Why ‘iPhone Fold’ can revive the foldable that even Google Pixel couldn’t make work [Gallery]

Why ‘iPhone Fold’ can revive the foldable that even Google Pixel couldn’t make work [Gallery]

By Ben Schoon
Publication Date: 2026-02-19 20:05:00

Foldables opened the door to a whole new world of smartphones just a few years ago, but somehow the entire Android market has settled into just two form factors – clamshell flip phones and book-style devices that just open up to double the width of a normal smartphone screen. As the inevitable “iPhone Fold” approaches, though, it seems Apple is looking to revive a form factor that Android brands, including Google Pixel, once tried, but failed to keep around, and there’s a clear reason why that happened.

Pixel Fold, Oppo Find N, and the form factor we lost

In the early days of foldables, there were a few key form factors floating around. Samsung’s Galaxy Fold had a tall outer display that opened to a vertically-oriented inner display. Huawei and others playing around with foldables that opened from the outside and were wider when folded, similar to a standard smartphone.

But Oppo took a different route with its original Find N…