FOLDABLE SMARTPHONES: PROS AND CONS

If you’re a fan of the flip phones of yesteryear, you’ll see a lot of familiar names on this list, with plenty of big companies still making flip phones for the many buyers who still want them. Today we’ve ranked the best ones you can buy right now, whatever your purpose 😉. 

THE FOLDABLE CELL PHONE CRAZE IS BACK

Foldable phones are still appealing despite the dominance of big, powerful smartphones. They have become popular so that people who want to return to the nostalgia of the early 2000s can have them and relive those years where you would close the phone to hang up a call. But they have other advantages that can appeal to all kinds of people: they are very portable and affordable, they have super long-lasting batteries, and they give a very satisfying click when you close them after a call.

And just because flip phones were all the rage more than a decade ago doesn’t mean they haven’t evolved. Now the new flip phones have the best technology with WhatsApp, Facebook, 4G connectivity, rear cameras and more modern features. You are sure to see in this list foldable phones that rival the best smartphones.

DISCOVER THE BEST BRANDS OF FOLDABLE PHONES

Samsung

Samsung’s Galaxy Z Flip does a lot of things very well. It has great performance, moderate battery life, and the latest version of Android. But it does one thing that 99% of other phones still can’t do: it folds in half.

Samsung uses a new technology called Ultra-Thin Glass (UTG). This glass is almost as flexible as the plastic OLED display of the Samsung Galaxy Fold and the Motorola Razr. Samsung also uses UTG in its successor to the Fold, the Galaxy Z Fold 2, as well as in the Galaxy Z Flip 5G.

The Galaxy Z Flip features two cameras on the hood of the phone. One is a standard 12MP wide-angle lens with an f/1.8 aperture and optical image stabilization. The second is a wide-angle lens with 12 MP resolution, no optical image stabilization and a 123-degree field of view.

👉 Want to know more about this cell phone? Don’t miss our post and discover everything about the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 3.

Huawei

The Mate X has an 8-inch plastic OLED display that folds back (away from the user) and wraps around the back of the device to become a smaller device with a footprint that resembles a late 2019 Android phone, notably the Samsung Galaxy Note 10. Once folded, the front of the phone is mostly screen (6.6 inches) with no notch.

So where does the selfie camera go? Well, there isn’t one. To take selfies, users have to flip the phone over and use the main camera module, along with the back of the phone (which is also screen) to take self-portraits. Of the new Huawei P50, recently launched in January 2022 and also foldable, we have created a special guide. If you want to know the features of the Huawei P50, don’t miss our post. 

Xiaomi

The Xiaomi MI Mix knows that the quality of the screen of a cell phone is very important. This giant 8-inch display is also a primary color AMOLED display with 2K resolution and P3 color gamut. The pixel density of 387 PPI has also reached the level of retina fine. On the basis of such a display, with the four Harman Kardon speakers, it’s undoubtedly a smartphone. The most efficient productivity tool among them.

Since the CMOS ratio of current cell phones is mostly 4:3, and the full-frame camera is mostly 3:2, the photos taken by both are extremely suitable for the 4:3 screen ratio of the MIX FOLD foldable display.

Oppo

It’s a flexible OLED panel sourced from Samsung, and it has a variable refresh rate that can go up to 120 Hz, which means animations look smoother than on a 60 Hz display.

The Find N cell phone is powered by a Snapdragon 888, which at the time of the device’s launch may still be considered a “flagship chip,” but in a few weeks will officially be state-of-the-art. Still, it’s quite powerful, and the 12 GB of RAM on board makes everything run smoothly.

HUAWEI AND SAMSUNG FOLDABLE PHONES: WHICH IS BETTER?

The design is one of the aspects where the difference is immediately apparent: the Huawei Mate X folds in on itself leaving the large tablet screen exposed when the phone is folded, while the Samsung Galaxy Fold folds in on itself and the tablet screen is hidden when the phone is folded.

Which you prefer is up to you, but Huawei’s approach leaves the screen exposed to scratches in the pocket, while Samsung’s approach looks like you’d have to worry more about wear and tear.

Aside from the looks and displays of these two devices, we have to think about some specs. Under the hood of the Huawei Mate X is a Huawei Kirin 980 processor – the fastest Huawei makes at the moment – as well as 8GB of RAM and 512GB of internal storage, plus a memory card slot.

On Samsung’s side, the Samsung Galaxy Fold features a Snapdragon 855 processor – pretty much the best of Android phones in 2019 – along with a whopping 12GB of RAM and 512GB of internal storage, though it can’t be expanded with a memory card. Performance-wise, it’s almost on par with the others, with Samsung perhaps leading the way.

Both the Huawei Mate X and Samsung Galaxy Fold use a side fingerprint sensor to get past the lock screen, and both use a USB-C jack for charging and data transfer. Neither of these phones have managed to include a 3.5mm headphone jack.

With similar specs, similar software, and similar pricing, you have to decide which folding mechanism you like better… or perhaps which company you trust more to make a device that can withstand constant folding without suddenly breaking.

Ultimately, though, folding direction aside, these are two very well matched phones.