Google foldable phone allegedly confirmed in an industry report
Although they haven't sold like pancakes, probably because of their expensive price tags, it seems that foldables and other unconventional form factors like rollables are slowly but surely become ordinary parts of the mobile industry. Even Apple is rumored to be working on one but that might still be years away. Just as surprising, Google hasn't taken a backseat to this development heavily pushed by Samsung and has, in fact, been working with the phone maker to prepare Android for foldable devices. That might be because Google itself is working on a foldable phone of its own and it will also need Samsung help to make it.
Technically, it will be Samsung Display, Samsung's screen-making business, that will provide the key component for this foldable Google device. It is, after all, one of the extremely few display manufacturers producing flexible displays for use in phones so it's really no surprise that industry sources claim that Google will be getting its supply from Samsung. Ironically, it will be used to create a device to compete with Samsung Electronics, the Samsung business that makes Galaxy phones, including the Galaxy Z Fold and Z Flip series.
Samsung Display's particular advantage is its use of UTG or Ultra-Thin Glass, a material it developed together with OLED company Dowoo Insys. Unlike the plastic material on top of the flexible screen it used in the first Galaxy Fold, UTG offers not only better durability but a texture more similar to what regular smartphone displays have today. That said, it's still softer than regular screens but the latest iteration will hopefully be more resistant to scratches, especially from an S Pen stylus.
There is, however, scant information about Google's foldable phone but we might not have to wait too long for rumors to start flowing. According to the report, Samsung Display plans to make its foldable displays and UTG available to other smartphone makers by the second half of the year. Hopefully, we'll hear more about foldable phones from Google and maybe even Apple by then.
On the business side of things, some might wonder about the strategy of Samsung Display supplying foldable screens to Samsung's rivals. It is, however, confident that Samsung's lead in the foldable phone space is so far ahead to worry about the competition catching up. It could also indirectly benefit Samsung Electronics in making foldable phones a more common sight in the market.