It is no secret that Google is working on its first folding smartphone. News of the handset bagan to leak out in summer 2020, the company itself has spoken about building prototypes, and now it is reported that Samsung will manufacture the folding displays.

The report comes from TheElec, a Korean industry news publication, and states how Samsung is preparing to begin production of folding OLED display panels for Google, Xiaomi and Vivo later in 2021.

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More specifically, it is claimed the displays will go into production during the fourth quarter of 2021, and that Google's folding phone will have a screen measuring 7.6 inches when open. Vivo's phone will have an eight-inch outer screen and a 6.5-inch inner panel, TheElec says, while the size of Xiaomi's folding phone is unknown for now.

Just last month, in May 2021, references to model numbers of future Google Pixel phones, including the foldable that is currently codenamed Passport, were discovered by 9to5Google in the Android 12 beta.

Samsung is to make folding phone displays for others, including Google Samsung

It is thought that the folding phone, tipped to be called the Pixel Fold, will be joined by a Pixel 5a 5G and two models of Pixel 6. These handsets are likely to be announced by Google at its annual hardware event in the fall.

We will be interested to see what Google comes up with here. Although they always review well, and possess some of the very best cameras and computational photography of any smartphone, the Google Pixel range has struggled to put even a dent in the success of rivals Apple and Samsung.

We can't see a folding Pixel, undoubtedly carrying a high price, being a runaway sales success for Google, but it could serve as an eye-catching halo product to bring some much-needed attention to the rest of the more affordable Pixel lineup.