Google is planning to announce a foldable smartphone in 2021, claims a well-known market analyst. In fact, he said we can expect that to happen in H2 2021. Google is not the only company that will bring us a foldable handset next year, though.
According to Ross Young, who shared the information, Google will be joined by Xiaomi, OPPO, and Vivo, in addition to Samsung, of course. Mr. Young even shared how many foldable units we can expect out of every OEM.
Google is planning to announce one foldable smartphone in 2021, OPPO will present four
Based on this information, Samsung is planning to announce three foldable smartphones, while OPPO will present four. Google, Xiaomi, and Vivo will announce one foldable, each.
All those devices will be announced in the second half of 2021, claims Ross Young. We’re not sure if any will arrive in the first half, but all of the ones he mentioned are scheduled for the second part of the year.
Samsung’s foldables are not surprising, not at all. The company will announce at least three, and that was expected. Samsung may surprise us and announce more than three next year, though, as its more affordable foldables may arrive as well.
Google, Xiaomi, OPPO, and Vivo are especially interested, though. None of those companies have announced a foldable smartphone thus far, so this will be their first rodeo. Therefore, we don’t really know what to expect.
Google’s first foldable will probably be a part of the Pixel lineup, and it will be especially interesting to see what will Google bring to the table. These four companies probably have different visions of a foldable device.
Xiaomi demoed its foldable handset over a year ago, things have probably changed by now
Xiaomi already demoed its foldable smartphone, but that was a long time ago, and the company’s vision may have changed. OPPO is seemingly planning to announce four foldables in the second half of 2021, so we’ll see more than one form factor from that company.
2021 will be an exciting year for foldables, it seems. LG is also planning to announce a rollable smartphone in H1 2021, allegedly, so… the year will be both interesting and exciting for smartphone enthusiasts.