Google recently unveiled its latest hardware lineup, featuring the new Pixel 11 family alongside the Pixel Watch 5, Pixel Tag, and refreshed Pixel Buds Pro 2 and 2a. We received the Pixel 11 Pro Fold and Pixel Watch 5 for testing—here is a quick unboxing and our initial hands-on impressions.

Google Pixel 11 Pro Fold Unboxing

Inside the box you’ll find the Pixel 11 Pro Fold itself, plus a USB-C cable. No charging brick is included, but most people have enough at home anyways. First time owners of a smartphone will need to pick one up though of course.

The Pixel 11 Pro Fold still feels decent in the hands, much like last year’s model. Having a large screen is a treat when you’re watching videos or blasting through your Gmail inbox, and that hasn’t changed. There aren’t any striking differences so it feels similar to the Pixel 10 Pro Fold. If you’re upgrading, it’s not a big change at all. But for someone jumping into the foldable market from an older Pixel, you’ll feel right at home with Google’s hardware running the latest Android 17.

What has changed somewhat is the physical footprint. This year’s model is a bit thinner and lighter, down to 239 grams from 258 grams and 10.1mm folded versus 10.8mm on the Pixel 10 Pro Fold. Peak brightness is up too, hitting 3,600 nits on both screens instead of 3,000. There are slight camera upgrades as well, most notably a larger 1/1.56-inch main sensor. The Pixel 11 Pro Fold also includes Tensor G6, which is Google’s first 2nm chip.

Our Obsidian coloured model looks good, and the screen is very vivid. The camera bump on the back is still there and it’s huge. When you’re resting the phone flat and unfolded, it sits awkwardly on a table. But from a glance, the build of Google’s Pixel 11 Pro Fold looks good and dare I say Apple-like.

Opening and closing the Pixel 11 Pro Fold is a bit tricky at first if you have large hands. It’s slippery but if you leverage the side buttons it is much easier to manage.

Again, the foldable market is definitely a luxury niche market. It’s definitely not cheap and this year due to component shortages, Google increased the price across the Fold line by $100 CAD. So it’s now starting at $2,499 CAD for a 256GB Pixel 11 Pro Fold.

For perspective, $2,500 CAD plus tax gets you a lot of computer. Add $300 more and you’re in 14-inch MacBook Pro territory, or for $50 more you can pick up an upgraded M5 13-inch MacBook Air with 24GB of RAM and a 1TB SSD.

Regardless, getting the Pixel 11 Pro Fold from Google means you are first to get Android software updates, if that matters to you. If you’re already using Google hardware, the Pixel 11 Pro Fold will make you feel right at home.

I will say that nothing beats having a tonne of screen real estate with a foldable when consuming videos. It’s way better than a standard candy bar design. But again, you’ll be paying for it out the wazoo.

When folded, the Pixel 11 Pro Fold has a smaller footprint than my iPhone 17 Pro Max in a case.

The HiLight ring on the back that flashes for notifications is cool, but if you have the Pixel Watch on, you don’t really need it. Wireless charging is also faster this year at 25W (up from 15W) using Pixelsnap.

Pixel Watch 5 Unboxing

We were sent the 41mm Pixel Watch 5, which is a bit small on our wrist. The hardware feels much like last year, and the chip remains the same but this time it’s an “Accelerated” Snapdragon W5 Gen 2. You do get more RAM (3GB) which helps Gemini and double the storage at 64GB, while battery life is pretty much the same at 30 hours on this model. Google says the watch feels 20% faster overall.

So what’s new this year? One of the biggest features is the Breathing Emergency Detection, which uses the heart rate sensor, accelerometer and barometric altimeter to spot a breathing emergency and call for help. The screen also has an increased max brightness which will help when looking at your watch outdoors.

This really is an iterative update compared to last year, so there’s no point in upgrading. But for new Pixel Watch owners or those holding onto an old one, you might be better off getting last year’s model if you can find one to save some money.

As for pricing, the Pixel Watch 41mm Wi-Fi starts from $549.99 CAD (a $70 increase compared to last year), putting it in direct competition with an entry Apple Watch. You do get three band sizes in the box to accommodate wrist sizes.

Now, there are some pretty good launch offers from the Google Store to know about. You can get up to $800 with an eligible trade-in when you buy the Pixel 11 Pro Fold. Also, buying the new Fold will get you a free Pixel Watch 5 (41 mm) Wi-Fi that you see above for free. Don’t want the watch? Google will give you $475 CAD in Google Store credit on your next purchase (it’s not 1:1 sadly). That’s a decent deal and something Apple never does.

Savvy Google hardware buyers know that these new devices will always go on sale during Black Friday. Last year, we saw the Pixel 10 family get slashed across the board, but we’ll have to wait and see if similar discounts will appear this fall.

Google’s latest hardware lineup continues to refine an already polished formula, but it’s an incremental year. If you were waiting for a major design overhaul, this isn’t it. The real story here is the extra RAM to power on-device Gemini AI features. While the build quality remains top-tier and near Apple-like, the higher price tags mean existing Pixel 10 owners can comfortably skip this generation, or wait for the inevitable Black Friday discounts.