Foldable devices opened the door to a whole new world of smartphones just a few years ago, but somehow the entire Android market has settled into just two form factors — clamshell flip phones and book-style devices that open to double the width of a normal smartphone screen. As the inevitable “iPhone Fold” approaches, however, it appears that Apple is looking to revive a form factor that Android brands, including the Google Pixel, once tried but failed to stick around, and there’s an obvious reason why.
Pixel Fold, Oppo Find N and the form factor we missed
In the early foldable days, there were a few key form factors floating around. Samsung’s Galaxy Fold had a long outer display that opened into a vertically oriented inner display. Huawei and others toyed with foldable devices that opened outward and were wider when folded, similar to a standard smartphone.
But Oppo took a different route with its original foldable Find N device.
That device was a short, thick booklet. It was chunky, but it delivered a pretty remarkable hardware experience. The phone’s outer screen was wider and shorter than most smartphones, leaving the inner screen much wider and more tablet-like. It wasn’t necessarily a perfect 16:10 for media consumption, but the wider aspect ratio left the door open for some fun experiences. Oppo stuck with this for the Find N2 a year later in 2022, which was a really great piece of hardware.
Fast forward another year, and we got the first foldable device from Google, the Pixel Fold.
While this device was inherently flawed in a few key ways (which only got worse with age), the Pixel Fold still delivered a pretty remarkable experience.
It took the same design that Oppo had been using – the short, thick outer screen that opens up into a wider canvas – and just made it a bit bigger. That really opened the door to this whole idea of putting a tablet in your pocket. Google’s aspect ratio made this a better media device compared to the Galaxy Z Folds of the time, and also left a larger horizontal canvas for apps to stretch out their tablet layouts.
It was a little ahead of its time.
Samsung led the charge, but apps created today’s reality
This lost form factor was a great idea, but it didn’t stop Samsung from sticking with its long and narrow Galaxy Z Fold design, which was often criticized for the lack of usability of the external display.
But like me discussed in a post in 2022the problem with the form factor used by Oppo at the time and later by the Pixel Fold came down to apps. The simple fact of the time was that, despite many Android apps being really good on larger screens, the aspect ratio often caused a lot of problems. For every app that worked well on the wider canvas of a wide foldable device, there were others that bordered on unusable.
It was clear to me then that the Galaxy Z Fold’s setup was better for the apps that existed at the time, and that remained true for a while. In my later review of the Pixel Fold, I talked about how Google had optimized many of its apps for the Fold’s wider screen, but how third-party apps left a gaping hole in how you’d use that phone.
A taller, slightly squarer internal screen might not be ideal for some things, but the underlying truth was and still is that these screens work better on average for apps. When an app tries to fit a larger canvas, it usually lands on horizontal layout. Unless it’s a full tablet screen, many Android apps simply don’t know what to do with the Pixel Fold’s wider form factor setup. But a wider canvas that’s still portrait-oriented? This is much more forgiving. Don’t get me wrong, as a Galaxy Z Fold 7 owner, I encounter quirks in apps all the time, but the experience is pretty solid on average these days.
If we could go back, I think there are some things that could have been done differently, but it mostly depends on the timing. Google has made a big push in Android over the past few years to make apps more adaptable to different screen sizes. This is important for foldable devices and all the other form factors that Android supports both today and in the future – glasses, desktops, etc. If only Google had made the same push 5 years ago, ahead Pixel Fold made its debut, I think the transition from the “passport” shape to the Pixel 9 Pro Fold/Pixel 10 Pro Fold form factor just wouldn’t have happened.
Google confirmed for him 9 to 5 Google than the reason for the change it was for enabled apps both show because, after all, Google had to admit that Android apps at the time—not even that long ago—were not ready for that design.
Apple is changing the game in a way that only it can…
But now, that wider form factor is making a comeback.
Apple’s iPhone Fold is coming, and all leaks point to it reviving the form factor that the Pixel Fold first attempted and ultimately failed to achieve.
iPhone Fold, as you can read further 9 to 5 Macit is said that have a wider aspect ratio with a 5.3-inch external display and 7.7-inch internal display. Compare that to the original Pixel Fold – 5.8 inches on the outside and 7.6 inches on the inside – and it helps to imagine what’s to come.
It really sounds like Apple is just aiming to make an iPhone that folds out to be an iPad. It looks a little odd compared to the form factor we’re used to from foldable Android devices, but that’s not really a bad thing.
So why might the iPhone Fold succeed where the Google Pixel failed?
Applications.
Where Google tries to implement sweeping changes to the Android app ecosystem, developers tend to adopt changes from Apple immediately. That doesn’t mean Android developers aren’t looking at what’s new, of course, it just tends to take a lot longer for big new changes to make their way to everyone. As such, Android devices must be built around apps, where the script is flipped for iOS – apps are forced to adapt to devices. Not every new change Apple introduces to the world is massively embraced by developers, but form factor changes, in particular, are generally taken quite seriously, as we’ve seen in the past from new iPhone and iPad sizes.
…and, as usual, everyone is trying to copy it
Despite the challenges mentioned with this form factor and Android apps, Apple’s push into this market is, Of courseprompting a host of brands to immediately copy it.
Samsung is working on a Wide Fold. Honor is it is said to work even in its own version. And Oppo, the brand that basically came up with this form factor, is a Find N7 with a wide aspect ratio is expected to launch later this year after three generations of Galaxy-like devices.
It’s almost comical, to be honest.
Android brands came up with this form factor a few years ago, quickly dropped it with seemingly zero interest in bringing it back, but now they’re rushing to make it their own just because Apple is getting into the game.
Will it work this time? Maybe! Android apps, as mentioned, have improved a lot on foldable devices over the past few years since the Oppo Find N2 and Pixel Fold were in the game. These improvements should translate quite nicely to this new set of devices. I think there’s a good chance we’ll be seeing some of these “wide” foldable devices for some time to come.
But having two variations just isn’t sustainable. The foldable market, while growing, is still niche and it would be simply ridiculous for every foldable brand to produce two of these devices every year. In the long run, I think we’ll see some brands stick with the current setup, while others focus on the new form factor.
It just feels so reactionary, doesn’t it?
Again, this has been the playbook for many Android brands over the past few years. Just look at Samsung. 2025 saw the company release the slim Galaxy S25 Edge only to beat Apple to market, with the device at the bottom end. Now, the Galaxy S26 series has ditched all the long overdue upgrades it was expected to get just in the name of matching Apple’s iPhone 17 prices.
What do you think? Are you looking forward to these spacious foldable devices? Do you think Android brands will stick with the new form factor? Do you think the applications are ready? Let’s discuss in the comments below!
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