Lovers of the old, it’s time to rejoice. Big Tech has embraced the revival of the folding phone.
This latest love letter to retro aesthetic calls back the iconic flip phone feature of the 2000s. Big tech companies are scrambling to patent and improve the latest screen technology, and Samsung and even Huawei have all released their own version of the iconic folding phone.
But there is one foldable phone that everyone is watching out for.
These are the Google Pixel flip phones, which are allegedly called the Passport and the Jumbojack. Besides the countless foldable phones in the market, the elusive Google phone series is just one of the many flip phones in the market that is pushing the revival of the foldable screen.
Retrofuture
There is no specific rhyme or reason as to why flip phones came back in style. One guess would be that tech giants realized that nostalgia sells. It’s also possible that consumers themselves are craving for a callback to a lost decade but with modern upgrades.
Whatever it is, companies are not missing their chance to market their latest flip phone tech. To be clear, however, the flip phones we have now are quite different from the ones from over a decade ago.
For one, they no longer have physical pads for typing. Most, if not all, flip phones in the market currently use smart screen technology for a sleeker look. Second, flip phones are versatile and fold in a variety of ways.
For instance, Samsung Galaxy Z Flip – one of the newest in the market – folds inward to a hamburger-like shape, featuring an inward folding display. Meanwhile, the Galaxy Z Fold series uses a sleek hinge mechanism that offers a full-screen fold for convenience.
New Google phones?
Google has released the Google Pixel 6 and Google Pixel 6 pro on October 19. The announcement drew buzz for the series’ “ultra high end” features. However, the phone’s most marketed feature is its new system on a chip (SoC). The new chip, made in four years, incorporates machine learning tech to consumer phones through better facial recognition and search features.
But this release is not all it has waiting for its customers. Many were counting on updates on the newer models, especially the Pixel fold, but the company was mum.
Google Pixel Flip: The leaks
Leaked documents from the past year suggest that Google filed for a patent on foldable screen technology as early as 2019. As news passed on, quick-witted tech nuts put together that the two flip-phone designs had different folding varieties.
While the Passport is alleged to look like the Galaxy Z Fold, the Jumbojack, which may reference a Jack in the Box cheeseburger, is said to have a structure similar to the Z Flip.
A recent report by the Korean site, TheElec reported that Samsung might be in charge of producing the foldable organic light-emitting diode (OLED). The company may also use Samsung’s patented ultra-thin cover glass to support the bendy nature of the screens.
Folding over trends
Google phones aside, there are a host of other foldable phone technologies in the making right now.
Also, LG may have exited the smartphone business, but they are currently developing better techn for phones. The company recently created a window that can fold both inwards and outwards. Huawei will also release its next-gen foldable phones next year.
With the unpredictable nature of tech and human nature, it’s hard to tell if foldable phones will boom or bust. In the meantime, it’s just exciting to see how smartphone companies push the boundaries of screen technology while capitalizing on sweet old nostalgia.
