Foldable phones used to be a far-flung concept from science fiction, but the latest in foldable smartphones brings the ideas of the future to the here and now. Built with strong aluminum frames and cutting-edge ultra-thin glass that can literally fold in half, these phones will amaze you every single time you open and close them.
Right now, it's nigh impossible to find a more ideal foldable phone than the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5. When unfolded, it looks similar to the average smartphone, including a sleek and slim chassis with an all-day battery. But, when you're all done and just need to fit it in your jeans pocket, you can fold it in half, and it magically seems to fit just about anywhere.
The beauty of the foldables market is that you don't just have to have a "normal" shape phone that folds in half. What if you'd rather have a regular-size phone that unfolds into a tablet instead? Or maybe a book-style foldable makes more sense, giving you two screens instead of one. Either way you fold it, these tremendous foldable phones bring the best parts of the best Android phones into neat, versatile packages.
Let's get to unfolding the best foldable phones
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With the Galaxy Z Flip 5, Samsung finally increased the size of the outer cover screen and made it far more useful than ever before. Previous entries into the series had smaller displays that were good for telling the time or checking notifications, but it was hard to actually do anything with those little screens.
At 3.4-inches, this screen is big enough to use a full-sized keyboard to reply to messages, run full apps, and just use the large, inner display less often. That's both convenient for everyday use — it's certainly more glanceable than having to open the phone — plus, using a smaller display more often will inherently improve daily battery life since the phone doesn't have to power a big display every time you use it.
But that cover display is still a bit limited in how it handles apps. Sure, you can technically run full apps on it but you'll need to download Samsung Good Lock and enable the feature. Plus, Samsung keeps apps pinned as individual widgets instead of just giving you a full app drawer like Motorola does on the Razr Plus.
Samsung launched a brand new hinge design with the Flip 5 that makes the phone fold completely flat instead of the wedge shape of previous generations. Aside from just looking nicer, this hinge slims up the phone by a full 2mm and lightens it up a few grams, as well.
The rest of the phone is a little less exciting but still includes the latest mobile processor — the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 — which provides the fastest speeds and best battery efficiency of any processor designed for an Android phone yet. There are no camera upgrades this year but the Flip 4's camera was always pretty good, anyway. Just don't expect to zoom in very far since there's no telephoto lens.
We'll have a full review of the Flip 5 in the coming weeks but, for now, our Galaxy Z Flip 5 hands-on more or less confirms that this is the best foldable for most people.
The Motorola Razr Plus is two phones in one, outclassing the Galaxy Z Flip 5 in quite a few surprising ways. The biggest reason to choose the Razr Plus is the cover screen, which might initially be surprising because it looks very similar to what Samsung offers on the Flip 5.
So why is it so different if it's basically the same size? Motorola doesn't put any restrictions on what you can do with the cover display, which is why we say it's two phones in one. The smaller cover display on the front acts like a full phone so you can use the Razr Plus more often without having to open it up.
Yes, that sounds a little silly given how easy Motorola's hinge makes it to open and close on a whim, but there's just something nice about being able to use a smaller display for quick tasks. Plus, using that smaller screen more often will improve battery life which is one of the phone's only real negative points. Battery life isn't awful but it's certainly not the best.
In addition to a better cover screen, Motorola has two more hardware features that are better than Samsung's: the display crease, and the curved edges.
The Razr Plus's display crease is basically non-existent compared to the Z Flip 5's. Sure, both phones fold flat and utilize a waterdrop display curve inside the hinge but Motorola does a much better job of hiding the crease. Plus, the curved edges of the phone make the Razr Plus so much easier to open and close than Samsung's flat edges.
On the software side, Motorola's modern software update promise is almost as good as Samsung's — just one year short but you'll still get years of software upgrades for free — and Motorola's timeless gestures are here in all their glory. Double twist to open the camera, double chop to toggle the flashlight, and plenty more make it easy to quickly perform common tasks. Overall, it's a phenomenal phone and a great alternative to Samsung's Flip series.
We're still early in the review process but it's pretty clear that Samsung has, once again, made the best overall large foldable phone of 2023. Yes, it's still got the same cameras and aspect ratio of the Fold 4, but Samsung improved other important things and still has the best overall software experience of any foldable manufacturer.
First up, Samsung completely redesigned its hinge mechanism which now folds completely flat. In my Galaxy Z Fold 5 hands-on, I pointed out that the phone is quite a bit slimmer and much lighter than the Fold 4, making it feel generally better while holding or storing in a pocket.
