Flippable and foldable smartphones are taking mobile phones where no mobile phone has gone… since the year 2007, when flip phones were still in vogue, and owning an iPhone was considered an unimaginable luxury for normal, tech unsavvy people. In 2023, things are coming full circle and we’re now seeing smartphones that mimic flip phones or double as foldable tablets.
Folding smartphones are more stylish than the conventional brick-shaped smartphone design, and even though they’re relatively new to the market, there are already a few great options as more manufacturers enter the foldable smartphone race – if you’re an Android user, that is. News about iPhone Flip is still slim, but you don’t have to wait to upgrade. Here are the top foldable smartphone designs you can find in 2023.
1. Galaxy Z Fold 5
The Galaxy Z Fold 5 is widely considered the most powerful, feature-rich foldable smartphone on the market. It ties with the Google Pixel Fold for being the most expensive at $1799.99, but its 6.2 inch cover AMOLED 2x display (and 7.6 inch tablet display) are rated for brightness levels of up to 1750 nits at resolutions of 904 x 2316 and 1812 x 2176, respectively. That’s all possible because of its internal Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 CPU and 4400 mAh battery. Much like other leading Samsung smartphones, it comes with support for the S Pen stylus that makes multitasking and precise interactions far simpler.
It also packs in 12 gigs of RAM, up to 1 TB of storage space (via the Samsung website), and a triple rear camera system with a 50 megapixel main sensor, 12 megapixel ultrawide, and a 10 megapixel telephoto lens.
2. Google Pixel Fold
If you’re specifically looking for a powerful smartphone that also doubles as a tablet – but you aren’t sold on the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 – you should also consider the Google Pixel Fold. It uses OLED displays, but it’s a little more compact than the former with a cover display size of 5.8 inches (2092×1080 resolution) and a tablet display size of 7.6 inches (2208×1840 resolution). It’s darker than the Z Fold 5, given that its peak brightness is 1450 nits, however, it has a slightly more powerful 4821 mAh battery to keep it powered longer. This is useful in Extreme Battery Saver mode, which supposedly lets you keep your Pixel Fold awake for up to 72 hours on a single charge.
Its Google Tensor G2 processor and 12 GB RAM make it similar in power to its immediate competitor, but it features a cleaner implementation of Android which makes it feel more buttery smooth in action. Unfortunately, its MSRP of $1919 makes it the least affordable of the bunch.
3. Galaxy Z Flip 5
Flippable smartphones are more approachable to the average user, both in cost effectiveness and portability. The Galaxy Z Flip 5 phone is the best flippable smartphone around, thanks to its robust feature set and immaculate build quality. Both its 3.4 inch cover and 6.7 inch portrait display use AMOLED screens with 720×748 and 1080×2640 resolutions, meaning you can do a lot with the tiny cover screen and see it all with excellent sharpness and clarity.
It’s not going to compete in raw power with the foldable phones I talked about earlier, but its compact build size means it doesn’t need to. The Galaxy Z Flip 5 features a 3700 mAh battery, Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 CPU, and 8 gigs of RAM. It can still be equipped with up to 512 GB of internal storage, and its 12 MP rear cameras produce crisp and clean photos.
4. Motorola Razr+
The classic Motorola Razr was one of the most iconic flip phones during the heyday of flip phones, and now it’s returned as the Motorola Razr+ (or Motorola Razr Plus, or Motorola Razr 40 Ultra, depending who you ask). This powerful little smartphone uses a 3.6 inch cover display (1066×1056) and a 6.9 inch pOLED vertical display (2640×1080). It uses a Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 CPU and a 3800 mAh battery with 8 gigs of RAM. It can store up to 256 gigs internally, and its selfie camera captures photos at 32 megapixels.
5. OPPO Find N3 Fold
The OPPO Find N3 Fold is a powerful foldable smartphone that is especially useful to photographers because of its 48 MP rear camera, 64 MP ultrawide camera, and 64 MP telephoto camera. It sits just shy of the Galaxy Z Fold 5 in terms of cost with an MSRP of roughly $1745, but it hits the sweet spot with its 4800 mAh battery that can power its Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 CPU. Its 7.8 inch main AMOLED display is impressive with a resolution of 2240×2268, which looks great with games and action-heavy videos like live sports with its 120 Hz refresh rate.
