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A foldable phone is not for everyone. These devices tend to be heavier and pricier than standard slab phones, and they’ve historically traded off camera quality and durability to get there. That said, things have come a long way — thanks in no small part to companies like Google, today’s foldables are sturdy enough to take to the beach without too much anxiety.
Right now there are two main form factors on the market: the book-style and the clamshell flip. A book-style foldable is essentially a phone and a tablet rolled into one, while a flip-style model pairs the footprint of a smartwatch with a full phone experience. Book foldables typically carry an outer screen for quick tasks and a larger inner display for when you need the extra space. Flip phones go the other way — a compact external screen for notifications, and a full-sized display when you open them up.
What I Look For in a Foldable
How We Test Phones
Testing a phone properly means actually living with it. I put my personal SIM in — physical or virtual — and spend a week using it as my primary device. I run the battery down, navigate bike routes while streaming music, and take bursts of portraits of my child. Switching devices every week sounds either exciting or exhausting depending on your disposition. For me, it’s just routine at this point.
Top-notch Software Support
The phones I test run powerful processors with plenty of RAM, so I expect them to hold up over time. The baseline I look for is four years of OS upgrades and five years of security patches. A lot of the devices I test hit that mark or go further.
A Fantastic Camera
Most phone cameras do fine in good light — even budget models. What separates the ones I recommend is something extra: a useful telephoto lens, strong portrait mode, or genuine low-light capability. Stabilisation is non-negotiable if you’re shooting in dim conditions.
Best-in-Class Build Quality
Most foldables these days carry an IP48 rating, which means they can handle some water immersion and block particles larger than a millimetre. Dust, though, remains a vulnerability. The Pixel 10 Pro Fold is a notable exception — it’s the first foldable to earn an IP68 rating, meaning full water and dust resistance.
Value
I try to cover devices across different price points, but what I’m really after is a phone that earns its asking price. Sometimes that means pointing you toward a lower-tier model with better features for the money, or last year’s phone when the new version doesn’t justify the upgrade.
These foldables all share a form factor, but they serve two different kinds of people: those who want more out of their phone, and those who just want something that pockets more discreetly. Whichever camp you fall into, it’s worth picking up the manufacturer’s extended warranty. Repairs are expensive, and most local phone repair shops won’t touch a foldable. If you skip the warranty, just make sure you’d be comfortable replacing the device outright — because a stray grain of sand in the wrong place can end things quickly.
If you’re still reading and still excited about foldables, that’s probably a good sign you’ll get a lot out of one. After testing more models than I can easily count, they remain some of my favourite devices to use. Running four apps at once, propping the phone up like a tiny laptop, recording video in camcorder mode — it genuinely doesn’t get old. And neither does snapping it shut.
Featured Devices:
Pixel 10 Pro Fold
- Price: $1700
- The Good: Full dust resistance! Qi2 support with built-in magnets.
- The Bad: Hefty design; camera quality doesn’t match other 10 Pro phones; more expensive than standard phones.
- Specs: 8-inch, 2076p, 120Hz OLED inner screen; 5,015mAh battery…
Durability
The Pixel 10 Pro Fold feels like a genuine turning point for the category. That IP68 rating means you can take it hiking or to the beach without treating it like a fragile antique. Add Qi2 support and Google’s Tensor G5 chip, and it’s a serious piece of kit.
It’s not flawless, though. Battery life holds up fine with moderate use, but lean heavily on that inner display and you’ll be hunting for a charger before the day is out. The camera, while solid, doesn’t quite reach the standard set by Google’s other 10 Pro devices — low-light performance in particular falls short. It also weighs more than the Galaxy Z Fold 7, though plenty of people will see that as a fair trade for the added durability.
Read our full Pixel 10 Pro Fold review.
Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 7
- Price: $900
- The Good: Redesigned cover screen vastly improves usability; phenomenal battery life; reliable camera performance.
- The Bad: Still prone to dust ingress; cover screen struggles with full app functionality.
- Specs: 6.9-inch, 1080p, 120Hz OLED inner screen; 4.1-inch, 948p OLED cover screen…
If the Razr Ultra doesn’t quite do it for you, the Galaxy Z Flip 7 is a well-rounded alternative. The bigger cover screen handles quick interactions well — checking a message or skipping a track without opening the phone feels natural now in a way it didn’t on earlier Flip models.
Long-term durability in sandy or dusty conditions is still a question mark, as it is with most foldables. But Samsung backs it with a solid warranty and service programme, plus seven years of OS and security updates. It’s the most polished Flip yet.
Read our full Galaxy Z Flip 7 review.
Other Considerations
The foldable market keeps moving. The Huawei Mate XTs turns heads with its unusual design, and the Motorola Razr Plus 2025 has made real strides on durability. If you want to see where things are heading, the Oppo Find N5 is genuinely impressive — though it’s still not available in Western markets.
Samsung is also rumoured to have a trifold device in the pipeline for later this year. Pricing is expected to land around $1,999, on par with the Galaxy Z Fold 7. If that number is accurate, it could make for an interesting new benchmark in the category.
Update: As of November 17th, prices and availability have been adjusted.
