Pixel 9 Pro Fold doesn’t see any YoY improvement in bend test

The hinge still isn’t the weakest part of Pixel 9 Pro Fold in a durability and bend test, as well as subsequent teardown, from JerryRigEverything. 

The Gorilla Glass Victus 2 cover screen (Actua) “scratches at a level six with deeper groves at a level seven,” while the Ultra Thin Glass inner display (Super Actua) scratches at a level two, with fingernails also able to cause damage. 

The exterior of the phone is made of an “aerospace-grade high-strength aluminum alloy,” including the surface of the hinge. The actual internals of the hinge is “multi-alloy steel.”

When exposed to dirt and sand, we hear the hinge start grinding since there’s no dust protection (IPX8). 

A closed bend test reveals no problems for the Pixel 9 Pro Fold, but the issues arise when it’s open and bent from the back. Despite the left/right back panels meeting and covering the spine of the hinge, “there doesn’t appear to be a whole lot of resistance.”

At issue are the case’s antenna lines next to the hinge, which is what happened last year. In this bend test, it’s the pair on the cover screen side, with said display popping off from the case rather than breaking. Meanwhile, the hinge itself, like on the original, survives. 

In comparison, Samsung’s Z Fold 6 survived a similar test, with the two halves locking out and ultimately not catastrophically bending. 

The video proceeds into a teardown, with iFixit also performing one yesterday. Underneath the cover screen is the larger battery, while the other half has the smaller cell and the motherboard around it. Like on the slab-style phones this year, the USB-C is on its own board for easier repair. 

We see the vapor chamber underneath the battery and Tensor G4, with an interesting observation from Zach: “Most of the thermal heat dissipation happens from the backside, or internal side of the device when the screen is closed, flowing from the processor to the large vapor chamber and then into the center of the Fold, which is an interesting move since the center of the phone has that plastic folding screen which I don’t think would be super great for letting heat out…”