That new hinge also feels better to open and close than ever, with a lovely spring to help it open or close more elegantly. Additionally, the hinge no longer creaks or crackles as older Galaxy Z Fold or Flip phones used to, which is always nice on an $1,800 phone.
Samsung added a new "shock absorptive layer" under the display to help with any longevity issues that have cropped up over the years, which usually resulted in screens breaking spontaneously along the hinge. Plus, the hinge now folds the glass into a waterdrop shape instead of the U-shape that previous Galaxy Folds and Flips used, which should further help with longevity of the display.
The taskbar got upgraded for the release of the Fold 5 and now supports up to 4 recent app icons right on the dock, making multitasking better than ever. Plus, the new Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 processor inside is the fastest Android processor yet and even offers better battery life, making this the most well-rounded large foldable experience ever.
Last but certainly not least is the new S Pen case which packs a slimmer S Pen right into the case, making it feel like the S Pen is actually integrated into the phone itself. As a bonus, this S Pen is bigger than the one found in the Galaxy S23 Ultra, so it's more comfortable, but doesn't take up as much space as the old S Pen Fold Edition from the Fold 3 and Fold 4 days.
The Pixel Fold was one of the most anticipated Google products in history, finally debuting in June 2023 after years of leaks and rumors of its existence. Along with the award-winning Pixel camera system, this Pixel Fold packs in tons of great Pixel-exclusive features and a wider aspect ratio than most large foldable phones.
First and foremost, if you want a foldable phone that actually challenges and beats many flagship slab phones, you'll want the Pixel Fold. I've been using the Pixel Fold for two months (as of this writing) and have yet to be disappointed in the camera system. It's got superb selfie cameras, a 5x telephoto camera, an ultrawide angle camera, and a superior main camera, as well.
Google's camera software could use with a UI update that better fits foldables but, given the company's new focus on apps for large and foldable screens, it's only a matter of time before it gets a proper revamp. Still, it's not bad by any means and it offers better image quality than you'll find anywhere else which really is what matters in the end.
On the software side, the Pixel Fold launched with a revamped version of the Pixel Android experience including plenty of new UI changes that take better advantage of large, wide displays. Because of its wide aspect ratio, the Pixel Fold turns into a proper tablet when opened complete with landscape-mode tablet apps, when available.
Aside from that, Google has also simultaneously produced the most and least elegant hardware in a 2023 foldable. The outer dispay and overall hardware design are second to none with an ultra-thin frame and gorgeous style. The outside of the hinge looks like it actually melds in perfectly with the frame, making it look like a folding phone instead of two phones slapped together by a hinge.
However, the inner display has some pretty thick bezels and the inside of that hinge is a bit ugly. In many ways, it looks like the Surface Duo below, just with one big folding screen instead of two displays separated by a spine. Still, it's hard to beat how thin and elegant the phone feels in the hand.
When you think of a foldable phone, you might think of one smaller screen unfolding to reveal one larger display. But what if your foldable looked more like a book, with a proper cover on the outside, and two separate displays on the inside? That describes the Microsoft Surface Duo 2, the sequel to Microsoft's first major Android phone.
The dual-screened approach actually enables you to be a bit more productive, as you can move apps between the two screens instead of tiling them on one large display. The inner edge of both screens curves inward, waterfall style, and create a sort of "hinge display" Microsoft calls the Glance Display. This is great for seeing when you receive a text, a phone call, checking the battery level, or any other missed notifications.
Microsoft also added in support for the Surface Slim Pen 1 or 2, making the Surface Duo 2 feel more like a digital notebook than most other foldables. The cameras on the back have been significantly improved over the original Surface Duo, but the giant camera hump also means the Duo 2 won't fold flat when you fold those displays backward. It's not a deal-breaker but it's definitely something folks might miss from the first iteration.
Bottom line
There's little doubt that the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 is the foldable that makes the most sense for most people, as it packs a giant screen into a foldable, pocket-friendly form factor, plus a big cover screen for when you don't want to unfold it. If you think you're really going to use that cover screen more often than not, though, you should consider picking up a Motorola Razr Plus, instead.
The Galaxy Z Fold 5 is Samsung's most premium foldable, featuring an even larger, tablet-like display inside, and a nearly standard-sized smartphone screen on the outside. It's the most powerful foldable phone you'll find in most regions of the world, and Samsung's world-class software and camera experience make it the most feature-rich foldable on the list.
And we can't forget to talk about the Google Pixel Fold, which recently launched and provides the best cameras on any foldable. While Samsung's camera software provides more options than Google's, it's hard to beat the quality of a Pixel camera. If you want a large foldable and care most about the camera quality, this is the one to buy.
