Why Wide Book-Type Displays Matter for AI-Assisted Workflows 

The smartphone is moving from a device where users simply open apps one by one to a device that can help users summarize information, compare content and prepare the next action across apps. This does not require a foldable screen by itself, but a wider display can make these tasks easier to manage when several pieces of information need to stay visible at the same time. 

In this context, the wide book-type form factor is more useful than a slab phone or a narrower foldable design because it gives users a wider horizontal workspace. A user can keep the original content, AI-generated output and the next action visible together, such as reviewing an email, checking an AI summary and creating a calendar entry. This is also different from a tablet use case because the device keeps the phone’s mobility, cellular connection and identity layer while adding a larger working area when needed. 

Wider AI Workspace, Still Pocketable 

Apple’s Ecosystem Model: Extending iPhone Trust and Privacy to Foldables 

Apple’s foldable strategy will build on the role iPhone already plays for premium users. The device is not only used for communication and content consumption, but also for payments, identity, health data and private messages. For Apple, a larger foldable display could make these tasks easier to manage by allowing users to review information, confirm actions and keep related content visible at the same time. This gives Apple another way to differentiate through privacy, security and tighter ecosystem integration, rather than competing only on more open AI workflows. 

Foldable iOS Workflow Example 

Why Power Efficiency and Thermal Design Matter More in Foldables 

AI-assisted features such as summarization, translation, document editing and cross-app workflows can place heavier demands on battery life and thermal management, especially when multiple windows remain active at the same time. This makes power efficiency more important in foldables than in conventional smartphones. Apple’s advantage will come from tighter integration between silicon, software and power management, while hardware improvements such as hinge design, battery density and thermal control remain important for supporting longer multitasking sessions on larger displays. 

Competition is increasingly moving toward book-type foldables, with Android OEMs exploring broader AI-assisted workflows across larger displays, while Apple is expected to differentiate through its privacy-focused ecosystem. As a result, screen usability, battery life and thermal performance are becoming more important areas of competition alongside hardware design itself. 

Selected AI Capability Considerations for Tier-1 Foldable Ecosystems 

The following comparison is intended as an indicative view, not a benchmark score. It looks at how Apple, Samsung, Google and Huawei are positioned in selected AI areas that matter for foldable user experiences. 

1. On-device Processing Speed: Apple > Samsung > Huawei > Google 

• Apple keeps an edge in local AI processing because it controls more of the core stack, from silicon to iOS-level optimization. This helps Apple manage heavier on-device AI tasks more consistently. 
• Samsung should remain close behind as its recent Fold devices have shown better coordination between Snapdragon performance, LTPO display management and thermal design, which support more stable AI performance than earlier models.   
• Huawei benefits from tight HarmonyOS optimization, but chipset efficiency remains a constraint. This could limit sustained on-device AI performance compared with Apple and Samsung. 
• Google continues to improve, but its AI strength is more visible in software and model integration than in sustained device-level performance. 

2. Multimodal Capability: Google > Samsung > Huawei > Apple 

• Google should lead this category, helped by the current depth of Gemini and its wider software footprint across Android and Workspace. This gives Google an advantage in multimodal tasks such as summarization, visual understanding, drafting and cross-app assistance. Further Gemini upgrades are also likely to strengthen Google’s position over time. 
• Samsung should rank second, helped by Gemini-based features inside Galaxy AI and One UI. This gives Samsung a broader global base than Huawei, especially because Galaxy AI can be deployed across more markets and device categories. 
• Huawei has made meaningful progress with its own AI capabilities through HarmonyOS in China. However, its ecosystem remains more regionally concentrated, which makes it harder to match Google’s model depth or Samsung’s global device base. 
• Apple ranks lower in this category for now, not because its AI direction is weak, but because its foldable-specific multimodal experience is still less developed than Google’s or Samsung’s. Apple Intelligence is improving, but its current strength is more visible in controlled, task-specific features than in broader cross-app workflows. 

