Foldable phones are on the (very near) horizon, and Google's pledging official Android support for the new form factors from the start. The support comes both in the core Android software itself, but also in APIs for app developers to use. Google's thinking about "foldables" as effectively having two states: one when the device is opened up as a single display, and another when it's folded in half to show just a portion of the display.
But you don't want apps to only work in one mode or the other, it needs to flow from one size to the other seamlessly — Google calls this "screen continuity." This effectively just uses the current APIs available to app developers that let their apps seamlessly re-flow and reorganize for multiple screen sizes. But now, those changes will happen in real time as a display is unfolded. Think about the way that Google's apps change their density and interface elements as you rotate from portrait to landscape.
VP of Android Engineering, Dave Burke, breaks down the improvements:
And just when you thought you'd seen everything in phones, we're about to see a whole new form factor idea from Android device-makers. Foldables. They take advantage of new flexible display technology - the screen can literally bend and fold.
You can think of the device as both a phone and a tablet. Broadly, there are two variants - two-screen devices and one-screen devices. When folded, it looks like phone, fitting in your pocket or purse.
The defining feature for this form factor is something we call screen continuity. For example, you might start a video on the folded smaller screen while on the go, but later sit down and want a more immersive experience. You can simply unfold the device to get a larger tablet-sized screen. As you unfold, the app seamlessly transfers to the bigger screen without missing a beat.
For our part, we're enhancing Android to take advantage of this new form factor with as little work as necessary from you. For example, we're adding resizable flags so your app can respond to folding and unfolding.
Samsung is expected to be the first mainstream brand to launch a foldable smartphone, and Google even named it specifically in this announcement. But Samsung won't be alone — this new foldable display technology will make its way through the market in 2019.
Now, we just need developers to get on board with the APIs, many of which are already available, to make their apps flow properly to multiple screen sizes. As we've seen over the last few years with the effective death of Android tablets and uptake of running Android apps on Chromebooks, there are millions of apps out there that really aren't designed to run on anything but a 4- to 6-inch phone screen. That's going to have to change as these new flexible form factors are released to the world.
We may earn a commission for purchases using our links. Learn more.

You can now sit on your couch in VR with Oculus Quest update v26
If you've been wanting an easier way to swap between standing and seated VR on your Oculus Quest or Oculus Quest 2, Facebook has finally made it as easy as sitting on your couch.

Would you buy a Galaxy Watch running Wear OS?
Word on the street is that Samsung's next smartwatch will run Wear OS instead of Tizen. Is this something you'd be interested in?

Review: The Amazon Echo Show 10 (3rd Gen) is a truly moving Alexa speaker
Amazon's most expensive Echo ever is also it's most advanced and ambitious. Read why we think it's worth splurging on.

Time to dump Chrome: 8 alternative desktop web browsers
If you getting frustrated with the lack of privacy, slower speeds or difficulty using extensions in Chrome, it's time to switch to one of these web browsers.