Although Samsung isn't doing so well on the foldable phone front, Google is still actively exploring to make its own foldable device.
Like many other companies, the company said that it's also looking into foldable technology and, in fact, has been prototyping foldable displays for quite some time, which is to say the form factor isn't new to the company at all.
Google Making Foldable Prototypes
"We're definitely prototyping the technology. We've been doing it for a long time," said Mario Queiroz, development lead for the Pixel phones, as CNET reports. Sadly, he said Google still doesn't see a clear use for foldable technology at the moment.
"I don't think there's a clear use case yet," said Queiroz. That means don't expect a Pixel Fold anytime soon, or worse yet — ever.
"We're prototyping foldable displays and many other new hardware technologies, and have no related product announcements to make at this time," said Queiroz in another statement.
Google exploring foldable technology should perhaps come as no surprise. Last November, it unveiled a variant of Android that would support foldable phones natively, which was even before Samsung showed off the Galaxy Fold.
In any case, there's been a lot of interest drummed up for the technology and what kind of devices could be made out of it. But as The Verge notes, companies such as LG and Samsung have been showing off prototypes and illustrating how flexible screens might work.
Galaxy Fold Problems
Even still, perhaps the technology isn't there yet. Samsung, even with mountainous cash at the ready for research and development, hasn't quite perfected its Galaxy Fold yet. Originally scheduled to come out on April 26, Samsung promptly delayed the device when review units sent to publications started malfunctioning and outright breaking in various ways. The Galaxy Fold has yet to receive a new release date as it investigates the cause for the display mishaps.
Google might be playing the waiting game and is trying to see if a company manages to produce a perfect foldable display that's less prone to breaking than Samsung's device. Observing the industry before betting big on a largely untried and untested technology makes plenty of sense. Time will tell whether the segment becomes popular enough in the mainstream. Right now it's not clear if the foldable phone will suffer the same fate 3D TVs did.
Thoughts on foldable phones? As always, feel free to sound off in the comments section below!
