Google’s major goal with its $1,800 Pixel Fold smartphone appears to be researching user behavior and improving Android’s compatibility with this burgeoning market of multi-screen devices, rather than reaching big sales statistics.

According to Moor Insights & Strategy analyst Anshel Sag, the Pixel Fold’s pricing is in line with Google’s goals. The Pixel Fold does not seek to undercut its competitors or reach a broader user base. Instead, as Sag argues, it acts as a platform for Google to enhance its foldable software. Google can acquire significant insights into enhancing user experiences and enable developers to grasp the promise of foldables by digging into the hardware side.

This technique is similar to Google’s Pixel Watch strategy, which entered a mature industry controlled by Apple, Samsung, and Garmin. The Pixel Watch provided a fluid and visually beautiful interface that allowed Google to experiment with new interactions, apps, and experiences. Similarly, the Pixel Fold allows Google to take complete control of the hardware and software, allowing for the investigation of multitasking, screen switching, and app behaviors peculiar to bigger displays without requiring high sales volumes.

Furthermore, the Pixel Fold has an influence outside of the smartphone industry. Google may use data from its huge display to help reinvigorate the faltering Android tablet market, which has long been eclipsed by Apple’s iPad. Google can improve app functioning on tablets that are mostly used inside by using the Fold’s dynamic folding capabilities.

This testing may result in a more flexible and responsive ecosystem of apps, responding to different orientations and activities like folding, unfolding, and spinning the screen.

The sources for this piece include an article in Wired.