When Google talks about foldable phones, does it mean Surface Duo, too? Yup.

Surface Duo 2 Yelp Googlemaps Source: Daniel Rubino / Windows Central

A few weeks agone, Google appear Android 12L, which was previously known as Android 12.1. According to Google, the OS update is due sometime in the beginning half of 2022. But what makes it a large deal is this iteration of Android is the get-go to really focus on foldables and dual-screen devices.

Yep, I said dual screen. Despite the light-on-details PR blog mentioning foldables, many have tried to decipher that Google means phones similar the Samsung Milky way Fold 3 and not Microsoft's Surface Duo. After all, if Google intends to include dual screens, why not mention information technology?

It turns out Google does. Permit's go through the developer guides to settle this in one case and for all.

How Android "sees" Surface Duo

Surface Duo 2 Gutter Screenshot Android fills in the gap via software when doing a screenshot on Surface Duo 2. Source: Windows Central

Earlier we go started, I desire to clarify something about Surface Duo (currently on Android ten) and Surface Duo 2 (currently on Android xi). Both operating systems "see" these phones as unmarried-screen devices. Indeed, on Android 11, the Os now draws the gutter — the physical space betwixt both screens. You can meet this in screenshots where you become the whole canvas.

A lot of the "magic" with Surface Duo and dual-screen apps is a combo of Microsoft Launcher, firmware, and, increasingly, Android itself. A lot of what Microsoft is doing today on Surface Duo is being built-in to future iterations of Android. That's the big news.

As a side commentary, I believe this is one reason Microsoft is not heavily investing in customizing Android to maximize Surface Duo's efficacy today. While the user experience currently lags compared to the vision, it is clear from Android 12L that Google is baking a lot of this stuff into the OS. If Microsoft were to invest resource into OS customization, it would exist redundant and useless within a twelvemonth. Why invent the cycle when someone else is already doing the work for you?

What is Android 12L?

12l Multitasking Example of split screen and new taskbar for foldable devices in Android 12L. Source: Google

Android 12L, according to Google, is "a special feature drop that makes Android 12 even better on large screens." More specifically, the Bone update optimizes the system UI for new course factors and gives developers new tools (APIs) to improve apps for foldable displays. It'due south the formalization of what Samsung, Microsoft, LG, Huawei, and others have been forcing to happen over the last few years.

The motives should exist clear as to why Google would want to implement these variations. Samsung is driving a lot of this with its Fold and Flip series of phones. Microsoft is there, too, with Surface Duo. Merely Google expects more than devices in 2022, noting that this characteristic drop is timed "for the side by side wave of Android 12 tablets, Chromebooks, and foldables."

Even Google is rumored to make its own foldable telephone(s) next year, presumably launching with Android 12L.

Features similar a two-column notification shade with notifications on one side and Quick Settings on the other are one example of a UI modify. The power to span apps and have apps shift over to i side of the brandish is another. This latter ability is what Microsoft does today on Surface Duo, but instead of beingness office of Launcher and firmware, it can be built directly into the OS. Google Play will also highlight apps that are optimized for these new course factors.

You can read more about it from Google'due south 12L summary, just it's in the developer documents where it gets interesting.

Google defines foldables every bit including dual screens

Surface Duo 2 Galaxy Z Flip Are these both foldables? They are. Source: Daniel Rubino/Windows Central

Merely Google just talks almost foldables, correct? That'south the wrong question. What you should exist request is: How does Google ascertain foldables? Because the company gives a definition.

Permit's start with Google's Fabric Blueprint 3 — the side by side evolution of its UI aimed directly at "adaptive experiences." On its page, Google thoughtfully characterizes the term, which I think is essential for this chat. When information technology comes to foldables, hither is the direct definition, explicitly referring to hinges:

There are two types of hinges on folded devices:

Seamless hinges are barely visible, although some users may experience a tactile difference on the screen surface

Hinges that physically divide the device effectively into 2 screens

Point #2 is the most relevant and seemingly ends the discussion: Foldable includes dual screen. Merely if y'all want more, Google goes on to say:

In an unfolded posture, the device'southward folding hinge tin can exist noticeable on some models. In the unique case of Microsoft's Surface Duo, the swivel divides the screen physically.

