Foldable Phones: What Do They Mean for App Development?

The world of mobile technology has been changing ever since the launch of the iPhone. Every year, the mobile app development company launches faster processors, more memory, and larger screens, demonstrating an unstoppable advancement in device capabilities

Each change has also impacted what customers can do with their devices and what apps can provide. This has led to constant modifications and adaptations, giving more options to users, who have a tendency to take advantage of any new functionality that makes their lives easier while going about their daily activities.

The latest of these advances, and probably the biggest in recent years, is a change in the form factor: foldable phones.

Form Factor

Foldable phones mean a big shift in the “real estate” that apps can use and their multitasking capabilities.

A device that goes from regular size to phablet size — and in some cases, goes from regular size to split screen size — will multiply the possibilities for how an app can be used and how a user can interact with it and other apps at the same time.

Since the first foldable phone (the Royole FlexPai) appeared about a year and a half ago, new devices have come out that fall into two categories:

Phones that unfold to phablet size — these were the first wave, starting with the Royole FlexPai — include the Huawei Mate X, the Samsung Galaxy Fold, and the Microsoft Surface Duo.

Considerations

'Property'

Currently, apps adjust to be viewed in either landscape or portrait mode; some apps avoid this by forcing a portrait view. However, when it comes to these foldable phones, the apps cannot work on full screen, but adjust to the new screen ratios and display information in different formats.

The first category of foldable phones naturally transitions from a traditional phone to a larger screen, integrating a phone and a tablet into a single device. With this, it is possible to display apps on larger screens or distribute their display across more than one screen. The second category allows for a natural split, distributing the app's functionality across two smaller screens.

Developers must be careful when implementing these new flows and displays. They must adapt appropriately, depending on the shape of the device, without causing problems for the user. Also, folding/unfolding the phone can represent a change in data, so developers must define how to retrieve and preserve it.

All of this means that more testing will be required. Not only will you need to test different versions of an app, but you will also need to test on the same phone with different views as well as different data and UX/UI requirements. Therefore, a well-defined automated test suite will be necessary as it will allow for a special focus on functionality testing in specific cases.

Multitasking

With foldable phones, the possibilities of running more than one app at a time in mobile app development services will become more demanding. For example, users will be able to watch the Oscars on one screen while having Twitter or their chat open on the other, discussing the show live, all on the same device. In another case, a user can browse an online store on one screen and simultaneously have a video call with their partner to discuss the purchase they are making.

App owners and UX/UI experts need to think much more about complementary apps and how information can be shared between them.

Developers need to optimize apps so that the resources needed for sharing are executed without causing problems for the end user.

Regarding testing, a deeper emphasis will need to be placed on performance testing for each app.

Android Support

Google is bringing native support for foldable phones in Android. This is a great help for developers as it gives them a guideline to implement the new features that the foldable factor brings.

Android 10 (API level 29) brings support for different foldable patterns such as app continuity, new screen ratios, multi-window, multi-view, and multi-resume (https://developer.android.com/guide/topics/ui/foldables). It also provides emulators so that everything that is going to be deployed can be tested.

For the developer and the QA engineer, it is important to know these patterns to assist the Product Owner and the UX/UI specialists in making decisions about what is or is not possible and the implications of implementing it.

Conclusion

Since the Royole FlexPai hit the market, there has been a clear trend that larger mobile application development company manufacturers will pursue foldable phones and take it as the next big change, one that will not only impact how phones look but also how they are used.

Currently, there are very few options available. High prices as well as hardware present a problem, but over time - as we have seen with hardware changes in the past - the technology will become more robust and prices will come down. This will make foldable phones a major player in the market.

This change will happen sooner rather than later and any company that wants to stay relevant must consider its impact on the design, development and testing of applications (existing as well as new). It is time for change as waiting until tomorrow can be more expensive.