Technologies

Google Chose Durability Over Sleekness for the Pixel 10 Pro Fold, and That’s OK

Commentary: While Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold 7 prioritizes thinness, the Pixel 10 Pro Fold focuses on battery life and dust resistance. Take your pick.

When Samsung debuted the Galaxy Z Fold 7 last month, the spotlight was on how thin and light that foldable phone is. On Wednesday, Google took a different approach when unveiling the Pixel 10 Pro Fold, focusing more on internal upgrades like a larger 5,015-mAh battery and an IP68 rating for dust and water resistance — a major step in the world of foldables — while sticking roughly with the design of the Pixel 9 Pro Fold.

Both Samsung’s and Google’s updates are designed to make foldable phones feel as «normal» as possible. In an ideal world, foldables would be the full package: slim, tough and powered by a big battery. But in the real world, where these niche devices are still finding their footing, you still have to choose between sleekness and durability. And Google is betting you’ll pick the latter.

«The foldable market has matured to the point where one-[size]-fits-all does not apply anymore,» said Francisco Jeronimo, vice president of devices at IDC. «Some users will value a device that feels as sleek, light and portable as a traditional flagship phone.» That’s where the 215-gram Galaxy Z Fold 7 comes in, which is just 4.2mm thick when open and 8.9mm when closed.

«Some other users will prioritize function, reliability and peace of mind over aesthetics,» Jeronimo continued. «The Pixel 10 Pro Fold addresses the top concerns that have historically held consumers back: durability and battery life. Its IP68 rating — a first for this type of foldable — offers a level of confidence for anyone who is less careful using the phone in environments more prone to damage. This user is willing to accept a heavier device in exchange for a more resilient one.»

Ultimately, it comes down to personal preference. My preference, of course, would be to have it all, but we’re just not there yet.

A different approach to standing out

If you’re spending a lot of money on a phone, you want to make sure it ticks all the key boxes. And foldable phones are far from cheap. The Galaxy Z Fold 7 starts at a whopping $2,000 ($100 more than last year’s Z Fold), while the Pixel 10 Pro Fold maintains its $1,799 price tag from last year (still not pocket change).

Phone manufacturers have to set their offerings apart to lure your precious dollars. Loading a bunch of AI features, which both Samsung and Google do, is only half the battle. The main appeal of a foldable, after all, is the innovative design. Finding ways to make that design more practical can be a huge selling point, hence Samsung’s and Google’s (varied) efforts.

Samsung slimming down its Z Fold 7 helps it feel like a standard slate phone when closed, at 8.9mm thick and just 4.2mm when open, weighing 215g. The 200-megapixel main camera adds to the premium feel and puts it on par with the top-of-the-line S25 Ultra. But there is a major trade-off: the Fold 7’s battery is a meager 4,400mAh. Plus, it has an IP48 rating, meaning it’s only protected against solid objects larger than 1mm — not smaller granules like finer sand.

The Pixel 10 Pro Fold solves for those battery and IP shortcomings, but with the trade-off of strongly resembling last year’s model rather than slimming down. It’s 1 gram heavier than the 9 Pro Fold, clocking in at 258g. The 10 Pro Fold is 10.8mm thick when closed and 5.2mm thick when open. For those who would rather opt for day-to-day longevity and sturdiness, it’s not too bad an exchange. But it does admittedly feel like less of a flex, once you’ve seen and held a thinner phone like the Z Fold 7.

There is one key area where I feel like Google isn’t quite living up to the «Pro» name in its Pixel 10 Pro Fold: the cameras. I have yet to test the phone’s cameras, but at least on paper, the Fold’s specs are a step down from what you’ll get on the Pixel 10 Pro and 10 Pro XL.

