Did Google lie about the Pixel 10 Pro Fold's IP68 dust resistance? Yes, as per this video

When Google unveiled the Pixel 10 Pro Fold, it didn’t just sell us on the sleek design or that ambitious new gearless hinge. It sold us on confidence. The kind of confidence that says, “Go ahead, spill your coffee, drop me in the sand — I’m IP68 rated.” That’s a big deal, because no other foldable has managed to hit that certification. Not Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold 7 (IP48), not OPPO’s Find N5 (IPX8/IPX9), and not even Xiaomi’s or Vivo’s top-tier foldables. Google claimed it had cracked the code, literally sealing the deal by eliminating the hinge gears that previously allowed dust in.

But then came JerryRigEverything, the YouTube torture lab where phones go to either prove their worth or meet their doom. Zack Nelson’s latest durability test on the Pixel 10 Pro Fold left us with more questions than answers. Somewhere between the hinge grinding and the phone bursting into smoke, an eyebrow-raising observation slipped under the radar: dust did get into the hinge.

That’s not supposed to happen on an IP68-rated device. At least, not according to Google’s own blog post, where designer Sangsoo Park proudly described how the team’s “gearless hinge” closed all the tiny spaces that used to let dust sneak in. It’s that very engineering tweak, Google said, that made the Pixel 10 Pro Fold the first foldable ever to achieve full IP68 water and dust resistance.

Yet, here we are watching fine particles easily enter the hinge on YouTube.

Now, before anyone rushes to call Google’s IP certification a hoax, it’s important to note that Zack’s tests aren’t scientific. He’s not simulating a controlled lab environment. Rather, he’s throwing sand, bending frames, and literally snapping phones in half to see how much punishment they can take. Still, what we saw looked… bad. Because, even if it’s not a “lab condition,” most users live in the real world, where pocket lint, dust, and dirt are constant companions. So, if dust is managing to get in during a “torture test,” what does that say about daily use?

To make matters worse, the Pixel 10 Pro Fold seems to have inherited its ancestors’ Achilles heel: the antenna lines. According to Zack, the antenna placements appear unchanged from the previous two folds, both of which also broke in the same area during his durability testing. You’d think Google would have reinforced that weak point by now, but nope. Zack’s bend test showed the Fold once again cracking under pressure. And this time, literally bursting into smoke.

So yes, the Pixel 10 Pro Fold might be “Google’s most durable foldable ever,” but that’s like saying a third pancake is the least burnt one in the batch. Now, the big question remains: Did Google overpromise? Or are we misunderstanding how IP testing translates to real-world resilience? After all, the IP rating involves controlled exposure to dust and water, not being sandblasted by a YouTuber.

Still, there’s something unsettling about seeing dust creep into a phone that’s supposed to be sealed tight. Especially when Google proudly claimed, “You shouldn’t have to give up the normal ways you use a phone to use a foldable.” Maybe the Pixel 10 Pro Fold isn’t lying. Maybe it’s just another reminder that lab results don’t always survive the real world. But if you’ve been watching this saga unfold since the Pixel Fold and Pixel 9 Pro Fold days, you might be wondering how many “most durable ever” folds we’ll have to go through before that line finally holds up.

So, what do you think? Did Google stretch the truth about the Pixel 10 Pro Fold’s IP68 rating or are we expecting too much from a foldable that still has to, well, fold?

Let’s talk about it in the comments.