In recent years, foldable and dual-screen devices have emerged as the next frontier in mobile technology. These devices offer unique opportunities for developers to create innovative user experiences that weren’t possible on traditional smartphones. However; building applications for these devices requires a different strategy compared to standard Single-Screen Devices.
In this Article we are going to outline the recommended practices, tools and techniques to build applications for Foldable and Dual Screen Devices.
Contents
What are Foldable and Dual-Screen Devices?
Before starting the actual app development, let’s understand what these foldable, and dual-screen devices are:
Foldable devices: These are smartphones or tablets that contain a foldable screen, which enables their users to fold the device in half-for example, Samsung Galaxy Z Fold. They offer both a compact form factor, and the ability to unfold into a larger screen.
Dual-screen devices are devices with two separate screens, one often besides the other, that can operate independently or collectively. Examples include the Microsoft Surface Duo and the usage of a second external screen on the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold.
These new devices introduce both challenges, and opportunities in mobile app development. Developers must consider factors such as screen transitions, application continuity, and adapting the UI to different orientations, and form factors.
Why develop for foldables and dual-screens?
Along with increased adoption, the reason developers should focus on building apps that cater to these form factors is for a variety of reasons:
- New User Experiences: The devices introducedifferent waysof interacting with applications, including multitasking, split-screen views, and fluid transitions between screens.
- Innovative Features: Foldable and dual-screen devices offer more screen real estate than traditional devices to accommodate apps to display more content, features, or controls in a fun and easy-to-use manner.
- Market Differentiation: By developing apps for this new market, developers have a competitive advantage to make their applications stand out in the ever-growing market of foldable devices.
- Future-Proofing: As foldable and dual-screen devices become more mainstream, apps that areoptimized for these devices will be more adaptable to future form factors.
Key Considerations for Developing on Foldable and Dual-Screen Devices
There are several factors that are considered when developing for foldable and dual-screen devices:
- 1. Multi-Window and Multi-Tasking Support
One of the primary benefits of foldable, and dual-screen devices is the ability to run multiple apps or app views simultaneously. This is especially useful for productivity and multitasking. Developers should design apps with multi-window capabilities in mind, which will allow users to interact with more than one part of the app or combine the app with other apps seamlessly.
Best practices:
Handle multi-resume: Your application should be able to handle the fact that it may be visible in multiple windows, or is in split-screen mode.
Responsive layouts: Ensure that your app’s UI can adjust fluidly when transitioning between single-screen and multi-screen views.
Task Continuity: Applications should not lose context as the user navigates between different screens or folds and unfolds the device.
- Flexible Layouts and UI Elements
Foldable and dual-screen devices have screen sizes that differ depending on whether the device is unfolded or folded, or whether both screens are used. The dynamic nature of the device demands flexible and adaptive layouts.
Best practices:
Constraint-based layouts: Using frameworks such as Constraint Layout for Android and Flexbox will allow your application’s UI to adapt to different screen sizes and their respective aspect ratios.
Test with various screen modes: You need to test how your application behaves in both “closed” and “open” modes for foldables, or in various orientations on dual-screens.
Consider fold line: On foldable devices, there is a physical crease or fold line; avoid placing key content, such as buttons, menus, or text, across this line.
- Application Continuity and Seamless Transitions
Foldable and dual-screen devices allow users to switch between screens without losing their place in the app. This is essential for providing a smooth user experience. Developers need to design app continuity, ensuring that the app can resume its task or show relevant content as the screen unfolds or transitions.
Best practices:
Handle configuration changes: Employ the correct APIs to detect and handle changes when the device is folded, unfolded, or when switching between the screens.
Persistent states: In the case of switching between different states or form factors, the application should maintain the user’s progress and/or preferences.
- Testing Across Different Foldable Devices
Due to the variety of foldable and dual-screen devices on the market, it is essential to test your app on multiple devices to ensure compatibility. Devices like the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold, Microsoft Surface Duo, and the Motorola Razr all have different screen sizes and folding mechanisms.
Best practices:
Emulate using Android Emulator or using Windows Device Emulator: Google and Microsoft provide device emulators to simulate various foldable and dual-screen form factors that one might want to test.
Real device testing: While emulators are handy, there is just no substitute to actual hardware in testing how well the app will perform outside test conditions, such as transitions and multi-window support.
- Optimizingfor Battery and Performance
Foldable and dual-screen devices may employ larger and more powerful batteries, but this comes with higher processing demands. Developers will need to optimize their apps for performance and power consumption.
Best practices:
Optimization of rendering: Your app should not overload the GPU or CPU by using efficient rendering techniques.
Lazy loading: In applications showing large lists or content, lazy loading should be used, loading data only when required, thereby taking a lesser load on the device’s memory and processor.
Battery-friendly features: The app will implement background activity management to minimize battery drain whenever the app is not actively in use.
- Multitasking and Multi-Display Modes
Dual-screen devices like the Microsoft Surface Duo or the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Fold support multitasking, enabling users to have multiple apps running side by side or a single app stretched across both screens.
Best practices:
Support multi-display mode: Allow your app to span across two screens, or display different content in each screen with adapted layout.
Synchronize content between screens: In developing the content, every scroll, update, and media interaction on one screen should be communicated logically across both screens.
Tools and Frameworks for Developing for Foldable and Dual-Screen Devices
Several tools and frameworks help you in your endeavor to build apps for foldable and dual-screen devices:
- Android:Jetpack Window Manager: The library will allow you to manage andoptimizean app’s UI on different screen sizes and configurations, like foldables and dual-screen devices.
Multi-Window Mode: Android supports multi-window mode that can enable an app to be in multiple windows. Flexible Layouts: Create flexible UIs that adapt to different screen sizes and orientations using ConstraintLayout and FlexboxLayout.
- Windows (for Surface Duo and similar devices):Surface Duo SDK: Microsoft provides a set of APIs to build applications for dual-screen devices. This SDK provides screen spanning, drag-and-drop functionality, and multitasking support.
WinUI: Microsoft’s modern UI framework empowers developers to build apps that are optimized for flexible and dynamic layouts.
- Cross-Platform Development:Flutter: Foldable device support and responsiveness in layout building are possible with this cross-platform framework by Google.React Native: React Native gives you the flexibility to create native apps that support foldables and dual screens with responsive layouts.
Conclusion
Developing for foldable and dual-screen devices requires embracing a new way of thinking about user experience, UI design, and performance optimization. This applies not only to native mobile applications but also to modern web development, where responsive layouts and adaptive interfaces need to support multi-screen interactions.
With the right tools, frameworks, and best practices, developers can create innovative apps that make full use of the unique capabilities these devices offer. As the foldable and dual-screen device market continues to grow, app developers who focus on this area will have a distinct advantage in building future-ready applications that are ready for the next generation of mobile technology.