The 10 Pro Fold has a 48-megapixel wide-angle (like the much cheaper Pixel 9A), 10.5-megapixel ultrawide and 10.8-megapixel telephoto camera, while the non-folding Pro models have a 50-megapixel wide-angle, 48-megapixel ultrawide and 48-megapixel telephoto camera. The Fold also lacks the impressive Pro Res Zoom feature that uses generative AI to snap sharper images at up to 100x zoom, sticking with the Super Res Zoom that delivers acceptable images at 20x zoom.

I may be spoiled by Samsung’s loading of its top-end camera onto its thin foldable, but I feel like Google could have also pushed to add those truly Pro specs to the Fold, especially since they had more room to play with. But again, you can’t have it all.

A growing niche

A CNET survey from July found that 64% of people aren’t interested in buying a foldable smartphone in the next year, but a notable 13% said they were keen to make that leap. As foldables become sleeker, more powerful and more durable, it’s likely that a growing number of people will consider them when purchasing their next smartphone.

«The hardware and software advancements in the Pixel 10 Pro Fold and Galaxy Z Fold 7, as well as other devices such as the Honor Magic V5, signal that the foldable category is rapidly maturing and knocking down the barriers that have prevented mainstream adoption,» Jeronimo said.

IDC predicts the foldable market will grow 6% year over year in 2025 (compared with 3.9% in 2024). In 2027, it could jump to 11% year-over-year growth.

«The stronger performance will be driven by stronger demand for foldable devices overall, Apple’s potential launch of a foldable iPhone and more models at lower price points from Samsung, Huawei, Motorola and other Chinese brands,» Jeronimo said. «Nevertheless, we expect foldables to continue representing less than 3% of total sales by 2029.»

And as competition inevitably ramps up, so, too, will innovation. And maybe someday, you won’t have to choose what to prioritize.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Mini Crossword Answers for Saturday, Feb. 21

Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for Feb. 21.

Looking for the most recent Mini Crossword answer? Click here for today’s Mini Crossword hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Wordle, Strands, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

Need some help with today’s Mini Crossword? It’s the long Saturday version, and some of the clues are stumpers. I was really thrown by 10-Across. Read on for all the answers. And if you could use some hints and guidance for daily solving, check out our Mini Crossword tips.

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: Tips and Tricks for Solving The New York Times Mini Crossword

Let’s get to those Mini Crossword clues and answers.

Mini across clues and answers

1A clue: «Jersey Shore» channel
Answer: MTV

4A clue: «___ Knows» (rhyming ad slogan)
Answer: LOWES

6A clue: Second-best-selling female musician of all time, behind Taylor Swift
Answer: MADONNA

8A clue: Whiskey grain
Answer: RYE

9A clue: Dreaded workday: Abbr.
Answer: MON

10A clue: Backfiring blunder, in modern lingo
Answer: SELFOWN

12A clue: Lengthy sheet for a complicated board game, perhaps
Answer: RULES

13A clue: Subtle «Yes»
Answer: NOD

Mini down clues and answers

1D clue: In which high schoolers might role-play as ambassadors
Answer: MODELUN

2D clue: This clue number
Answer: TWO

3D clue: Paid via app, perhaps
Answer: VENMOED

4D clue: Coat of paint
Answer: LAYER

5D clue: Falls in winter, say
Answer: SNOWS

6D clue: Married title
Answer: MRS

7D clue: ___ Arbor, Mich.
Answer: ANN

11D clue: Woman in Progressive ads
Answer: FLO

Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections: Sports Edition Hints and Answers for Feb. 21, #516

Here are hints and the answers for the NYT Connections: Sports Edition puzzle for Feb. 21, No. 516.

Looking for the most recent regular Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle and Strands puzzles.

Today’s Connections: Sports Edition is a tough one. I actually thought the purple category, usually the most difficult, was the easiest of the four. If you’re struggling with today’s puzzle but still want to solve it, read on for hints and the answers.

Connections: Sports Edition is published by The Athletic, the subscription-based sports journalism site owned by The Times. It doesn’t appear in the NYT Games app, but it does in The Athletic’s own app. Or you can play it for free online.

