Disclaimer: opinions are my own.
I'm using the Pixel Fold at the moment, and it's the best phone I've used to date. It's something I didn't know I want until I have it.
Quick review:
- The phone construction feels good on hand and in the pocket. The screen is beautiful.
- When folded, functionality-wise it's like previous Pixel (beside looking better with the metal edge). I spent about 75% of my phone time in this mode. Also no notch!
- When unfolded, you have access to much more screen real estate. I didn't realize how this dramatically improve reading documents / browsing the web. Things that were unusable (like opening Google Sheet) is now much more comfortable. You can also do split screen, where you keep 2 apps on at the same time (todo list + message)
- The weight feels solid. The fold mechanism is solid. Battery ~50% per day with no battery saving. Camera is good as usual.
Software:
- I've mentioned before on HN, the Spam Screening feature singlehanded keeps me in the Pixel ecosystem. No spam call at all.
- Android Auto is solid
- Gemini is a gentle surprise, especially with how it's easy to interact with the "current phone screen".
Review caveats:
- I don't game on the phone or any CPU intensive tasks. It's plenty fast for me so far.
- I don't use the speaker (only use bluetooth headphones)
As of iOS 26, iPhone also has call screening. It’s been working pretty well!
That's been the biggest upgrade for me on the beta. Loved that about Pixel phones but hated how locked down Pixels are for an Android phone. Honestly confused by Samsung hasn't rolled out something similar. There was talk of them doing it and Bixby has something similar but it's complete trash. Maybe Samsung owns a telco in Korea.
Android can screen calls, but normally your phone doesn't even ring, and if it does, it is listed as spam. They must have some kind of Google insider internet info that can recognize these types of calls.
This is big because I often receive calls from unknown numbers for work, and those get through. What sucks is that people tend to hang up if you screen the call, even if it is legit.
Apart from the call screening feature rest are pretty much standard or even better across all android foldables. I
What’s special about spam screening on Pixel? I don’t get any spam calls or texts on my iPhone.
Depending on the information Google knows about the incoming phone call:
- If Google is confident the source is spam (e.g. known spam center). The call is blocked outright. It still has a log that a call from this has been blocked.
- If it only suspects spam, Google will answer the call using AI bot, something like "Hi, I'm Google Assistant on behalf of XYZ, what's the call for?". The phone shows that it's screening a phone call, but doesn't ring. Only after the caller gives the reason, and it passes the spam check, then it rings the phone. You can always pick up the call early if you recognize what they talks about (from the transcript)
- If it's known good source (contact list, doctors,...), then it rings directly.
So far, the rate of spam I got is 0, and it screens about 20 calls a month.
Given how many times Google has warned me that existing or potential clients phoning me are Spam, your second bullet there sounds terrifying.
I'd be turning that 'feature' off first.
Just for those reading, Nomo Max on iOS replicates this feature.
This feature is a part of iOS 26 by default. No third-party app needed and it uses Apple’s rich data set on the backend.
Settings -> Apps -> Phone -> Screen unknown callers
Works very well in iOS 18
How? I get multiple everyday. Is there a setting I need to enable?