Overview

• Zack Nelson of JerryRigEverything filmed the Pixel 10 Pro Fold breaking during a bend test and then smoking and igniting, the first on-camera phone fire in his decade of durability videos.
• The device fractured along a known weak spot at an antenna line near the hinge, the same failure point seen in earlier Pixel foldable models.
• Nelson’s sand test lodged particles in the hinge despite the phone’s IP68 marketing, producing audible grinding and raising questions about the hinge’s dust resistance.
• Video and post-test explanations point to the broken frame pinching battery layers, causing an internal short and thermal runaway that set off a nearby fire alarm.
• iFixit cautioned that the scenario reflects extraordinary stress rather than proof of a systemic defect, noting batteries should be discharged before destructive tests and that lithium-ion fires can occur when insulating layers are breached.