Read more: NYT Connections: Sports Edition Puzzle Comes Out of Beta

Hints for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections: Sports Edition puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: Old Line State.

Green group hint: Hoops legend.

Blue group hint: Robert Redford movie.

Purple group hint: Vroom-vroom.

Answers for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Yellow group: Maryland teams.

Green group: Shaquille O’Neal nicknames.

Blue group: Associated with «The Natural.»

Purple group: Sports that have a driver.

Read more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here Are the Most Popular Letters Used in English Words

What are today’s Connections: Sports Edition answers?

The yellow words in today’s Connections

The theme is Maryland teams. The four answers are Midshipmen, Orioles, Ravens and Terrapins.

The green words in today’s Connections

The theme is Shaquille O’Neal nicknames. The four answers are Big Aristotle, Diesel, Shaq and Superman.

The blue words in today’s Connections

The theme is associated with «The Natural.» The four answers are baseball, Hobbs, Knights and Wonderboy.

The purple words in today’s Connections

The theme is sports that have a driver. The four answers are bobsled, F1, golf and water polo.

Technologies

Wisconsin Reverses Decision to Ban VPNs in Age-Verification Bill

The law would have required websites to block VPN users from accessing «harmful material.»

Following a wave of criticism, Wisconsin lawmakers have decided not to include a ban on VPN services in their age-verification law, making its way through the state legislature.

Wisconsin Senate Bill 130 (and its sister Assembly Bill 105), introduced in March 2025, aims to prohibit businesses from «publishing or distributing material harmful to minors» unless there is a reasonable «method to verify the age of individuals attempting to access the website.»

One provision would have required businesses to bar people from accessing their sites via «a virtual private network system or virtual private network provider.»

A VPN lets you access the internet via an encrypted connection, enabling you to bypass firewalls and unblock geographically restricted websites and streaming content. While using a VPN, your IP address and physical location are masked, and your internet service provider doesn’t know which websites you visit.

Wisconsin state Sen. Van Wanggaard moved to delete that provision in the legislation, thereby releasing VPNs from any liability. The state assembly agreed to remove the VPN ban, and the bill now awaits Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers’s signature.

Rindala Alajaji, associate director of state affairs at the digital freedom nonprofit Electronic Frontier Foundation, says Wisconsin’s U-turn is «great news.»

«This shows the power of public advocacy and pushback,» Alajaji says. «Politicians heard the VPN users who shared their worries and fears, and the experts who explained how the ban wouldn’t work.»

Earlier this week, the EFF had written an open letter arguing that the draft laws did not «meaningfully advance the goal of keeping young people safe online.» The EFF said that blocking VPNs would harm many groups that rely on that software for private and secure internet connections, including «businesses, universities, journalists and ordinary citizens,» and that «many law enforcement professionals, veterans and small business owners rely on VPNs to safely use the internet.»

VPNs can also help you get around age-verification laws — for instance, if you live in a state or country that requires age verification to access certain material, you can use a VPN to make it look like you live elsewhere, thereby gaining access to that material. As age-restriction laws increase around the US, VPN use has also increased. However, many people are using free VPNs, which are fertile ground for cybercriminals.

In its letter to Wisconsin lawmakers prior to the reversal, the EFF argued that it is «unworkable» to require websites to block VPN users from accessing adult content. The EFF said such sites cannot «reliably determine» where a VPN customer lives — it could be any US state or even other countries.

«As a result, covered websites would face an impossible choice: either block all VPN users everywhere, disrupting access for millions of people nationwide, or cease offering services in Wisconsin altogether,» the EFF wrote.

Wisconsin is not the only state to consider VPN bans to prevent access to adult material. Last year, Michigan introduced the Anticorruption of Public Morals Act, which would ban all use of VPNs. If passed, it would force ISPs to detect and block VPN usage and also ban the sale of VPNs in the state. Fines could reach $500,000.