Pixel 9 Pro Fold vs. OnePlus Open: How Foldables From Google and OnePlus Compare

Google's Pixel 9 Pro Fold has arrived. Priced at $1,799, it's the company's second-gen book-style foldable phone. It comes in a larger yet lighter design than the preceding Pixel Fold and it has more RAM, new screens, and a bevy of additional AI features. 

However, the Pixel 9 Pro Fold, announced at the Made by Google event, enters an increasingly crowded foldable phone market. One of its many rivals is sure to be the OnePlus Open, which debuted last year for $1,700. The OnePlus Open isn't due for a refresh until 2025, according to rumors.

While the OnePlus Open does come $100 cheaper than the 9 Pro Fold prior to carrier discounts (and offers double the internal storage of 512GB among other advantages), it's important to keep in mind that the OnePlus Open was launched in 2023, which means it offers flagship specs from last year. For instance, it runs on the then top-of-the-line Snapdragon 8 Gen 2. 

You also lose out on a year of software upgrades since you're buying a phone from 2023. The OnePlus Open offers four years of Android OS updates, compared to the seven years of Android OS updates on the Pixel 9 Pro Fold. If you buy the OnePlus Open in 2024, you're only eligible for three years of software updates, which stretches until 2027. The Pixel 9 Pro Fold should ideally last you till 2031. This is perhaps the biggest differentiator, at least on paper, between the foldable phone offerings from OnePlus and Google. 

The Pixel 9 Fold Pro also stepped up its hardware game. It's Google's lightest foldable phone yet, shedding nearly an ounce of weight from last year: the Pixel 9 Pro Fold weighs 257 grams, compared to 283 grams in 2023. But the OnePlus Open is even more lightweight, measuring just 239 grams. However, the Pixel Fold 9 Pro does have the edge in terms of thinness. It outslims the Z Fold 6 by roughly 1.7 millimeters.

Along with a thinner design, the Pixel 9 Pro Fold has a better IP-rating of IPX8 compared to the Open's IPX4 rating. The IPX8 rating means it can withstand submersion under 1.5 meters of water for up to 30 minutes, the same as the Galaxy Z Fold 6. While the IPX4 rating means the Open isn't rated to be submerged in water, it should still be able to handle light rain or accidental splashes. Neither phone offers protection against dust ingress, which is common for foldables. In fact, no other folding phone is rated to fully keep out dust particles -- aside from the 2023 Motorola Razr Plus, which is protected against dust with an IP54 rating. The Galaxy Z Fold 6, is protected against solid objects larger than 1 millimeter but still susceptible to sand and smaller particles.

Each of the two phones have a total of five cameras apiece: three rear cameras including a telephoto camera as well as two front-facing cameras (one above the external cover display and one on the inner screen). The OnePlus Open's telephoto is capable of 3x optical zoom (this camera is also found on the OnePlus 12), while the 9 Pro Fold can do 5x zoom. 

Read more: Pixel Fold vs. OnePlus Open: A Very Expensive Camera Phone Comparison

Both devices also each have large batteries, but the OnePlus Open's has a slightly larger battery capacity of 4,805 mAh compared to the Pixel 9 Pro Fold's 4,650 mAh -- with more capacity sometimes (but not always) correlating with longer battery life. Unlike the Pixel 9 Pro Fold, the OnePlus Open lacks wireless charging support. But in a break from the new normal the OnePlus Fold includes a 67-watt charger in the box (albeit one that is USB-A to USB-C), which should recharge faster than the Pixel 9 Pro Fold's 45-watt charger. A majority of smartphones sold in the US don't ship with a charging brick inside the box.

For more details on how the phones differ, take a look at our specs chart below.