Google Pixel Fold 2 wishlist: All the features I want to see

The Pixel Fold marks Google’s first foray into the foldable space and while it’s far from perfect, it’s a pretty solid first effort. Still, there are many things we’d like to see improved on the Google Pixel Fold 2. Although it’s likely still over a half year away, it’s fun to speculate what the new Fold 2 might bring to the table. Here is my wishlist for the Google Pixel Fold 2.

Google claims the Pixel Fold can make it beyond 24 hours, but this isn’t the case unless you keep your usage very light or you toggle on Extreme Battery Saver. If you actually use the foldable as intended, you’ll find it makes it through one day at most, and with heavy usage, you’ll likely be running to the charger before the day is up. I really want this to be addressed with the Pixel Fold 2.

The Pixel Fold should move from a 4,821mAh battery to at least a 5,000mAh capacity, or at the very least Google needs to improve power efficiency elsewhere. As much as I want a bigger battery, I also realize that real estate is a premium for foldables, so smaller batteries are often the name of the game.

At the very least, Google could give us faster charging so we can top the Fold 2 off fast and be back in action. The Pixel Fold is capable of up to 30W charging, which is decent for a Google phone, but we’d like to see it at least jump up to 45W to match devices like the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra.

While the Google Pixel Fold is a decent-looking phone, we’d like to see the Fold 2 further refine this design by bringing down the weight, while also reducing its crease.

The Google Pixel Fold is rather heavy at 283g. That’s significantly heftier than most candy bar phones, and even the Galaxy Z Fold 5 is lighter at 253g. On the bright side, the Pixel Fold is actually a bit smaller and thinner than the Fold. Still, I’d love to see Google further refine its design to bring the weight down to something a little more on par with the Fold 5.

The crease and bezels are kind of self-explanatory. Although Samsung has yet to completely reduce its crease, the Fold’s crease sticks out a bit more in my eye, and the larger bezels make the whole thing feel a bit like a first-generation product. Which, of course, it is. Here’s hoping the Fold 2 takes everything we love about Google’s first foldable while reducing its footprint in the process.

The Google Pixel series is known for its overheating Tensor chips, and unfortunately, that remains the case for the Google Pixel Fold. The Tensor G2 gets hot easily and often to the point it causes noticeable discomfort. Google really needs to address this. The good news is the Pixel 8’s Tensor G3 doesn’t suffer as much with excess heat, so this won’t likely be a major issue for the Pixel Fold 2.

The Google Pixel Fold has a lot of potential and while Google did make several software improvements specifically with foldable in mind, app support remains a major sore point. Support currently is worse than you’ll find on the Samsung Galaxy Fold series, as the latter has a more standard portrait-oriented display versus Google’s unique landscape orientation.

The quirky app optimizations mean that simple things like switching from tablet to phone mode can cause glitches and other issues with the display, as seen in the photo above. While we don’t mind Google’s approach to its displays, it needs to find ways to attract more developers and work out the kinks so the Fold no longer feels like a beta product.

Even though Samsung doesn’t bundle it with the device, I am a big fan of S Pen support on the Galaxy Fold 5. It seems like such a natural companion to a device that can transform into a tablet that’s the perfect size for drawing and taking notes.

I’d love for Google to compete by offering pen support of its own. Unlike Samsung, Google doesn’t necessarily need to invest in its own standard and could just offer USI support. For those who aren’t in the know, many Chromebooks currently use this standard, and while it hasn’t come to phones or even tablets formally, it would be a natural way for Google to extend pen support to more devices beyond just its laptops.

• Google Pixel Fold — June 27, 2023

We can’t say for certain if there will be a Google Pixel Fold 2, as the original device was a bit of an experiment for the company. Nonetheless, Google is clearly dedicated to foldable technology. At least some early evidence in an APK teardown suggests Google is working on another foldable codenamed Comet. However, it’s suggested this may be a Flip phone device similar to the Galaxy Z Flip series.

Even if there is another Pixel Fold model, odds are we won’t see it until the Summer of 2024 at the earliest.

The Google Pixel Fold is still a fairly new device, as it’s not even a half-year-old. There’s no reason to wait for the Fold 2 if you’re interested in Pixel’s vision for foldables. While it’s not perfect, it’ll be a while before Pixel fans have any other Google-branded option.