind on the market and has also made special mention of the heavy-duty stainless steel that has been used to craft the hinge. But it seems that Google should have also paid attention to the rest of the integrity of the frames instead of relentlessly pursuing the vanity of thinness.

After all, buyers would rather have a slightly thicker phone that doesn’t give up in a few months under light pressure than choose an $1,800 looker that’s oddly susceptible to such nasty damage.

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