Pixel 9 Pro Fold: First 20 Things To Do

Quick summary: Here are the first 20 things I do on a new Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold, in the order I do them.

Home screen

1. Wallpaper: press and hold the home screen, tap Wallpaper and style > More wallpapers. Pick from categories like landscapes, use your own photo, try Emoji Workshop, or make an AI wallpaper: choose a category (like Luminous), change the words (I swapped “pink” for “coral”), tap Inspire me, then Let’s go, and tap the check mark to set it.
2. Google feed: in Home settings, turn off Swipe to access Google app if you don’t want the feed. I keep it on.

Network and notifications

3. Public network alerts: Settings > Network and internet > Internet > Network preferences, turn off Notify for public networks.
4. Notification history: Notifications > Notification history, turn it on so you can find notifications you missed or swiped away.

Battery

5. Battery percentage: turn it on.
6. Adaptive charging: I turn it off so the phone charges to 100% as fast as it can. Keep it on if you plan to keep the phone for years.

Sound

7. Volumes and ringtone: set media, call, ring and alarm volumes, and pick a ringtone. There are a bunch of free ones.
8. Spatial audio: a wider sound, more like an arena than a closed room. You can turn it on for the speakers and wired headphones.
9. Now Playing: turn it on. It identifies songs playing around you and keeps a history. I also turned on the search button on the lock screen for songs.
10. Vibration and haptics: I turn them off, but leave them on if you like them.
11. Notification and alarm sounds: pick your default notification and alarm sounds.
12. Clear Calling and system sounds: turn on Clear Calling for clearer calls. It doesn’t send audio to Google, and it works on Wi-Fi calling and most networks. I turn off dial pad, screen lock, charging and tap sounds.

Display

13. Lock screen: choose how much notification content shows, turn on device controls without unlocking, add shortcuts like the camera or flashlight, and set the dynamic clock, always show time and info (uses more battery), tap to check and lift to check.
14. Continue apps on the cover screen: choose Always, Swipe up to continue (what I use) or Never for what happens when you close the phone with an app open.
15. Screen timeout and attention: set 2 minutes and turn on Screen attention so it stays on while you’re looking at it.
16. Dark theme, size and navigation: I keep dark theme on all the time (or schedule it). Adjust font size, display size and bold text, choose gestures or three buttons, and tweak the back sensitivity.
17. Touch sensitivity: turn on screen protector mode if you use one. I leave adaptive touch on.

Security and safety

18. Face and fingerprint unlock: under Security and privacy > Device unlock, set your PIN or pattern. For Face Unlock, I’d turn on require eyes to be open, turn off always require confirmation and turn on skip lock screen. For Fingerprint Unlock, turn on touch to unlock anytime so you don’t have to wake the screen first.
19. Safety and emergency: add your medical info and emergency contacts, turn on Emergency SOS (press the power button 5 times to share your location), and check Satellite SOS (you can try a demo) and car crash detection. In Wireless emergency alerts, I turn off test alerts.

Updates and camera

20. Updates and 4K video: check System > Software updates (I had a new one waiting). Then in the Camera’s Video settings, set the resolution to 4K (I keep it at 4K 30). Check the front camera too.

Get it

• Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold at Best Buy