What you need to know
- Google believes Apple's entry with the iPhone Duo validates a foldable category Android brands have built for years.
- The company believes the iPhone Duo's halo effect could increase consumer interest in Android foldable phones as well.
- A bigger foldable market could finally push developers to properly optimize more apps for Android's larger displays.
Apple is finally entering the foldable smartphone market with the iPhone Duo very soon. And Google actually thinks Apple's arrival in the category could be a good thing.
We've been waiting for a foldable iPhone for years, but it's finally no longer a dream. Apple is opening pre-orders for the iPhone Duo next month, and as expected, the company's entrance into the category is expected to shake things up. Counterpoint even believes Apple could capture around 25% of the foldable smartphone market within a year of the iPhone Duo's launch.
So technically, Google and its Android partners should be worried about Apple jumping into the foldable phones market, right? Apparently not. In fact, Google believes Apple's arrival could be beneficial for the entire category.
Android president Sameer Samat sat down with Tom's Guide this week to talk about the foldable market and the iPhone Duo. Samat, who says he personally uses the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8, praised the multitasking experience and noted that Android is often where consumers get to experience new technologies first, with foldables being one example.
But rather than seeing the iPhone Duo as a threat, Google views Apple's entrance as a long-awaited validation of the foldable category that Android manufacturers have been building for years.
Despite the momentum Apple currently has, Samat believes the halo effect of the iPhone Duo could actually increase consumer interest in Android foldables as well. More importantly, he believes a larger foldable market will finally give developers more reason to properly optimize their apps for bigger folding displays.
That's one area where Apple already appears to have an advantage. The company showcased apps like Netflix and Slack properly optimized for the iPhone Duo, while some of those same apps on Android foldables still look like stretched-out versions of their regular phone interfaces.
Samat, however, believes Apple's entrance could help change that. As foldables become more popular across both platforms, developers have more incentive to invest in the form factor, and Google says developers are already in conversations or actively working on better foldable-optimized Android apps.
