Google to borrow a basic feature from Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold lineup

Google's first foldable phone, the Pixel Fold, launched four years after Samsung launched the first Galaxy Fold. But despite all that extra time Google had at its disposal, the Pixel Fold lags behind when it comes to the number of software features that take advantage of the form factor (and it's slower, too).

It also seems like Google simply ran out of time to put in some features and is planning to bring them to the Pixel Fold through future updates. And one of those features is a rather basic one that has been available on Samsung's Galaxy Z Fold lineup for a long time: the option to have apps continue on the cover screen when the device is folded.

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On Samsung's Galaxy Z Fold smartphones, if you are using an app on the cover display and unfold the device, you can continue using the app on the bigger display without any interruption. The opposite is also true. If you enable the Continue apps on cover screen setting on your Galaxy Z Fold, you can also force the phone to open an app on the cover screen when you fold it shut.

Pixel Fold will get Samsung's Continue apps on cover screen feature

The Pixel Fold, on the other hand, only supports switching from the cover screen to the bigger main display. If an app is being used on the Pixel Fold's main display and the device is folded, the cover screen remains turned off and the user has to manually wake up the phone and relaunch the app.

Thankfully for Pixel Fold owners, Google aims to address that with a future update. A feature called Continue using apps on fold has been spotted inside a beta Android 14 build for the Pixel Fold, and it does exactly what the name suggests. Google is doing it a bit differently: the Pixel Fold will allow the user to choose whether all apps are continued on the cover screen or if only games and videos are allowed to do so.

Samsung, on the other hand, lets you individually select which apps will continue on the cover screen or force all apps to do it. We feel Samsung's method gives users more control over the feature, though an option that automatically allows only some type of apps to continue on the cover screen would also be nice to have.

In any case, if you own a Galaxy Z Fold and haven't already enabled the feature, you can do so by opening the Settings app, selecting Display, and tapping Continue apps on cover screen. Here, you can use the All apps toggle or individually toggle the setting on for your desired apps. Not all apps support resizing when switching from the main display to the cover display, and you won't be able to force the feature on for such apps even if you select the All apps option.