3. Power Efficiency: Apple > Samsung > Huawei > Google 

• Apple should have an edge in this category because it can tune the chipset, OS and background AI tasks together. This should help it support on-device AI features for longer sessions without a sharp battery trade-off. 
• Samsung ranks second since its recent Galaxy Fold models have shown better coordination between Snapdragon performance, LTPO display tuning and thermal design. This should help Samsung narrow the efficiency gap with Apple.  
• Huawei has made clear progress in OS and display optimization, but its chipset efficiency remains a limiting factor. This could make it harder to sustain heavier AI workloads on larger foldable displays.  
• Google faces a different trade-off in this area. Gemini gives Google a strong software advantage, but AI-intensive features can place heavier demands on Tensor-based hardware, which could keep Google under more pressure on sustained power efficiency. 

4. Adaptive UI Readiness: Samsung > Google > Apple > Huawei 

• Samsung has the strongest foldable UI track record. Its advantage comes from years of Galaxy Fold iteration, especially in multi-window use, app continuity and large-screen optimization.  
• Google should rank second in adaptive UI readiness, supported by Android’s large-screen work and Gemini-based assistance across apps. Its strength is more software-led, as the Pixel foldable hardware has less impact on the broader Android foldable ecosystem compared to Samsung’s Galaxy Fold line.  
• Apple should be competitive from the start, but its position is still based on expected execution rather than proven foldable performance. The company can draw on years of iPadOS development for larger-screen layouts, multi-pane use cases and cross-device continuity, but its first foldable UI will still need to prove how well these ideas translate to a phone-first foldable format. 
• Huawei has strong experience in large-screen foldable use cases, especially in China, where HarmonyOS and local app optimization support a more tailored wide-screen experience. Its challenge in this category is not the basic UI concept itself, but whether that adaptive experience can scale well outside China, where app support and service integration are more limited. 

5. Ecosystem Synergy: Apple > Samsung > Huawei > Google 

• Apple’s advantage is clearest in this category, where trust and loyalty matter most, including in payments, identity, health data and private communication. Since these services are already tied closely to iOS, Apple has a strong base for building a more secure foldable AI interface.  
• Samsung follows through the breadth of its Galaxy ecosystem. Samsung’s foldable software, connected device portfolio and Gemini integration in One UI give it a wider service base than other Android competitors.  
• Huawei’s ecosystem position is strongest in China, where HarmonyOS, local services and Huawei’s own device portfolio are closely linked. This gives Huawei a strong domestic ecosystem story, but the lack of GMS access continues to limit its overseas competitiveness and reduces its ability to match Apple or Samsung in global ecosystem reach. 
• Google has strong software and AI assets, but its hardware ecosystem is narrower than Samsung’s and less vertically controlled than Apple’s. Its advantage is more visible in Android, Gemini and Workspace integration than in a tightly integrated foldable device ecosystem.  

Divergent Strategies Across the Expanded Foldable Landscape 

Beyond the Tier-1 leaders, other OEMs are also testing different ways to link foldable hardware with AI-assisted use cases. The common direction is not simply to make the display larger, but to make the inner screen more useful for productivity, content creation, cross-device services and local market needs.  

• Apple: Apple is expected to focus its first wide book-type foldable on secure personal use cases rather than open cross-app AI automation. Payments, identity, health data and private communication are already important parts of the iPhone experience, and the wider screen could make these tasks easier to manage. For example, a banking or health app could let users review an AI-generated summary, check authentication and keep sensitive information visible in separate areas of the screen. Apple should also have an efficiency advantage if it can tune the chipset, OS and foldable display together, although the real test will be how well this works in daily use. 
• Samsung: Samsung is believed to use its next wide book-type Fold to strengthen AI-assisted multitasking. The company already has an advantage from several generations of Fold software development, especially in multi-window use and app continuity. The next step is to make these workflows less manual through deeper Galaxy AI and One UI integration. For example, the device could help move details from an email into a calendar invite, summarize related information and keep the relevant windows organized during multitasking. 
• Google: Google’s strength will come less from hardware design itself and more from its AI software layer around Android and Workspace. The next Pixel Fold is expected to prioritize slimness within existing ratios rather than wide type, but Google’s software advantage became clearer at Cloud Next 2026, where it introduced Workspace Intelligence to help Gemini work with more context across Gmail, Docs, Drive and Slides. For foldables, this gives Google a practical large-screen use case. Users could review source files, generate a slide draft and keep related app windows visible at the same time. Google’s next Gemini upgrade is also expected to focus on stronger reasoning and tighter Workspace integration.  

