When it comes to foldable smartphones, one might instinctively think that they are not very durable, especially when it comes to bending against its hinge. Surprisingly, that has not proven to be the case for the most part, but the Google Pixel Fold is the first to not disprove the assumption.
This comes, as usual, courtesy of JerryRigEverything, who puts the Google Pixel Fold through the usual paces, from scratching the screens to heating them up with a lighter. Things are as usual on the outer screen which is glass, but since the interior screen needs to bend, it’s plastic that scratches at Mohs scale of level two. Which can be a problem because unfolding phones like these involves the thumb, and the thumbnail is capable of leaving marks.
As for the burn test, with the OLED outer screen warps slightly after awhile, which is the way things usually go. But then burning the inside screen makes the phone thinks it is overheating, and shuts down on its own. The rest of the scratch test for the Google Pixel Fold goes about as expected. Which is to say that glass takes the razor blade like a champ, but the metal bits has scars left behind.
Finally, there’s the bend test. Though it is not the hinge that failed, but rather it’s the antenna lines that let go of the parts of the phone that it was holding together.
According to the video, the Google Pixel Fold is the first foldable phone on the channel to have catastrophically failed the bend test. Which is surprisingly true, as all of the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold and Flip models have mostly survived being folded against their hinges. And while most phones won’t suffer these kinds of abuse in actual use, it’s would still be better to know that your phone can survive such freak accidents.
(Source: JerryRigEverything / YouTube)
