This is Google’s new foldable phone

This is Google’s new foldable phone

Just days before its product launch, Google released an early look at its first foldable smartphone.

In a video posted to Twitter and YouTube, the company teased a Pixel phone with a vertical hinge that could be opened to reveal a tablet-like display.

The company will host its annual developer conference at its headquarters in Mountain View, California, next week, where it is rumored to also unveil the Pixel 7a budget phone, the latest Android operating system and advances to its AI-powered Bard chatbot.

While the company didn’t reveal the specs for the Pixel Fold, it’s becoming increasingly common for companies to showcase products leading up to their own events in an effort to build excitement and set expectations at a difficult time to surprise viewers with something unexpected.

Despite the high interest in foldable phones — and a resurgence in ’90s-style flip phones among celebrities and TikTok influencers — the foldable market is relatively small; with Samsung dominating the category, followed by others including Motorola/Lenovo, Oppo, and Huawei. According to ABI Research, foldable and flexible displays will comprise about 0.7% of the smartphone market in 2021, and in 2022 it is expected to fall to just 2%.

The high price point has limited consumer use as well. The Pixel Fold is rumored to start at $1,700.

It’s no surprise that Google is jumping into the world of foldables but it’s possible that it’s waiting to launch its own version until the technology becomes more advanced. Early versions of the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold, for example, had problems with the screen and most apps were not well optimized for the design.

“Google has been working to bring a better user experience to foldable devices from a software perspective, so when coupled with improvements on the hardware side, market conditions are now right for the Pixel Fold,” said Michael Inouye, an analyst at ABI Research. .