Enlarge / The Pixel Fold’s inner display. (credit: Ron Amadeo)

After years of rumors and at least one canceled attempt, Google is finally releasing a foldable smartphone. Samsung has been in the foldables business for four years now, and with a ton of Chinese OEMs following in Samsung’s footsteps, you could be forgiven for thinking that the Pixel Fold would simply copy what Samsung is doing. But Google is entering the foldable world with a vision of its own, and it’s one I really like. This is the foldable I have long wished for: a device that’s a phone when folded up and a tablet when unfolded.

The usual Android tablet app selection problems—which are getting better—are still present when in tablet mode. When you do find a tablet app, though, this feels like the first foldable that delivers on the promise of letting you do more on the big screen.

The Pixel Fold hardware also feels shockingly advanced. Google has turned in both the thinnest foldable on the US market and the one with the biggest battery, which is not what you would normally expect from the software company.