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Google I/O: Foldable phone support is coming in Android Q

Even after the Galaxy Fold fiasco, Google is moving full steam ahead on foldable phones.

Eli Blumenthal Senior Editor
Eli Blumenthal is a senior editor at CNET with a particular focus on covering the latest in the ever-changing worlds of telecom, streaming and sports. He previously worked as a technology reporter at USA Today.
Expertise 5G, mobile networks, wireless carriers, phones, tablets, streaming devices, streaming platforms, mobile and console gaming,
Eli Blumenthal
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The Samsung Galaxy Fold. 

Angela Lang/CNET

Samsung's Galaxy Fold may have gotten the new foldable wave of devices off to a false start, but that hasn't deterred Google from continuing to work on the platform. 

At its annual Google I/O developer conference in California on Tuesday the search giant detailed its commitment to foldable devices as part of the next version of Android, currently codenamed "Q." 

Multiple hardware makers will launch foldable devices this year Stephanie Saad Cuthbertson, Google's senior director of Android, announced. In addition to Samsung's Galaxy Fold, Chinese giant Huawei has already announced its first foldable, called the Mate X, while rival Xiaomi has teased that it too is working on a folding phone

Motorola , meanwhile, has built up plenty of hype around rumors that it is preparing to release a new folding Razr

"These devices open up a completely new category," Cuthbertson said on stage, going on to add that while the space is in its early days, foldables "just might change the future of mobile computing."  

Google has been working to optimize Android for the upcoming wave of devices, adding in new multitasking features and the ability to begin apps on the smaller screen and transfer them seamlessly to the larger tablet display when the device is opened up. 

Watch this: Our Galaxy Fold didn't break. Here's what's good and bad