I recently wrote about whether the Pixel Fold is waterproof, mentioning its dust protection capabilities. However, I’ve decided to address this separately to provide a dedicated answer for those specifically interested in this topic. Let’s dive into the Pixel Fold’s dust protection aspect.
According to the international ingress protection system, the Pixel Fold boasts an IPX8 rating rating rating. In this system, the first digit after “IP” indicates the level of protection against solid particles (including dust), and the second digit represents the level of water resistance. For the Pixel Fold, the dust protection level is marked as X, denoting no dust resistance, while the water resistance level is 8, ensuring water resistance at depths up to 1.5 meters for 30 minutes. From this, we can conclude that it does not officially have any protection against dust.
What does Google say about the dust protection of the Pixel Fold?
The developer briefly described the phone’s dust protection in the Safety & Regulatory Guide for Pixel Fold: “Your device is not dust resistant. Do not expose your device to dusty environments, sand, dirt, or other fine particles, as these may scratch or damage the softer flexible display or the hinge mechanism.” This indicates that the Pixel Fold lacks specialized dust protection.
The Pixel Fold’s lack of dust protection is its hinge. Dust accumulation in the mechanism could impair its function, leading the developers to opt out of including dust protection.
What does dust protection mean for regular users?
Overall, the lack of dust protection isn’t critical. It simply means you should handle the device more carefully in dusty environments, like at the beach, to prevent sand from getting onto the phone. However, there is one particular nuisance: dust accumulates at the edges of the screen where the protective film ends. This can be particularly noticeable and annoying, as I have personally experienced.
