Google on Pixel 9 Pro Fold’s ‘phone first’ design, vapor chamber, & new camera bar

With the Pixel 9 Pro Fold, Google’s design team is particularly proud of how thin it is compared to last year’s model, and the use of “custom” components is credited.

Compared to the Pixel Fold, the 9 Pro Fold is 1.5 millimeters thinner when closed and 0.7 millimeters when open. With the benefit of seeing how people used the original, Google designers had a “phone first” mantra: 

“We saw that people were often using it closed.” Even though people are interested in the new form factor and want the added bonus of the tablet-like experience, people also want to use their foldable like a regular smartphone. “That’s what led us to say, ‘Hey, we need to make this a phone first in terms of design,’” Claude explains.

Compared to the rest of the series, the Pixel 9 Pro Fold camera bar design looks out of place by not spanning the entire width. In fact, the design on the Pixel Fold is more aligned with this year’s phones.

Google says the “double-stacked” camera bar “helped engineers implement a bigger battery,” that thinner design, and “lie on surfaces more evenly.” Internally, it makes use of “customized optical modules” that allows for Pro camera features.

Similarly, there’s also a “custom, thinner haptics driver,” while the “USB-C port is also a custom, smaller version than the original Fold’s.” 

Google confirms that the Pixel 9 Pro Fold has an “all-new vapor chamber and graphite thermal spreader.” 

The “multi-alloy steel, high-strength aluminum alloy-covered ” hinge also played a role in making the device thinner. Compared to last year, it’s more durable, while Google clearly likes the “snap” closing sound: