Suddenly, recent leaks from Google have us wondering if Samsung will finally gain respect where it is usually ridiculed. We’ve seen Google leaks Pixel Fold hardware and it makes us wonder what Google can achieve with its first foldable. A first-generation Pixel Fold could do the impossible: it could finally prove that Samsung knows what it’s doing with software.
Rumored Google Pixel Fold design (Image: FrontPageTech) In the early days, Samsung’s interface designs were silly and colorful, while phones got serious and the interface mirrored real-life textures. These days, Samsung’s software simply adds layer upon layer of features on top of Google’s already powerful Android operating system. Samsung One UI is so far removed from Android that it has its own version numbers and user beta program. Throughout Samsung’s Android history, the company has overcome complaints that software “improvements” slow down phones, delay the upgrade cycle for new system upgrades, and generally cause more confusion than improvement.
Why does the phone still have two web browsers?
Take the web browser for example. Samsung makes a great web browser – the eponymous Samsung Internet. It’s actually a good browser, closely tied to your phone’s security capabilities. It’s also one of two browsers on your new Galaxy phone because Google insists on loading the Chrome browser as well. This confusion remains throughout the phone. Samsung phones come with at least two messaging apps. They often have duplicate apps for taking photos or taking notes, or even for basics like calendaring. One will be from Samsung, the other is included at Google’s insistence. Although Samsung is Google’s biggest Android partner, it seems the phone is at odds with the operating system Apps aren’t the only problem. While iPhone users are rarely confused about which service they’re using, a Samsung owner might be using an app to back up to Samsung’s cloud, Google’s servers, or even Microsoft OneDrive, depending on recent partnerships. Even though Samsung is Google’s biggest Android partner, it seems that the phone is in conflict with the operating system. If Samsung had its way, the phone would definitely be more streamlined.
Sometimes the Samsung stuff is superior
Why is Samsung bothering to fight Google and create its own? Believe it or not, sometimes the Samsung theme is better. We often access Samsung Internet on our Galaxy phones through Google Chrome because it performs better on the company’s devices and syncs our website passwords just like Chrome. Samsung even brought multi-tasking to Android before Google. When Samsung blew up its phone screens with the giant Galaxy Note series, it created a multi-window feature to let users open multiple app windows at once in Galaxy Note 2. Google didn’t add much windows to Android until Android 7, five years later.
Apple said the Galaxy S4 looks a lot like the iPhone (Image: Future) Samsung isn’t great at creating a new design from scratch. It has long been accused of copying Apple’s iPhone hardware design and much of the look and feel of iOS. What Samsung does well is fix problems, incrementally, until a feature is perfected into something great. Using multi-window apps on a Samsung phone is leaps and bounds better than on other mobile devices. Once you’ve mastered the right buttons and drag techniques, you can arrange windows, drag items between windows, and create shortcuts that open multiple apps at once in your preferred screen configuration. That’s because Samsung has built multi-window features into its phones for ten years and is constantly improving them. When Google launches its first foldable phone, it won’t be starting from scratch like Samsung did, but it also won’t have Samsung’s years of experience and tweaks to draw on.
Google is just starting to take tablets seriously
Google started preparing for a foldable screen world last year with Android 12La version of Android 12 built to handle both larger screens and foldable devices that switch between smaller and larger screens. The improvements Google added with Android 12L are table stakes compared to the game Samsung plays with its high-end devices. Google has added simplified versions of features like multi-window support that Samsung has been perfecting for years. Even with the collapse of the Galaxy Note, Samsung’s foldables have had four generations of improvements to build on.
A Google Pixel tablet is coming next year (Image credit: Google) We suspect that the first Google Pixel Fold will be a very basic device compared to the advanced foldables offered by Samsung. We’d expect multi-window features and quick screen switching, but we doubt we’ll see robust features like the interesting trackpad controls Samsung gives you with the phone folded in half, or even the overall stability of Samsung’s device when it comes to switching between screens .
Why is a foldable Pixel a better Pixel?
A foldable phone is a huge risk for Google because the device has to justify its own existence. Google needs to come up with a reason why buyers should pay exorbitant prices for a phone that simply folds in half. It has to be special, but it also has to work perfectly. Samsung has been trying to make its phones stand out for years, and whether they’ve succeeded is up for debate. We love using flip phones, especially the Galaxy Z Flip 4, but we might be in the minority. Flip phones haven’t sold very well. Regardless of their popularity, Samsung foldables work great. The phones smoothly transition from the external screen to the internal screen, whether we open a larger map on the screen Galaxy Z Fold 4 or taking selfies with the front panel on the Galaxy Z Flip 4.
Camera controls on the bottom of the Galaxy Z Flip 4 (Image credit: Peter Hoffmann) Google Pixel 7 phones are loaded with Google’s own chips, ready to run Google software at its best. Google says only the Tensor G2 is powerful enough to handle features like Photo Unblur. Hopefully we’ll also see the same dedication to improving the foldable phone experience, giving us a reason why a foldable phone is better than a flat phone. Samsung has worked for years to fix every problem in its flip phone software. If Google wants to sell us on a better foldable, a Pixel Fold, it can’t take a step back with a device that’s more simple and basic than Samsung’s innovation. It needs to identify new problems we didn’t know we had and then give us a rollable solution to fix them.
