The Razr is one of the brand’s most iconic mobile phones and was first launched by Motorola in 2004. It became one of the most popular flip phones of the 2000s.

Motorola revived the Razr brand in a new foldable form in 2020, becoming one of the first smartphone makers to launch a device with a bendable screen.

The Razr retains its folding feature. But instead of a hinge, like the original device, the screen can bend, allowing the phone to fold.

Lenovo CEO Yuanqing Yang told CNBC Wednesday in an interview at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, that reception to the Razr “is good” and that Motorola will launch the next version of the foldable phone “very soon.”

“I think it’s much better,” Yang said of the yet unlaunched device.

He provided very few details but said that improvements would focus on the hinge and the applications on the device. Smartphone makers from Samsung to Honor that have launched foldable phones have focused on the hinge to make sure it is robust and also does not produce a line in the screen of the device. Yang said this is where the next generation of Razr phone would see improvements. Over the last few weeks, a number of players have launched foldable smartphones for the global market including Chinese vendors Honor and Oppo.

Foldable devices accounted for only 1.1% of total smartphone shipments in 2022, according to research firm IDC, and are only expected to increase to 2.8% in 2026. But they are seen by electronics makers as a way to push in to the higher end of the smartphone market.

Yang said that the prices of foldables are quite high at the moment but will reduce in the future which could make the market bigger.

“When the technology becomes mature, then the price could go down then you can drive higher volume,” the Lenovo CEO said.

Motorola is known for experimenting with different shapes of smartphones. At MWC, the company showed off a so-called “rollable” smartphone where the display rolls up.

The Find N2 Flip marks Oppo’s push to make a dent in the premium segment of the smartphone market and in the nascent foldable phone category.

The Find N2 Flip, which was launched Wednesday, folds in the middle like a traditional flip phone and boasts two screens. The main continuous 6.8-inch display is visible when the device is open and can connect to next-generation 5G mobile networks. There is a second display on the outside of the phone when the device is folded, which Oppo touts as the “largest cover screen of its kind.”

The company said the phone can withstand more than 400,000 folds and unfolds at standard room temperature, which it equates to opening and closing the device around 100 times a day for more than 10 years.

The foldable phone category, which was pioneered by Samsung, is still in the early stages. Shipments of foldables accounted for only 1.1% of total smartphone shipments in 2022, according to IDC, and are expected to increase to just 2.8% in 2026.

“I think there’s this kind of tricky thing with foldables: they’re all lovely, everyone is excited by them, but do we really know how big the market is?” Ben Wood, chief of research at CCS Insight, told CNBC via phone.

Interestingly, Google plans to launch foldable devices as well, including a clamshell foldable and a side-by-side foldable, which will go directly against the Galaxy Z Flip and the Galaxy Z Fold series. It means that Samsung will not only have to compete with Google on the non-foldable smartphone front but also in the foldable smartphone realm in the coming years.

Google is planning to launch two smartphones in April/May 2023. One of them will be the Pixel 7A, which is codenamed ‘Lynx.’ This phone, as you might have guessed, will be a more affordable alternative to the Pixel 7. According to the report, the Pixel 7A will have the same price as the Pixel 6A: $449.

The second device will be the Pixel Fold, a side-by-side foldable smartphone similar to the Galaxy Z Fold 4. This device is codenamed ‘Felix,’ and according to the report, will be priced at $1,799, which will put it in direct competition with the Galaxy Z Fold lineup. Unfortunately, details about its specs are scarce at the moment.

Pixel 8 series is coming in H2 2023

Around the fall of 2023, Google plans to launch the Pixel 8 lineup. Similar to this year’s Pixels, the Pixel 8 will have two devices, the Pixel 8, which is codenamed ‘Shiba,’ and the Pixel 8 Pro, which is codenamed ‘Husky.’

While the Pixel 8 Pro will have a similar screen size and dimensions as the Pixel 7 Pro, Google will reportedly shrink the screen size and overall form factor of the Pixel 8, which means that it could go directly against the Galaxy S23. Both the Pixel 8 series phones are said to feature a chipset codenamed ‘Puma,’ and you can expect Google to market this SoC as Tensor G3.

Google may or may not launch Pixel 8A in H1 2024

In the first half of 2024, we could see the launch of Pixel 8A, which is codenamed ‘Akita.’ However, Google might launch this smartphone only if it sees good success with the Pixel 7A. Else, the company may scrap the plan to launch the device.

Seemingly, Google is also thinking of launching Pixel A-series smartphones once every two years rather than launching one every year. If the brand does launch the Pixel 8A, it will reportedly be priced at $499, which will be $50 costlier thane its predecessor.

Pixel 9 series could arrive in H2 2024 with three phones

The Pixel 9 series will reportedly arrive in the fall of 2024, and interestingly, it will have three phones, and this lineup would look like Apple’s iPhone series.

There will be the Pixel 9, which will be similar to the iPhone 14. Then there will be the Pixel 9 Pro—codenamed ‘Caiman’— like the iPhone 14 Pro. The third device—codenamed ‘Komodo’—will be in the league of the iPhone 14 Pro Max. All three phones would come with the ‘Redondo’ chipset, and Google will most likely call it the Tensor G4.

Along with it, Google could also launch a successor to the Pixel Fold. Reportedly, it would get specific about the second-gen foldable only after seeing consumer response for the ‘Felix.’

Galaxy Z Flip rival from Google could come in 2025

Google’s 2025 lineup of smartphones could heavily be influenced by the success or failure of its 2023 and 2024 devices. But what’s more important is that Google is planning to launch a clamshell foldable smartphone in 2025, which could go directly against the Galaxy Z Flip series.

Google’s flip-style phone will most likely launch alongside the Pixel 10 lineup, which will have three devices. The first one would be the Pixel 10, which will be the base variant in the lineup. There will be two Pixel 10 Pro models, one with a smaller screen size and the other with a larger screen size.

That being said, Google might also drop its plan to launch a clamshell Pixel phone, and in that case, the company could launch four non-foldable pixel phones, which would include the Pixel 10 in small and large sizes and the Pixel 10 Pro in small and large size. This strategy, once again, would be similar to Apple’s.

So, it looks like Google’s smartphones launching in 2023, 2024, and 2025 will be heavily influenced by Apple’s and Samsung’s current lineup of flagship devices. More importantly, Google is going to compete with Samsung on many fronts in the near future, and if Samsung wants to be ahead in the race, it definitely has to up its game.