Best foldable and flip phones: Samsung, Google, Motorola and more

Foldable phones might still feel like new technology, but they've been on the market for more than five years and long gone are the days of common screen damage and product recalls. 

Samsung released its sixth version of its iconic Fold & Flip phones last year, and there's now more competition than ever from brands such Google, Motorola and OnePlus. So is it time to ditch the traditional mobile? Read on to find out the pros and cons of these cutting-edge smartphones and if a tablet might suit you better.

See our expert pick of the best mobile phones at a range of prices.

Best foldable and flip phones

Samsung now has competition in the foldable phone market – Which? members can view our top-rated foldable phones below.

Looking for more basic options? Browse our reviews of the best simple mobile phones for cheaper alternatives to smartphones.

Join Which? to get instant access, or read on for our pick of some of the best foldable phones.

What are the benefits of foldable and flip phones?

There are two styles of foldable phones. Flip phones have a long main screen and fold down to a square measuring about two inches. When folded down there's a small screen for quick actions or notifications. Fold phones look like a standard smartphone when closed (albeit chunkier), but open to a large screen much like a miniature tablet.

Bigger display

Fold phones open to screens measuring over 7.5 inches – with a bigger screen, you might find this helps with eye strain and with being more productive. A larger screen also helps with multitasking. The latest Android software allows you to have multiple apps open and floating around the screen to do more at once.

Splitting screens

The hinges on a number of foldable phones are built to put in table-top mode – where you place the phone on a flat surface and fold up the hinge so it sits partially open, a bit like the shape of a laptop. Some apps can detect this and split your main screen in two. For example, on the camera app, the preview of the camera will appear on one side and the controls on the other.

Easier portability

If you're after a big-screen experience, a foldable phone is lighter and easier to transport than a tablet. In terms of weight, the bigger Fold phones weigh around 272g, while the average tablet weighs 500g. They're also easy to keep in a pocket, with a secondary screen for notifications and quick actions meaning you don't always have to open the phone to the main screen.

Better selfies

One perk unique to some foldable phones is that you can fold it and use the rear camera system to take selfies and use the smaller screen to preview shots. Rear cameras are much more powerful than front-facing ones, including multiple lenses and more photography modes. You can also do this to improve the picture quality of video calls.

What are the disadvantages of foldable and flip phones?

Less durable

The glass on the main screen of a folding phone needs to be thin and flexible so it can fold over. But so far, this means the screens are much more susceptible to scratches than non-folding ones. When we've sent these phones to the test lab, we've also found that foldable phones are generally not as robust when dropped over and over, whether opened or closed.  

Shorter battery life

Fuelling two high-quality and bright screens is heavy lifting for a smartphone battery. This means you'll likely notice it doesn't last as long as on a standard smartphone, especially with heavy use. 

Expensive

Foldable phone technology is still new enough to be very expensive with foldables launching from around £700 to £2,000. It's worth bearing in mind that with this sort of money to spend, you can buy a brilliant phone and tablet separately. Read on to find out more about the foldables on the market, and which tablets and phones we recommend as an alternative.

We review more than 65 smartphones a year. Find out the winners and losers in our smartphone reviews.

Is a foldable phone a good idea?

Potentially, yes, but given the high price you'll want to make sure you'll get enough benefit from the foldable design. Visit a phone store to try a foldable or flip phone out in person, and decide which design would best suit your typical needs.

You can also make savings by shopping for older models. Now the market is established enough, it's worth checking prices for a previous generation phone or considering the second hand phones market.

Below we overview some of the more popular foldable phones to help you decide.

Samsung's Fold and Flip phones

Samsung was the first major manufacturer to release smartphones with folding screen technology. But now brands such as Google, Motorola and OnePlus are giving them a run for their money, either trying to outperform the power of Samsung's foldables or undercut their prices. Samsung has two different types of foldable phones:

• Samsung Flip – this is a long, rectangular phone where the screen folds down to a pocket-sized device. It's cheaper than the most premium Samsung Fold and better suited to someone who doesn't want a bulky device.
• Samsung Fold - when open, it's like a mini tablet that you can fold in half to reveal a second screen that's still over 6-inches tall. It's worth considering if you prefer that big-screen experience and want to see lots of apps open at once.

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip6

The latest Samsung Galaxy Z Flip6 tries to give you the best of both worlds. When closed, there's a 3.4-inch screen to check notifications and carry out quick actions without having to unfold to the main screen. The main screen is 6.7 inches with 2,640 x 1,080-pixel resolution and a high 120Hz refresh rate.

