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What exactly are Android foldables? To put it in as simple a form as possible, it’s an Android smartphone that can fold. Whether that’s a regular-sized phone that unfolds into a tablet-sized device or a regular-sized phone that folds in half. There will also be many more types of foldables coming out in the next few years. But as of right now, we only really have book-style foldable and flip-style foldable. In this article, we’re going to go more in-depth about what exactly Android Foldables are.
What operating system do foldables run on?
Currently, almost every foldable runs on Android (the only real exception are laptops that are foldables, those typically run on Windows). However, like with other smartphones, these do have different skins on board. For instance, Samsung’s smartphones run on One UI, which is put on top of Android. And that’s where all of the features really come in, for that specific form factor.
Android is a popular choice for foldable devices for one big reason. It’s open. Allowing smartphone makers to use Android almost anyway they like. Google does have a few requirements, but for the most part, smartphone makers are free to do whatever they want. With smartphone makers able to use their own skins on top of Android, to add features and such for their foldables, it makes it much easier than having to build an entire operating system from scratch. Not to mention Android is hugely popular. With over 90% market share worldwide.
What smartphone makers are producing foldables?
Most smartphone makers are working on foldables as we speak, but only a couple have some that are available to purchase. However, they are not going to be easy to get a hold of, many are out of stock quite often. These include Samsung, Motorola, Google, OPPO, OnePlus, HONOR, Huawei, and more.
Foldables are still fairly expensive, and that’s because the tech is still brand new; even though we’ve been seeing foldable for the past five years, it’s still pretty new. Right now, the cheapest foldable comes from Motorola, surprisingly. The Motorola Razr (2023), which launched last fall, is currently the cheapest, with a regular price of $499.
Other smartphone makers have announced that they are working on foldable smartphones. But currently, there are only a couple that haven’t really produced any sort of foldable device yet. Those include Apple and ASUS. One you’d expect, the other you might not even realize makes phones.
Foldables are in their fifth-generation, depending on the manufacturer, but they are still pretty early. The parts haven’t changed a whole lot, other than the hinge. But we expect that to continue to change in the coming years.
What are the benefits of a foldable smartphone?
There are many benefits to both styles of foldable smartphones. And as this part of the market progresses, we’ll likely see even more different form factors available. But let’s break down the benefits by form factor.
Clamshell benefits
The main benefit of having a clamshell smartphone is the ability to have a larger smartphone in a smaller footprint. This is especially important for women. As their clothes don’t generally have pockets in the front and when they do, they are pretty small and not that wide. That is why the Galaxy Z Flip 5 and the Motorola Razr Plus are so popular right now, compared to the likes of the Galaxy Z Fold 5.
Now this isn’t quite a benefit, but it is something that brings back some nostalgia. Being able to flip the phone close and hang up on someone. Like we could with flip phones in the 2000s and early 2010s.
Most clamshell phones also have small displays on the front, that can show you the time as well as your notifications. So you can see what notifications you have, without needing to flip the phone open, which can be very helpful and conserve some battery life.
Smartphone to Tablet size benefits
There’s more benefits for a foldable smartphone that can unfold into a tablet-sized device, than a clamshell. And it’s all in that sentence. Imagine having a phone in your pocket, that you can then unfold when you need a larger display. To read a book, or use Google Maps and there are other use-cases too, but those can be infinitely more useful on a larger tablet like display, versus a small smartphone display. Especially since tablet displays are wider.
On top of that, you could get one device that replaces two devices. And this is likely going to be how tablets exist in the future. As foldables that are actually smartphones.
Right now, this does mean that your smartphone is going to be about twice as thick and heavy as normal. Due to the fact that it is essentially two phones, with a hinge. However, some OEMs have been able to bring the weight down drastically, including the OnePlus Open and the HONOR Magic V2. Both of which are incredibly thin and lightweight for being foldable.
Does Android support foldables?
In short, yes. Google added support for foldables with Android 9 Pie in 2018. Google added even more support for foldables in Android 10, which includes better support for multi-window and multiple apps being used at the same time. It also better supports changing from the outside screen to a larger inner screen on a foldable, like the Galaxy Z Fold. Where the screen is not only a different size, but also a different aspect ratio and resolution. So it’s not as simple as just redrawing the app on the second display, which would also take more time and resources, instead of it being instant when you open the phone.
Google has support for App Continuity, starting with Android 10. What this means is that if you have an app open on the main display, then open your foldable smartphone, the app will open on that screen, where you left off. Samsung has already done this with the Galaxy Fold, ahead of Android 10.
On top of all of this, Google is also adding support for more screen aspect ratios since foldables could use anything from 1:1 to 21:9 and everything in between. Which would result in a much different experience, compared to the usual 16:9 or even 16:10.