Adaptive Layouts and Gemini-Assisted Workflows

• Huawei: Huawei is building its foldable AI strategy around Harmony Intelligence, with a focus on productivity and enterprise-related use cases in China. System-level AI could support tasks such as document review, translation, meeting summaries and multi-screen collaboration. Huawei’s main strength is the close link between HarmonyOS, local services and differentiated hardware, which supports its position in China’s premium foldable market. The challenge is that this advantage is harder to scale globally, where app support and service access are more limited. 
• Motorola: Motorola is expanding its foldable strategy beyond its traditional flip models into larger-screen productivity devices and use cases. As Motorola’s first book-style foldable, the Razr Fold features an 8.1-inch 2K LTPO internal display that acts as a spacious canvas for work, creativity and entertainment. Based on its broader “Intelligent Interface Optimization” direction, Motorola is expected to use AI to improve adaptive layouts, multitasking and context-aware screen management, helping reduce the cognitive load of managing large-format displays for productivity-focused users. 
• HONOR: HONOR continues to use Magic Portal as the base for its intent-based UI strategy. The larger foldable screen gives this approach more room to work, as users can keep the source content visible while reviewing suggested next steps. A document, email draft, note or related app can sit side by side, reducing the need to move back and forth between screens. This could make HONOR’s predictive UI more useful for practical workflows such as drafting emails, capturing key information and linking content across apps. 
• vivo: vivo’s latest X Fold series remains closer to the conventional book-type format rather than a clearly wide-book design. Its strategy is therefore less about changing the display aspect ratio and more about turning the existing large inner screen into a professional creative workspace. Through BlueLM-based AI capabilities, vivo is expected to focus on real-time creative assistance, including generative image expansion, smart video editing and dual-pane preview workflows. This positions vivo as a use-case-driven player, leveraging AI to increase the productivity value of the current book-type form factor rather than leading a wide-type hardware transition. 
• OPPO: OPPO’s foldable strategy remains centered on refining the conventional book-type design through ultra-thin hardware, crease reduction and AI-enhanced productivity features, rather than a clear shift toward wide book proportions. With the Find N6, OPPO is emphasizing a “Pocket AI Workstation” concept supported by Free Flow Window, AI Mind Space, OPPO AI Pen, and improved battery and thermal design. This positions OPPO as a productivity-focused foldable player that uses AI software and input tools to extend the utility of the existing book-type format, rather than relying on a major aspect ratio shift. 
• Xiaomi: Xiaomi’s foldable strategy is expected to be tied closely to HyperOS and its broader device ecosystem. With its upcoming MIX Fold 5 launch in H2 2026, the key opportunity will be cross-device continuity across smartphones, tablets and EV-related use cases. This could help Xiaomi differentiate through ecosystem-level AI features that extend beyond the smartphone itself, while hardware upgrades such as hinge design and thermal control would remain important to support longer AI-assisted usage on foldable displays.   

Moving Toward Practical AI-Assisted Use Cases 

In 2026, foldables are expected to move further away from being seen mainly as experimental hardware. The category is becoming more complete as a premium device format, with durability, thinness, battery life, thermal design and software experience improving at the same time. AI does not create the need for larger screens by itself, but it makes the value of a wider inner display easier to explain when users need to review information, compare outputs and take action across apps. 

Apple’s entry should give the wide book-type format more market attention. The main point is not that Apple will introduce a larger screen alone, but that it can use the wider inner display to make trusted services such as payments, identity, health data, messaging and productivity easier to review and manage. Android OEMs are likely to take a more open approach, using larger screens to support cross-app workflows, content creation and AI-assisted multitasking. 

The next phase of foldable competition will not be decided by screen size alone. The stronger devices will be those that make the inner display useful in everyday tasks, helping users keep source content, AI output and the next action visible at the same time. This is where wide book-type foldables could become more practical than slab phones, flip-type foldables or narrower book-type devices, especially for longer AI-assisted workflows.