I was excited for my Pixel 9 Pro Fold to arrive. Then I used the Honor Magic V3

One interesting phone that launched last year is the Google Pixel Fold . It was Google's first foray into foldable phones, and it offered a glimpse into Google's vision for the future of foldable phones. However, like many first-generation products, it wasn't without flaws.

This year, Google unveiled an improved vision for foldable phones in August, and I was cautiously excited. The Pixel 9 Pro Fold features better specs, an improved camera, and an improved design. It's the second-generation foldable I wanted Google to launch, and it's close to being the phone I'm likely to keep in my pocket.

One week later, I started using the Honor Magic V3. It has refined foldable hardware that no one else has been able to compete with, and it makes the Pixel 9 Pro Fold feel less special. Here's why.

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Honor Magic V3: Reviewing the world's thinnest foldable phone [Video]

The Honor Magic V3 measures just 4.35mm opened out. And when it's closed, it's barely any thicker than an iPhone 15 Pro Max

Why I was excited for the Pixel 9 Pro Fold

Fixing the problems with the first-generation

Many things made the first-generation Pixel Fold a challenge to use. Like the first-generation Samsung Galaxy Fold, the design and form factor were not conducive to the productivity chops you'd expect from a foldable. Further, the camera, performance, and battery life fell short of even the most conservative expectations.

I was at the Made by Google event when Google launched the Pixel 9 Pro Fold. As they revealed each feature, I remember checking each feature off a mental checklist of what I hoped to see. The sixth generation Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 didn't revolutionize Samsung's foldable lineup, so seeing Google make wholesale changes that address critical reviewer and consumer feedback was refreshing.

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Comparing Pixel 9 Pro Fold to its main competitors

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The Pixel Fold didn't fold flat, but the Pixel 9 Pro Fold does. The Pixel Fold was too wide and short to be comfortable in one hand. The Pixel 9 Pro Fold is ergonomically friendly. The Pixel Fold was slow, buggy, and felt much like a first-generation product. The Pixel 9 Pro Fold is fast and fluid. It feels like Google has been making foldable phones for as long as Samsung.

The Pixel 9 Pro Fold fixed all the problems, and Google paired it with exciting smart software features. Made You Look makes it effortless to take photos of younger family members by enticing them to look at the front screen while you take a picture. Gemini AI features are prevalent throughout the software and offer a generative AI feature that is easy to use, useful, and mostly intuitive.

Walking out of the Made by Google event, I felt a rush of excitement that I hadn't felt for a while. I eagerly awaited my Pixel 9 Pro Fold, at least until the following week when I attended an Honor briefing in London. That event and my time with the Honor Magic V3 changed my opinions about foldables.

How the Honor Magic V3 changed my opinion

The Magic V3 is everything I thought the Pixel 9 Pro Fold was

Compared to its predecessor and many of the competition, the Pixel 9 Pro Fold is thinner, lighter, and sleeker. However, compared to the Honor Magic V3, the Pixel 9 Pro Fold is the opposite.

Honor's latest foldable is one of the best foldable phones thanks to an impressively thin design, fast charging, and fantastic display. It has great speakers and excellent cameras. The cover screen is also better, thanks to a symmetrical display with smaller, more uniform bezels.

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These changes make the Magic V3 more comfortable in the hand. This is the biggest difference between the two. The Pixel 9 Pro Fold still doesn't nail the ergonomic feel, while the Magic V3 feels perfect in the hand. In day-to-day use, this makes a difference to the effectiveness of the front screen.

What Google does better than Honor

A battle between better hardware and more refined software

I used the Honor Magic V3 to take a lot of pictures while at IFA 2024, and the camera delivered an excellent experience. The 50MP main camera is paired with a 50MP periscope photo and offers 3.5x optical zoom and a 40MP ultrawide camera. The front-facing camera is a 20MP shooter.

In comparison, the Pixel 9 Pro Fold has inferior camera specs (48MP main, 10.8MP telephoto with 5x optical zoom, and a 10.5MP ultrawide). However, Google has long proved that software matters more than raw hardware. The Pixel 9 Pro Fold camera is backed by Google's color science and camera prowess and delivers excellent all-around photos. It's more consistent and reliable, although it's a close fight between the two.

Similarly, the software is slightly more polished on the Pixel 9 Pro Fold. I like how MagicOS handles the notification drawer and many of Honor's other little touches. Still, the Pixel software experience is more refined. The Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 processor inside the Honor Magic V3 is objectively better than the Tensor G4 inside the Pixel 9 Pro Fold. However, the latter delivers an equally fast and smooth experience that belittles the fact that it's a Tensor processor.

It's a choice between hardware and experience

Honor has the best hardware bar none, but Google has a slightly more polished overall experience. The reality is that Honor can continue to refine its experience, but the Pixel 9 Pro Fold's hardware won't change. While I like the Pixel 9 Pro Fold, it no longer feels as special thanks to the Honor Magic V3, which is a strong contender for my best foldable phone .