Android 12.1 shows how eager Google could be to release their own foldable phone
For a while now, there have been rumors that suggests that Google could be working on a foldable phone of their own, and that the handset could make its debut alongside the Pixel 6 phones next month, but these are just rumors, it’s hard to say how accurate they are.
But it seems that Google might have tipped their hand. A hands-on of Android 12.1 by the folks at XDA Developers has revealed that Google seems to be rather eager to support foldable phones despite them not having one. Sure, you could argue that there are other foldables out there, but is Google really going through all that effort to support just a couple of handsets?
It would make sense that Google is looking to introduce better support and APIs for foldables if they had something of their own that they could take advantage of.
The changes in Android 12.1 include a new Taskbar, new split-screen, a new recent apps UI, dual pane notifications panel, and more. These are changes that might benefit a device with a larger display, like a tablet, but as XDA notes, Google does not mention any tablet changes in its blog or developer documentation, so it makes sense that other large display gadgets would be foldables.
That being said, this is just speculation. Google could indeed be introducing these changes to help other companies like Samsung and Motorola, so maybe try to temper your expectations for now.
Source: XDA Developers