The foldable smartphone market is going to get so much bigger next year if the latest report is true. So far, the key players in the foldable smartphone space have been Samsung, Motorola, Royole, and Huawei but a new leak says that more manufacturers including Google will be joining the list.

The info comes from Ross Young, the founder and lead analyst at Display Search and DSCC. In a tweet posted earlier today, he revealed that the second half of the coming year is going to be an exciting one for the foldable smartphone market. He said Samsung will announce at least three models, OPPO, Vivo, and Xiaomi will announce four models between them, and Google will also announce one model.

We already know Samsung will announce the Galaxy Z Fold 3 and the Galaxy Z Flip 3 in the third quarter of the year from leaks from the past couple of weeks but Ross’s tweet says there will be at least three models. In the same tweet, he says there will be no Galaxy Z Fold Lite but there will be a Galaxy Z Flip Lite.

The Galaxy Z Fold Lite was reported to be scheduled for a Q1 2021 release but not only is it not launching in the first quarter but it won’t even launch at all according to Ross Young. We already heard of the lite version of the Galaxy Z Flip last month, so it is not a surprise.

EDITOR’S PICK: Apple tasks Foxconn to build test unit for upcoming foldable iPhone

Moving on from Samsung, the three big Chinese players, OPPO, Vivo, and Xiaomi will also launch their first foldable smartphones next year. What makes it even more exciting is that one of them will launch two models. Of all three, only Xiaomi has demonstrated a working prototype but all three of them have filed patents for various foldable smartphone designs. Recently, an OPPO patent revealed a phone with a design similar to that of the Galaxy Z Flip.

Xiaomi foldable design
Xiaomi’s foldable prototype features a dual folding design

Google is also on the list of manufacturers announcing a foldable smartphone in 2021. More than a year ago, Google confirmed it was working on foldable smartphone prototypes and in August of this year, an internal document revealed that a foldable phone codenamed “passport” may be among the Pixel devices launching next year.

With all these devices lined up for launch, 2021 is going to be an exciting year for the foldable smartphone category and mobile tech in general

Which of these foldable phones are you most excited about? Do let us know in the comment box below.

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