YouTuber JerryRigEverything has put Google’s new Pixel 10 Pro Fold through his signature durability test — and this one literally went up in smoke.
In his latest video published on Tuesday, titled “My Pixel 10 Pro Fold Exploded—Caught Live on Camera!”, Jerry (real name Zack Nelson) said Google “has tried nothing to strengthen the Pixel Fold” after two previous models failed along the same weak points.
“This is like Vader building a third Death Star with the exact same exhaust port,” he joked, before predicting another structural failure.
That prediction came true. During the bend test, the Pixel 10 Pro Fold snapped at the same antenna line near the hinge—the same weak spot as earlier models. When Nelson tried to straighten the phone, the battery ignited and began spewing toxic smoke across his workbench.
“In the decade I’ve been durability testing phones, I have never had a smartphone explode before,” he said. “The Pixel 10 Pro Fold is the first phone to go up in smoke.”
The incident set off his office fire alarm, giving viewers an unexpected look inside his workspace as he scrambled to contain the fumes. Commenters were quick to note how dangerous the situation was, warning that battery smoke from a lithium-ion cell can be highly toxic and should never be inhaled.
Nelson later explained that the battery likely ruptured internally when the phone’s frame bent, “pinching the layers of the battery together, causing a short circuit” that led to a thermal runaway reaction — the same process behind real-world battery fires.
He called the Pixel 10 Pro Fold “by far the weakest folding smartphone I’ve ever tested”, saying Google has yet to address the antenna-line design flaw that’s plagued its foldables for three generations.
As Nelson dryly put it, “Don’t put an open Pixel 10 Pro Fold in your back pocket—or your buns could get toasted.”
Check out the video below:
Is this a one-off event for this battery fire? How often would someone bend their Pixel 10 Pro Fold into pieces? But as Nelson points out, he’s never had other foldables erupt into flames while doing the same test.
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