Google challenges Samsung with foldable market entry

Alphabet Inc.’s Google introduced a $1,799 foldable smartphone, a new entry-level Pixel phone and a tablet for the home, its latest attempt to spark hardware sales in an arena saturated by Apple Inc. and Samsung Electronics Co.

Launched at Wednesday’s Google I/O conference, the Pixel Fold is Google’s first entry into the growing foldables category and comes with a 7.6-inch main display and a 5.8-inch external panel. Google touts it as the thinnest foldable in the markets where it will be sold, which include the U.S., UK, Germany and Japan.

The company also rolled out its first Pixelbranded tablet and a $499 Pixel 7a, trickling down its 2022 flagship phone’s features to a more affordable price point. The three devices use an in-house chip known as the Tensor G2.

The move into the pricier foldables category marks a strategy shift for Google, which has so far focused on undercutting the cost of rival devices. The Pixel Fold is Google’s most expensive handset to date, matching the price of Samsung’s latest Galaxy Z Fold 4 and including highend specifications like 512 gigabytes of onboard storage. Samsung remains the sales leader in foldables — with 79% of the market last year, according to IDC — having kicked off the category four years ago with the Galaxy Fold.

Foldables make up only 1% of smartphone shipments. IDC estimates shipments will more than triple from 2022, to roughly 50 million units annually, by 2027. That would still be less than 4% of the market, but would account for a $42 billion slice because they fetch higher prices.

“Foldables are a pricing dream,” said Neil Mawston, director of research at Strategy Analytics. “We predict foldables will account for an outsized 5% of all smartphone wholesale revenues worldwide this year.”

In a presentation, Google said its foldable’s distinguishing features are its screen technology and cameras. The company has built a library of AI-powered camera features — such as its Magic Eraser, which can remove unwanted elements in photos for a neater composition — that it says make its hardware a leader. Still, Samsung’s comparable foldable device has slightly better image sensor specifications.

Foldable phones typically have an external display for quick tasks and can fold open to a tabletsized interior screen. Google’s Pixel Fold is wider than Samsung’s latest model, users of which have complained that it’s narrowness makes it harder to use. The Pixel Fold also includes features like face unlock, a fingerprint scanner and a promised 24 hours of battery life.

Google boasted that its device’s hinge is more durable than those on competing products and that more than 50 of its own apps are optimized for the foldable display.