Here’s how the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 could benefit from the Pixel Fold

In just over a week, Samsung will lift the covers from its next-generation foldables at a Galaxy Unpacked event in Seoul, South Korea. We expect the company to reveal the Galaxy Z Fold 5 and Galaxy Z Flip 5 during the event, along with the latest Galaxy smartwatches and tablets. The leaks suggest that Samsung’s next flagship foldable won’t make any radical design changes, but the Galaxy Z Fold 5 is expected to be slightly smaller, thinner and lighter than its predecessor, featuring a redesigned hinge that will allow it to fold flat. , and offer a performance boost with Qualcomm’s latest flagship chipset. In addition to these changes, I believe the Galaxy Z Fold 5 could make some noteworthy improvements on the software front thanks to the Google Pixel Fold.

The Galaxy Z Fold 5 could benefit from the Pixel Fold’s software experience

While the Google Pixel Fold may not be the best foldable phone on the market, it’s one of the most significant smartphone launches of the year. That’s because it’s Google’s first in-house foldout and will allow the company to tinker and improve the Android experience for other foldouts. Pixel Fold already has some improvements to help users make better use of the foldable form factor. As Samsung works closely with Google to improve the software experience on its devices, the software improvements may come to the Galaxy Z Fold 5.

The Galaxy Z Fold 5 may feature an improved app bar

Google introduced a foldable and large device app bar in Android 12L to give users quick access to frequently used apps. With Pixel Fold, the company has introduced an improved version of the taskbar that offers more functionality. The dynamic taskbar allows you to launch frequently used applications, quickly switch between apps, and easily launch two apps in split screen mode. It also keeps the folders you set on the shelf when you’re on your home screen and has a button to open the app drawer to access all the apps installed on your phone.

While Samsung’s implementation of the taskbar in One UI already supports these features, it’s not as dynamic as the new taskbar on the Pixel Fold. It’s persistent and takes up valuable screen space until you manually hide it. Also, it only shows a couple of recent apps next to the selected blocked apps.

Pixel Fold’s dynamic app bar disappears automatically when you’re done using it, and you can bring it back with a simple swipe gesture. It also shows app suggestions based on your usage habits. These are probably more useful than recently used apps, as you can access the latter by simply swiping up to open the recent apps screen. These improvements could come to the Galaxy Z Fold 5 and further improve its multitasking experience.

Galaxy Z Fold 5 users will have access to more foldable-optimized apps

While Google has been pushing developers to optimize their apps for foldable and other large-screen devices since it first unveiled Android 12L, most apps still don’t scale well on large displays or offer alternative layouts. on foldable devices. Some of Google’s apps haven’t been optimized for foldable devices for a long time, but now that the company has its own foldable, virtually all of its popular apps have been optimized to make best use of the large internal screen on foldables and offers. users access convenient two-column layouts.

Additionally, Google is also pushing third-party developers to optimize apps for foldables, and recently unveiled a few apps that have been redesigned to offer a new two-column layout, app continuity, and responsive resizing of UI elements on the foldable phones. Since these changes apply to all foldable devices and not just the Pixel Fold, Galaxy Z Fold 5 users will be able to enjoy apps that make better use of the large foldable display.

The foldable experience will get even better with Android 14

Google is likely working on more changes that will improve the software experience on foldable devices running Android 14. We already know that the next major platform update will include an easier way to create app pairs and launch two apps in split screen mode. But that probably won’t be the only improvement coming to foldable devices.

Since the Pixel Fold is among the first devices to receive beta builds of the update, developers and early adopters will have the opportunity to experiment with the new changes before the stable rollout and provide valuable feedback to Google to further improve the software experience folding. As a result, when the Galaxy Z Fold 5 gets its One UI update based on Android 14, users can expect to receive a more refined experience than before.

While we can’t be sure that the new features for foldable devices will be available on the Galaxy Z Fold 5 as soon as the update is released, they should be available eventually. Google will also continue to push improvements for foldable devices now that it’s in the game, and the software experience on the Galaxy Z Fold 5 and future foldable devices from Samsung will enjoy these changes via trickle down.

The Pixel Fold should be a boon to all foldables

Just as we expect the Pixel Tablet to help Google improve Android for big-screen devices, the Pixel Fold should do the same for foldable-display devices. While Samsung’s foldable devices may be among the first to benefit from the changes, you can also expect to see improvements on foldable phones from other OEMs, like the upcoming OnePlus V Fold.

However, we’ll have to wait until Galaxy Unpacked later this month to know for sure, as Google may reserve some features for the Pixel Fold and future foldable Pixels to differentiate them from the competition. Regardless, the Galaxy Z Fold 5 will be one of the best foldable phones of the year. If you can’t wait to get your hands on it, you can reserve one by following the link below and get some nice benefits that way.