The foldables market has gathered steam recently thanks to Google's entry into the segment with the Pixel Fold. Samsung doesn't need to worry about the competition from Google right now, though, as the Pixel Fold's availability is limited to a few countries while the Galaxy Z Fold line is available virtually everywhere around the globe.
Even if the Pixel Fold steals a sizable number of customers from Samsung, the Korean giant will have the Galaxy Z Flip line to maintain its dominance in the foldable market as Google has no Z Flip alternative to offer at the moment. However, it seems Google did intend to launch a clamshell foldable alongside the Pixel Fold but eventually decided not to, as confirmed by the search giant's head of design for hardware products, Ivy Ross.
Google might have had a Galaxy Z Flip competitor in the works
Ross has revealed that Google had been working on two foldable devices, and while they don't outright say that the other device had a clamshell design, we can safely assume that Google wasn't working on two foldables with the book-like design of the Pixel Fold. In any case, the internet giant ultimately decided to only launch the Pixel Fold, and according to Ross, it's because the other device wasn't deemed to be “good enough yet”.
For Samsung, Google's decision to not launch two foldable devices was no doubt a welcome one, especially since its upcoming Galaxy Z Fold 5 and Galaxy Z Flip 5 are not expected to bring a lot of upgrades. However, it's highly likely Google will launch a foldable flip phone at some point, and Samsung might want to make sure that it takes the necessary steps to keep its foldables attractive to customers before that happens.
