When announcing the Galaxy Z Flip earlier this week, Samsung seemed pretty pleased with the new Flex mode, which splits a single app to show different content.
In the example used during Unpacked, the company showcased watching a YouTube video on the top half of the screen, while browsing the comments in the bottom half.
While the Galaxy Z Flip’s clamshell design especially suits the functionality, the foldable won’t be the only phones with access, it seems. Google was instrumental in building the Flex mode feature alongside Samsung and it told The Verge there are plans to bring it to other Android smartphones.
Google is planning to make the feature available to other phone makers, but it will presumably require additional work from non-Google developers to make their apps compatible.
It’s not clear whether the functionality will be available on standard non-folding smartphones, although we don’t see any reason why not. It would certainly beat having to navigate to different sections of the same app.
Related: Folding phones
For now, the best use case is likely to be those dual-screened or foldable devices like the Z Flip or the Moto Razr.
In the meantime, it’ll be exclusive to the Galaxy Z Flip, which looks set to eclipse the popularity of the Galaxy Fold Samsung smartphone. It’s more expensive than the flagship Galaxy S20 phones that arrived this week, but its folding OLED glass display and novelty value could make it a hit despite its £1,300 price tag.
“The Z Flip is intriguing and it’s great to see Samsung quickly innovating on the foldable rather than purely sticking with the Fold aesthetic. Unlike the S20 series, the Z Flip isn’t fussed on boasting the top-end specs with the main focus here clearly the unique design,” wrote our own Max Parker in his hands-on review.
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
