Hi, this is Wayne again with a topic “Google Pixel Fold and The Evolution of Foldable Phones”.
Google is one of the only major phone makers that hasn’t released a foldable phone yet, but that could all change very soon. If rumors and leaks are true, Google May announce a foldable phone at its developer conference on May 10th, while the rumored pixel fold would be a first for Google. Foldable phones are nothing new Samsung, Motorola, Huawei and Oppo have all released foldable phones over the last several years. Google’S entry to the market would be another sign that foldable phones are an important part of where the smartphone’s future is headed. As Google’s expected pixel fold announcement approaches, let’s take a look at how foldable phones have evolved.
The pixel fold is expected to be a book style, foldable, similar to the Galaxy Z fold, but according to nine to five Google, the actual design may look more like the Oppo Find n meaning it should have a more squarish shape. It could come in two colors. According to renders published by front page Tech and reports from nine to five, Google and win future say it could launch in June, while Samsung may be the biggest player in the foldable phone market. It wasn’t the first, a company that you’ve probably never heard of actually beat Samsung to the punch. The Royal Flex pie arrived in 2018 preceding the original Galaxy folds launch in 2019.. The Royal Flex Pie has a 7.8 inch bendable screen that wraps around the outside of the device and falls in half like a book.
Although Royal made headlines for being the first, the FlexPay had its drawbacks. Former CNET editor Lynn law wrote that it still felt like a prototype rather than a polished product and its thick design when folded made it hard to hold. But foldable phones really hit a turning point in 2019, as companies like Samsung Huawei and Motorola launched their first devices. Samsung announced the Galaxy fold in February 2019 and planned to release it in April that year, but it pushed the release date back to September.
After a small number of reviewers reported issues with the device’s screen, the original Galaxy folds, nearly two thousand dollar price – also made it a tough sell. The first Galaxy fold may not have been a hint, but it set the stage for Samsung’s current Galaxy Z, fold 4., while the overall design is the same. Samsung has made numerous improvements to the z-fold over the years that addressed some of our biggest complaints about the device it refined the design, improved the camera and made the cover screen wider, so that it feels more natural not to be outdone. Chinese Tech Giant Huawei was also working on a foldable phone of its own. Around the same time, the Huawei mate X launched in China in late 2019 after Huawei showcased it at Mobile World Congress earlier that same year. It didn’t take long for others to follow suit.
Oppo another smartphone Giant in China also released a foldable phone phone called the find n in 2021. Microsoft also launched two foldable phones under its surface Duo line. Unlike the Galaxy Z fold, those phones consist of two screens joined together by a hinge. The first wave of foldables was all about making it easier to fit a tablet size screen in your pocket, but the next wave was all about making existing smartphones more portable.
By bringing back the flip phone Motorola relaunched the Razer as a foldable flip phone in November 2019.. It has since launched two newer versions, although the most recent model is only available in China. The 2019 Razer made the flip phone cool again, but it had some drawbacks.
Among the biggest was its fifteen hundred dollar price, which seemed High, considering its Hardware was more like that of a mid-range phone, except for its folding screen. Of course, Samsung followed by launching the Galaxy Z flip in February 2020, its first clamshell style, foldable phone. As of 22 21, the Galaxy Z flip 3 was the most popular foldable phone. According to Market Research, firm omdia following the Motorola Razer and Galaxy Z, flip Huawei and Oppo also launched flip phones of their own flip phones, like the Galaxy z-flip caught on more quickly. For a couple of reasons, first, the form factor is already familiar since many of today’s smartphone owners also used flip phones back in the early 2000s.
These new, smart flip phones are also usually cheaper than the book style. Foldables, like the Galaxy Z fold and the idea of making your current phone smaller, is an easy selling point that doesn’t require as much justification as a tablet. Sized phone there’s no doubt that foldables have come a long way over the last four years from their design to their processors and cameras. Foldables have improved a great deal since 2019., for example, Samsung increased the size of the Galaxy z-flips cover screen to make it much more useful when closed, but foldables still only account for a fraction of the global smartphone market. The biggest Factor holding back foldable phones is price. Foldable phones typically cost a few hundred dollars more than your average phone, especially book style foldables. Like the Galaxy Z fold.
These larger foldables can also feel a bit clunky when closed, making them hard to use as a regular phone. But most importantly, companies like Samsung still need to come up with interesting software features that tell us why phones with foldable screens are useful in the first place. Samsung is trying to address this with a feature called Flex mode which splits apps between the top and bottom portions of the screen when folded halfway right now, the best use case for Flex mode is giving your Galaxy Z flip a built-in tripod when taking photos. If Google does release a pixel fold, it’ll be interesting to see how it decides to approach these challenges, and I think, there’s a lot of opportunity for Google to really make the pixel fold stand out. Just look at what it’s already done with its regular pixel phones.
The software is a big part of what sets pixel devices apart from other Android phones on Pixel phones. You can have the Google Assistant wait on hold for you, for example, and you can also see how long you might have to wait on hold just by dialing a phone number. Google has also introduced some really useful camera tricks that you can’t get elsewhere like Photo and blur which sharpens old photos. These are examples of Google thinking creatively about improving two of the most basic things.
People use their phones for making calls and taking pictures. I really hope it applies some of that thinking to foldable phones too, we’ll likely know more on May 10th, when Google holds its i o keynote. So what do you want to see in the pixel fold? Let me know in the comments and don’t forget to follow.
Cnet for more coverage of foldable phones and Google, I O thanks for watching and I’ll see you next time. .