There's plenty to like beyond the screens. On the back is a suite of two high-resolution cameras and the system benefits from Galaxy AI features. It has one of the strongest processors on the market - the Snapdragon 8 Gen3 processor - and a sizeable 4,000mAh battery. Storage shouldn't be a problem starting at 256GB in the base model.

The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip5 is the previous generation of this popular phone and isn't too different from the Flip6. SQUIRREL_TEXT_50011245

Find out how the latest model performed in our Samsung Galaxy Z Flip6 review. You can buy it at the retailers below or compare the best contract deals. 

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold6

It’s 7.6-inch display is large enough to feel like a miniature tablet when open and the folding mechanism has been improved over the years, so that the crease between the twin frames is minimised.

When folded, its screen is 6.2-inches, which is similar to a non-foldable smartphone. It weighs 275g and is 13.5mm thick when folded, which might take some getting used to if you're used to a thin, light handset. The rear cameras have a premium set up and it comes with some of the latest Galaxy AI features.

The previous Galaxy Z Fold5 is still on sale. SQUIRREL_TEXT_50014578

The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold6 available Sim-free at the retailers below. Compare contract deals here and read our full Samsung Galaxy Z Fold6 review.

Foldable phones from Google, Motorola and OnePlus

Samsung now has a number of rivals in the market, and these are well worth weighing up.

Google Pixel Fold

Google released its first phone with a folding screen in 2023 and it is most similar to the Samsung Galaxy Fold phones. When folded it has a 5.8-inch screen (1,080 x 2,092 pixels), which is a bit smaller than most smartphones' 6.5-inch screens. It then unfolds to a 7.6-inch (1,840 x 2,208 pixels) main screen, similar to a mini tablet. It has high-spec cameras cameras, a modern Google Tensor G2 chip, and comes with 256GB or 512GB of storage.

Our Google Pixel Fold review reveals how it performs. Check out the current prices from retailers below or compare contract deals.

Motorola Razr 50 and 50 Ultra

Adopting the nostalgic Razr name, Motorola has released a few phones with folding screens. The latest of which are part of the Razr 50 range. The Razr 50 is similar to the style of the Samsung's Galaxy Flip phones with a long 6.9-inch screen that folds in half to reveal a smaller 3.6-inch display. The 50 Ultra has a similar design but it's main draws are the bigger outer display (4 inches) and higher-resolution cameras.

Compare their scores and abilities in our Motorola Razr 50 and Motorola Razr 50 Ultra reviews. They are available Sim-free at the retailers below or compare Razr 50 and Razr 50 Ultra contract deals.

OnePlus Open

OnePlus' first foldable is in the same style as Samsung and Google's Fold phones. When closed, it looks like a bulky smartphone and opens to the size of a mini tablet (7.82 inches), and the smaller screen is 6.3 inches. 

The bold rear camera nodule is hard to ignore – OnePlus has partnered with the camera manufacturer, Hasselblad, to develop the lenses, and they have impressive specs and capabilities. OnePlus claims it can charge it in just 42 minutes.

Find out if it can outperform foldables from Google and Samsung in our OnePlus Open review, or buy it from OnePlus.

Can you use a stylus with a foldable phone?

With a number of foldable phones opening to the size of a small tablet, you might assume that you can get a stylus to navigate it. However, they have limited compatibilities.

Samsung makes ones called S Pens that can be used on the third generation of Samsung's Fold phones and later, but only to navigate and write on the bigger screen. They won't work on the smaller, folded display.

• S Pen for Z Fold3/Fold4
• S Pen for Z Fold5/Fold6

You might be able to find cheaper styluses at retailers or on online marketplaces, but be cautious. It's best to buy from a reputable manufacturer and double-check that the stylus is compatible with your foldable phone before buying. This is the only chance of finding a stylus for the Google Pixel Fold or OnePlus Fold since these manufacturers don't make a compatible ones.

If you're waiting for a foldable iPhone from Apple, you'll have to keep waiting. In the meantime, see the Apple iPhones we recommend. 

Foldable phones vs tablets

A foldable phone can be the best of both worlds; you get a big screen that folds up small for when you're on the move.

But with one device, you might need to opt for a foldable with more storage or use Cloud storage to hold all your data. You can also still feel the fold in the middle of the main screen, which some users might find annoying in comparison to a traditional tablet.

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