Foldable mobile phones may be subject to minimum durability requirements set by Google, whose Pixel Fold broke in half in a stress test
The number of foldable mobile phones available in the market has increased in recent years and most of them are running the Android operating system, from Google. However, according to the latest leak from whistleblower Mishal Rahman, the company may require minimum durability requirements in the future.
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In general, these rules will aim to ensure that smartphones work for a reasonable amount of time before they wear out. Devices with a flexible screen have several essential mechanical parts on the hinge, which tend to suffer irreversible damage in a few years.
So it’s been said that Google’s QA will be heavily focused on these parts. It is possible that the brand requires a minimum life of 200,000 bending cycles, which is already in line with what several current brands offer, at least officially.
At an average of 100 activations per day, the durability supposedly enforced by Google is capable of running the zipper for about five years. For comparison purposes, Samsung delivers exactly this in the new Galaxy Z Fold 5 and Z Flip 5 devices.
However, devices may exceed this limit, depending on the unit tested. A recent comparison showed that the Z Flip 5 crossed the 400,000 markwhile the Motorola Razr 40Ultra it stood at 126 thousand.
Some brands have already been bolder and have guaranteed more than 400,000 folds in the official specifications, such as this is the case of OPPO with the Find N2 and N2 Flip models. Go beyond, the Xiaomi Mix Fold 3 will reach 500 thousand folds, according to the official teasers.
Curiously, the Pixel Fold developed by Google itself it does not have an official certification regarding the amount of curves supported. Worse, it broke and bent over backwards in a recently published stress test in Youtube — that is, it seems that Google itself has seen that building a foldable phone is not so easy, and has decided to impose a quality standard.
Google’s requirements may still include 80% friction torque after 200,000 bends for devices equipped with torsion technology hinges.
To test smartphones, the company will be able to provide a questionnaire to manufacturers, as well as requesting the sending of some units for internal tests.
In addition to the durability certifications, Google still has to force brands to offer at least two years of Android updates and three years with periodic security updates.
It is not yet known when the new Google rules will be implemented, but it is possible that this will happen in the next generations of foldable phones launched with the new android 14.
Source: Mishal Rahman, via gizmochina
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Source: Terra
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