Finally, Google has also added Multi-Resume in Android 10 and later. Essentially what this does is allow all apps that are currently being used in multi-window to be resumed at the same time. Prior to Android 10, only the ‘active’ app would resume when the phone is turned back on or opened.
Since initially adding support for foldable back in 2018, Google has continued to evolve Android to support foldable just the same as regular phones. Currently, in Android 14, there are a slew of features that help foldables and apps take better advantage of the larger screens. For example, on the Pixel Fold, you can now choose on a per-app basis, what aspect ratio you want. That means you can force Instagram to fill the screen on a foldable. Typically one of the biggest offenders of different aspect ratios.
What are the most popular Android foldables available?
There are now a ton of great foldables available. However, for those of us in the US, we’re limited to just four brands: OnePlus, Google, Samsung and Motorola. Samsung, of course, has the most experience with Foldables, having been making both flip and fold-style foldables for five generations now, and making a lot of the parts used in foldables – like the folding displays. But here are three of the most popular foldables on the market today.
OnePlus Open
The OnePlus Open landed on the scene in October of 2023, and really shocked everyone. It wasn’t just a great foldable, it was probably the best phone that OnePlus had ever made. They really hit it out of the park with the Open. One of the reasons is the software. OnePlus debuted Open Canvas, which essentially gives you more screen real estate than you actually have. So you can move apps on and off screen with ease, which just makes so much sense with foldables.
In typical OnePlus fashion, the Open also launched with the best specs available. This included the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 processor, 16GB of RAM and 512GB of storage. It boasts a 7.82-inch inner display and a 6.31-inch outer display. What makes these displays so great is that they are super bright, at 2800 nits each. But the outer display is also 18:9. Giving you a normal smartphone aspect ratio here, that is going to make using it much better than some others on the market.
Motorola Razr+
The Motorola Razr+ popped onto the scene in May 2023, and quickly became a pretty impressive foldable from Motorola. The first few Razr foldables were pretty mid, but the Razr+ did a few things that really made it stand out. For instance, the whole front-side of the phone is now a screen. Making it insanely usable without having to open the phone.
It does sport the usual 6.7-inch FHD+ 165Hz display, with a 144Hz display on the outside. There’s the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 inside, which is pretty impressive for this phone, which helps to offer some pretty good battery life too.
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5
The Galaxy Z Fold is really the OG of foldable, and now Samsung is on its fifth generation of the Fold. The Galaxy Z Fold 5 brought in a few more changes this time around, including a smaller hinge. Which helps the phone to fold completely flat – something competitors have been able to do for quite some time already. This also helped reduce the weight.
The specs are basically what you’d expect, with a 7.6-inch inner display and a 6.2-inch outer display. However, the outer display is very tall and almost looks like a TV remote. Which makes the inner display more like a square. The Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 for Galaxy is inside, along with 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage to boot.
Foldables vs ‘Dual Screen’ smartphones
While some companies are doing true foldable smartphones, there are others that are simply doing “Dual Screen” smartphones. These include LG and Microsoft. And both companies are doing it a bit differently.
The definition of a folding phone, however, is having a single screen that can fold in half. Without any sort of bezel along the hinge. If there is a bezel in the middle of the screen, then it’s a dual screen smartphone.
LG has made three dual screen smartphones so far. The LG V50 ThinQ 5G, V60 ThinQ 5G and G8X ThinQ. It’s not a bad idea. Essentially what LG is doing here is giving you a flip case that has a screen attached to it. And when you attach it to your phone, you get a second display. Which can take multi-tasking to another level. However, the big downside here is that the phone is then much larger, thicker and heavier. But the good news is, that you can remove the case whenever you want. So there’s good and bad here.
Microsoft’s dual-display smartphone, the Surface Duo, is a bit different. In fact, Microsoft is not even calling it a smartphone, just a “dual display device”. It has two 5.6-inch displays that are connected by a hinge, and when you unfold it it becomes an 8.6-inch display. Now, obviously, 5.6 inches plus 5.6 inches does not equal an 8.3-inch display. This is because when it’s unfolded, it is more like a square aspect ratio instead of a rectangle. One of the main use cases for this is using one display as a software keyboard and the other as a monitor. Making it a very tiny but usable laptop. The Microsoft Surface Duo isn’t slated to come out until the end of 2020 though.
Is an Android foldable right for me?
Android foldables are still in their infancy. Many of these are still first-generation devices that smartphone makers and Google itself, are looking to work the kinks out of first. This is part of the reason why they are so expensive. Smartphone makers don’t want these devices to be available to the masses.
However, if you are an early adopter and want to live on the bleeding edge, then an Android foldable is probably a good choice for you. For most people, a clamshell will be the better bet.
Foldables will continue to get better and better in the coming years. So if you can hold out on getting one, we’d recommend doing so. As these are going to progress pretty quickly, and it wouldn’t be surprising to see successors coming less than a year after the predecessor is announced.
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