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What you need to know
- Google's Pixel 10 Pro Fold introduces a new gearless hinge that enables IP68 dust and water resistance.
- The gearless hinge replaces traditional gears with CAMs, improving durability and saving internal space.
- The new hinge design allows slimmer bezels, a larger 6.4-inch cover display, and a 5,015mAh battery.
After officially showcasing it alongside the rest of the Pixel 10 lineup, the Pixel 10 Pro Fold finally went on sale on October 8, 2025. One of its biggest advantages over other foldables is IP68 dust and water resistance, made possible by a redesigned hinge mechanism. Google has now explained what went into creating this new hinge.
The hinge is the most important (and vulnerable) part of a foldable phone. It's relatively easy for Android OEMs to make regular smartphones sleeker and more durable since they have no moving parts, but a foldable phone is a different story. Its two halves constantly move, relying on a hinge to keep everything working smoothly.
Most foldable smartphones use a hinge design with tiny gears inside. However, Sangsoo Park, an industrial designer at Google, explained in a blog post that these gears often cause problems over time. "They can be damaged and dust can get stuck between them," he said, which can lead to a degraded opening and closing experience.
That's why Google opted for a "gearless hinge" in the Pixel 10 Pro Fold. Park noted that typical hinges use four gears to allow the two halves to rotate symmetrically as the device opens and closes, but Google replaced those with a more advanced mechanical component called CAMs. This new approach helped save internal space and improve reliability.
Pixel 10 Pro Fold's hinge uses CAMs instead of traditional gears
Google claims this new hinge of the Pixel 10 Pro Fold is more reliable and will "continue to work flawlessly over time," which is especially important for a premium device with long-term software support. Park added that the new hinge also gave designers more flexibility elsewhere.
For example, the new hinge allowed Google to shrink the bezels around the cover display, pushing them closer to the hinge and slightly enlarging the screen to 6.4 inches, up from the Pixel 9 Pro Fold.
The redesigned hinge also gave Google room to fit in a larger 5,015mAh battery and achieve an IP68 rating for dust and water resistance, making the Pixel 10 Pro Fold the first foldable phone to carry that certification. In addition, it supports Qi2 magnetic charging, just like the rest of the Pixel 10 series.
While the Pixel 10 Pro Fold isn't as thin as Samsung's Galaxy Z Fold 7, and Google still has some work to do in that area, the new hinge design has helped the company deliver a foldable that feels sturdy, reliable, and, as Google describes it, one that will "continue to work flawlessly over time."
Most durable foldable phone
The Google Pixel 10 Pro Fold might look similar to its predecessor, but it brings meaningful upgrades including IP68 dust and water resistance and a larger 5,015mAh battery. Like the rest of the Pixel 10 lineup, it is powered by the new Tensor G5 chipset and runs Android 16 with several foldable-exclusive features.
