The Pixel 9 Pro Fold is the one phone I want to carry without a case… and the one I shouldn’t

Foldables are superior engineering and design feats that end up hidden away under a cheap case.

The Pixel 9 Pro Fold is the one phone I want to carry without a case… and the one I shouldn’t
google pixel 9 pro fold unfolded display homescreen
Credit: Rita El Khoury / Android Authority

If there’s one thing you should know about me, it’s that I’m a clumsy person who should never be trusted to carry anything fragile. Despite my best efforts, I drop my phones fairly regularly, so that’s why I’ve been using TPU cases for as long as I can remember. TPU absorbs the shock of falls and bumps and has been my trusty sidekick on this tech writing and phone testing journey for over a decade.

But every time I see a foldable phone, there’s an evil little voice in my head that whispers, “You should carry this one without a case, Rita.” Every. Single. Time. But more so in recent times, as foldable phones have become so thin, so solid, and so much like regular smartphones. Gone are the days of thick bricks that can kill a man; a modern foldable like the Pixel 9 Pro Fold is barely thicker than a Pixel 9 Pro XL and perfectly sized for everyday carry and use.