[DigitalToday reporter Wonsun Lee (이원선)] Google has unveiled the Pixel 11 Pro Fold, a new foldable phone, alongside the Pixel 11 lineup. On Aug. 12 (local time), IT media outlet The Verge compared the device with the previous Pixel 10 Pro Fold and Samsung Electronics' Galaxy Z Fold8.

The Pixel Fold series was not the first Android foldable phone, but it has established itself as a lineup with features that set it apart from rivals. A key difference is its passport-style design, which is wider horizontally than vertically. Google has promoted that design for several years, and Samsung Electronics applied it to the Galaxy Z Fold8 for the first time this year.

The Pixel 11 Pro Fold reduces weight by about 10 percent from the Pixel 10 Pro Fold and is about 1 mm thinner. It also strengthened durability, long seen as a weakness of foldable phones. The camera setup centers on a 48-megapixel wide-angle lens, with an ultrawide and 5x telephoto in a triple-camera array. For large-screen foldables, it focuses on AI and multitasking and improves functions for using multiple apps at the same time.

Durability in particular is cited as a strength of the Pixel Fold series. The Pixel 10 Pro Fold was the first foldable phone to apply an IP68 rating. That eased concerns that foldable phones are excessively fragile.

What about the Samsung Z Fold8. The Fold8 weighs 201 grams, the lightest in the Fold series to date, and has a 4,800 mAh battery and a 50-megapixel dual camera. The Galaxy Z Fold had been widely seen as a product for middle-aged men who value a large screen and productivity, but interest in the Fold8 has risen sharply among people in their teens to 30s and among female customers, making it popular as an MZ phone.

This comparison focuses not only on differences between the Pixel 11 Pro Fold and its predecessor, but also on how it differs from Samsung Electronics' latest foldable phone. Side-by-side comparisons of foldables with competing products released around the same time are rare, making it material that can help gauge each product's design direction.

The point is not a simple introduction of a new product, but that it clearly shows differences in foldable-phone design direction. It also shows that factors directly tied to real-world usability, such as screen ratio and durability, are becoming key benchmarks for competition.