Android Material Design 3 Dual How Google defines foldable screens. Source: Google

So, Google calls out Surface Duo when talking virtually the new Material Blueprint 3. Google then gives examples of how developers should pattern their UI effectually such constraints:

On devices with a physical swivel, designing the screen equally two singled-out halves allows a composition to work well across the seam and screens … Avoid placing key actions, such as dialog buttons, along the center hinge.

The consummate overview of Cloth Design 3 is highly fascinating, so I encourage you to read it if you're interested in this topic.

Turning to Android app development and 12L, Google lays out quite a lot in its Android programmer guides. Here are some samples explaining foldable and dual-screen:

Under "Larn about foldables:"

Foldable devices tin can fold in many ways, such as inward (with the display folding into the interior of the device) or outward (with the brandish wrapping around the device). Some foldables have two screens; others, such as foldable flip phones, only one.

Foldable devices take a fold in the display that separates ii portions (typically halves) of the brandish. The fold has dimension and can separate the two portions with an occlusionType, which defines whether the fold occludes part of the display (a full apoplexy is reported for dual screen devices).

This occlusionType is essential, as this is what helps define that software gutter for dual-screen devices like Surface Duo. It's once more referenced under "Make your app fold aware," where the documentation gives further data on what "foldable" refers to:

A FoldingFeature is a type of DisplayFeature that provides information related to the fold of a foldable brandish or the hinge between the two concrete display panels of a dual-screen device.

A FoldingFeature also includes information similar occlusionType, which indicates whether the fold or swivel conceals part of the display, and isSeparating, which indicates whether the folding characteristic creates ii logical screen areas. This information can be used to decide where to position on screen elements to support dual screen devices and avert positioning active elements similar buttons on occluded folding features.

More references to Surface Duo are plant under Jetpack WindowManger, specifically under the codelab section, which gives a tutorial on building such apps:

This practical codelab will teach you the basics of developing for dual-screen and foldable devices. When yous're finished, y'all'll be able to heighten your app to support devices like the Microsoft Surface Duo and the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold3.

As should now exist evident from Google'south definitions and examples in the official Android documentation, dual-screen devices are a subset of foldables. Android 12L goes a long way to formalize this distinction in the Bone, apps, and UI.

Microsoft also has a weblog that summarizes what'southward new in Android 12L and how it ties into its own work to help developers, which is worth a read.

Surface Duo and Android 12L should be exciting

Surface Duo 2 Pen Onenote Inking Source: Daniel Rubino / Windows Central

Hopefully, this walkthrough has sufficiently demonstrated that Android 12L, and future versions of Android hardware, absolutely include dual-screen devices under the rubric of foldables. I don't see this every bit debatable once one reads the supporting documentation (and not but a PR blog summary).

Of course, none of this means Surface Duo suddenly turns into a slam dunk. Microsoft needs to address touch sensitivity issues sooner than later, which has nothing to do with Android 12L. Other "quirks" with the camera app, updating its own apps, and improving the inking experience all need to be fixed, too. Lump in concerns over pricing and even merely convincing people to want this device are other significant obstacles.

But Android 12L is a large deal, too. By the time it comes out, the Surface Duo experiment will be approaching its third year. That means the Os may finally grab up to where Microsoft is with the hardware, especially for overall Bone pattern, features, and app compatibility. Android 12L too begins to mainstream these new folding phones and devices, giving Surface Duo a much-needed halo issue.

The $64,000 question is tin can Microsoft deliver Android 12L in a timely fashion? My gut feeling is the visitor may pass over Android 12.0 and push 12L instead (as information technology should), merely it needs to do so quickly to avoid replicating the Android xi fiasco with the original Surface Duo.

Nosotros'll see what happens in the coming months as all eyes are on Android 12L.

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