A shiny new foldable smartphone is great, but despite the huge improvements that have entered the foldable niche lately, there is still a certain level of uncertainty regarding the device longevity and rigidity associated with foldables. All you generally need to go by are informal assurances from the manufacturer and third-party bend tests, like this recent one which revealed the Motorola Razr 40 Ultra only managed 126,266 bends despite being rated by the manufacturer for 400,000 cycles. You get the point.
According to some insider information courtesy of Mishaal Rahman, Google may be looking to step in and offer at least some guarantees for the longevity of future foldable devices. Apparently, the new leaflets are expected to last at least 200,000 folds and unfolds. If you open your phone 100 times a day, it should be good for five years and, consequently, a full 10 years if you only slide the zipper 50 times a day.
Speaking of the hinge, Google might also apparently require that any device with a “torque hinge” retain at least 80% of its original torque after 200,000 cycles. Going back to the recent folding test article, you might notice that even the Galaxy Z Flip5, which scored very well in the overall test, had some torque issues effectively losing its ability to hold half-closed corners after 223,000 folds. It’s good to see that this aspect is being addressed as well.
Finally, according to the inside information, Google may also require OEMs to offer at least two major operating system updates and at least three years of security patches for future foldables. These requirements aren’t that hard-hitting considering companies like Google, Samsung, and Oppo already offer up to five years of security patches, but we appreciate the effort nonetheless.
Google has yet to officially confirm these rumors, so we’ll be watching out for that as well.
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