Google Pixel Fold

Google Pixel foldable mentioned yet again as ultra-thin glass brings more foldables to life

Ben Schoon | Jul 14 2021 - 6:57 am PT

Despite Samsung preparing its third generation of the idea, foldable smartphones are still very much in their early days and finding their footing. However, the market may soon see a boom in popularity as a new report mentions that the Google Pixel foldable among several other devices will be using ultra-thin glass.

The Elec reports this week that Samsung’s ultra-thin glass is finally going to be widely used in the second half of this year. Outside of Samsung’s own devices, the Galaxy Z Fold 3 and Galaxy Z Flip 3, at least five devices are reportedly set to use the screen technology.

Most notable in this lineup is the Google Pixel foldable, which we first reported on almost a year ago. This report doesn’t offer any further details, but mentions that the device will use ultra-thin glass over its 7.6-inch internal display, a detail that’s been previously reported. This mention alone is a good sign that Google is still on track to launch the device this year.

Beyond Google Pixel, foldables with ultra-thin glass coming in the not-too-distant future include some Chinese brands. That starts with Xiaomi, which will apparently adopt UTG on its upcoming Mi Mix Fold 2 and the 8.01-inch internal display on that device. Vivo, too, will apparently adopt UTG on the 8-inch display on a foldable coming in Q4 of this year. The upcoming “Honor Magic Fold” will also see UTG on its 8.03-inch display, but notably with the tech being applied to a panel from BOE instead of Samsung. An Oppo release coming in 2022 will also use UTG on its smaller 7.1-inch inner display.

Ultra-thin glass isn’t exactly a durability miracle for foldables, as we mentioned in our review of the Galaxy Z Fold 2. However, it does provide for a much more pleasent experience for the user. In effect, ultra-thin glass is helping these devices come to market and properly compete with Samsung.