Google's Pixel 10 Pro Fold explodes during durability testing | Hacker News Reader

Google's Pixel 10 Pro Fold explodes during durability testing

notebookcheck.net

30 pointsdidntknowyou13 comments

After criticising Google's past two Google foldable phones with no improvement made in the new model, Zack Nelson (JerryRigEverything) experiences a battery explosion while testing the new Pixel 10 Fold.

I don’t know if this amount of abuse is reasonable.

But I do know that if I had a phone that made a grating noise every time I opened it due to sand getting in the hinge I’d never buy one again.

Especially when they advertise it with an IP68 dustproof rating.

his recent iphone tests endured this (more) and still worked.

I've greatly enjoyed my Pixel 9 Pro Fold and would recommend it, with the following advice: I am very careful with mine. It's rated fairly well for water resistance, but not well for dust ingress. It's imperative that you keep it clean (I use alcohol wipes and microfiber cloth daily) and well contained in sandy or dirty environments. That said, I've taken mine to the beach and on camping/canoeing trips, albeit in a soft waterproof enclosure which still lets me use the external screen.

The title is a bit sensationalist, nothing really exploded here, it just started to smoke.

[dupe] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45584789

"Explodes" -> "Vents"

"Durability testing" -> "Creating a new fold and folding the battery directly"

He's done the same series of tests on basically every mainstream phone from at least the past 10 years. Here's him doing the same bend test on the Samsung Fold 7 for example. Unlike the Pixel 10 Fold, it doesn't break open from being folded backwards. https://youtu.be/8hgg4YEdPak?t=500

He did not fold the battery in this case. It's different.

I'd be surprised if he did one test where the battery folded 90° or more does not vent.

Isn’t the new fold the one that appears when the stock fold hinge seizes mid-fold due to dust intrusion? If so, that would be a logical outcome to plan for, what with dust being the mortal enemy of hinged displays and all, especially if the case design is well understood to respond to the eventually-certain hinge seizure event by introducing new folds into itself in one of those two locations. I wonder what one of the various battery X-ray people will find when they scan an unbroken one. Does it have cell safety dividers at the known auto-hinge points?

I wonder if it would explode if he shot it out of a cannon?

Seems like an easy way to get an incendiary device on an airliner.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com