- Xiaomi Mi Mix Fold - the business-oriented one
- Huawei Mate Xs2- Hard to obtain, easy to love
- Motorola RAZR 5G- Clamshell nostalgia
- Huawei P50 Pocket - Huawei's flip contender for the crown
- Are foldable phones worth the extra cost
- Are foldable phones durable enough
- Is battery life affected in foldable phones
- Are there any differences between foldable and traditional phones camera quality
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4
Best all around
9.0
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4
The Good
- Solid build
- Empowering multitasking features
- Beautiful displays
- Stylus support
- Smooth performance
- Good battery life
The Bad
- Expensive
- Still has a crease
- Thick and heavy, harder to carry around than a slab phone
We’ll start things off with the new
Galaxy Z Fold 4.This specimen is of great interest to most of us since it’s what most people imagined we’d use a foldable phone for - screen real estate. And real estate it does well. The phone was just unveiled and it keeps the thick and heavy feel of its predecessor that was deprecated, but it is supposed to be more durable and functional.
The Z Fold 4 follows a book design, meaning that the display folds in and is protected from the outside where you’ll find another screen which is rather useful and now with wider, more easy to use aspect ratio than before. That's perfect if you don’t really want to unfold this big boy. And on the topic of unfolding, this particular model sports Samsung's newest hinge and display layering design that makes it tougher than its predecessors.
There are of course more reasons to like this phone, from its flagship Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 SoC, to its two 120Hz displays, and a multiple camera setup capable of 4K video recording at 60fps, and a better battery life than its predecessor. The true added value, however, are the unique features no other foldable phone has - an S Pen support and a hidden selfie camera - that make the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 truly stand out as the best foldable phone out there. And one of the
best phones in 2023, too.
Buy the Galaxy Z Fold 4 and Galaxy Z Flip 4 now
The foldable phones are now up for sale.
Save $900 on a new Galaxy Z Fold 4 with trade-in
The cutting-edge Galaxy Z Fold 4 is available at Samsung.com for as low as $1019.99 with eligible trade-in. And this is for the 512GB variant! You can get it for even cheaper if you go with the lower 256GB model, and further cheaper if you buy it locked on certain carriers.
$900 off (47%) Trade-in
$1019 99
$1919 99
The Galaxy Z Flip 4 256 GB for $880!
Samsung is currently running a promo offer on the Z Flip 4 — you can get the 256 GB storage upgrade for $880 with a $170 trade-in for any clunker in exchange for the clamshell with a flexible OLED display.
$170 off (16%) Trade-in Gift
$889 99
$1059 99
Oppo Find N2
The new guy on the block
9.0
OPPO Find N2
The Good
- The best and brightest foldable phone display
- Nearly invisible hinge crease
- The thinnest, lightest vertical foldable
- Good pictures and video quality
- Fast charging
The Bad
- Limited availability
- Nearly square form factor eats away at 16:9 video
- 3D gaming endurance marred by average battery size
This is the newest big foldable phone on the block, and one of the best foldable phones for a reason. The OG Oppo Find N was the surprise of the season, with its new concept of what a foldable phone should look like. It improved on the OG Galaxy Z Fold concept by being more pocketable while keeping key functionality and practical features. The second generation is now better than ever. Its looks closely resemble other Oppo flagships, which means the phone is more conservative, and when closed, it doesn't stand out so much from the regular phones.
The Oppo Find N2 has a 7.1-inch LTPO AMOLED folding display with a 120Hz refresh rate. The display is almost a perfect square, but unlike the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4, it is wider, making it better suited for entertainment. The cover screen is a 5.5-inch AMOLED panel which is also wider than Samsung's. This means it doesn't have the Galaxy's weird tall aspect ratio and feels and looks more like any regular smartphone screen.
As for the other specs, this device packs a Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 processor, a 50MP triple-camera system, and a 4,520mAh battery. This smartphone is definitely worth your time to consider, as it looks to have excellent built quality and offer good value for money. Unfortunately, for now, it is only available in Asia and select markets in Europe, but we hope in time the Oppo Find N2 will come to other markets too.
Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4 5G
The best clamshell foldable
8.0
Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 3
The Good
- Lower price makes it more accessible
- Larger Cover Screen is a huge convenience
- 120Hz is a big upgrade, makes for much smoother use
- Phone feels very fast and nimble
- Reassuringly well put together, nothing screaks or squeals
The Bad
- It's hard to unfold it with just one hand
- Gets hot easily even with basic tasks
- Battery life is average at best
- No telephoto zoom cameras
- The crease is still there
Motorola isn't the only manufacturer to make foldable flip phones. Samsung has its own, which is the
Galaxy Z Flip 4.It is, as you might have noticed, almost the same as its predecessor, the Z Flip 3. You once again get an external 1.9 inch OLED display and an internal folded display coming in at 6.7 inches, covered by a very thin layer of glass much like on the Z Fold 4, plus a sturdy hinge design.
It, too, comes with the top-of-the-line Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 SoC, and a camera capable of video recording up to 4K at 60fps. It’s better than the
Motorola Razr, especially if you consider the fact that it’s initial price is cheaper, starting at just $999. All of this makes it one of the best foldable phones to have and also the most popular one when it comes to sale numbers.
Motorola RAZR 2022
Motorola's flippin' good idea
7.8
Motorola razr (2022)
The Good
- Almost no display crease
- Sturdy hinge
- Bright and useful outer display
- Good main camera
- Nice audio output
The Bad
- Battery life is still not great
- Average ultra-wide camera performance
- Call quality should be better
- Too expensive
And now we move on to the freshly released Motorola RAZR 2022. Motorola's answer to the Z Flip 4 brings a lot to the table. The screen of this device is excellent, as it gets very bright, and is almost creaseless, which is a huge advantage compared to its rival. But the Motorola RAZR lacks behind in every single other area. It features a pretty good 50MP main camera sensor, but not as good as the one on the Samsung, has a less-premium feel, and inferior battery life. There's also no wireless charging, which is a bummer.
However, the RAZR 2022 does better than Samsung's offering in terms of performance, even though it rocks the same Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 processor. Also, its 2.7-inch cover display is larger and more practical than the one of the Z Flip 4. But the Motorola RAZR 2022 is a bit more expensive and not available in North America. What a shame, isn't it?
Read more:
Motorola RAZR 2022 review
The Honorable Mentions
Xiaomi Mi Mix Fold
Xiaomi Mi Mix Fold
Display
8.0 inches
2480 x 1860 pixels
Camera
108 MP ()
20 MP front
Hardware
Qualcomm Snapdragon 888
12GB RAM
Storage
256GB, not expandable
Battery
5020 mAh
OS
Android 10
View full specs
Xiaomi released its first folding phone back in April, and it was an impressive first try at the concept. The Mi Mix Fold closely resembles the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold in terms of its looks and size. That's not something bad though, as Samsung's way proved to be right. The Mi Mix Fold has a relatively big 8-inch 120Hz AMOLED foldable screen, and a very tall 6.52-inch 90Hz outer cover display. In fact, the outer display has such a tall aspect ratio that we imagine it is pretty hard to work with a single hand.
Still, the Xiaomi Mi Mix Fold is sacrificing ease of use for looks. This device is very pretty, and it looks very businessman-oriented. The Mi Mix Fold is powered by the Snapdragon 888 SoC, coupled with 12 or 16GB of RAM. It features a 108MP triple-camera setup on the back, and it packs a 5,020mAh battery with 67W blazing fast wired charging.
The Xiaomi Mi Mix Fold might pack plenty of impressive specs, but all of this comes at a price. This device is heavy and thick. It has a Ceramic version, which weighs 332g. When folded, the Mi Mix Fold has a 17.2mm thickness. This thickness is laptop territory, which for sure makes the device feel very bulky. But the Mi Mix Fold's pros and cons don't even matter in the end, as this device isn't sold outside of China. We expect its successor to arrive later this year and have better availability.
Huawei Mate Xs2
Huawei Mate Xs 2
Display
7.8 inches
2480 x 2200 pixels
Camera
50 MP (Triple camera)
10.7 MP front
Hardware
Qualcomm Snapdragon 888
8GB RAM
Storage
256GB, Nano Memory (NM)
Battery
4600 mAh
OS
HarmonyOS 2
View full specs
Even if Huawei was banned from dealing with the US, that still doesn’t stop them from making impressive devices. One such device is their foldable Mate Xs2. Unlike the Z Fold 2, it folds towards the outside and boasts a large tablet-like screen.
The technology of this display is OLED much like on the rest of the foldable devices so colors won’t disappoint and it boasts a refresh rate of 120Hz which is cool. There is a drawback to this device though. Since this is a Huawei device, it does not have support for Google Play Store and services which can be a nuisance if you’re used to that ecosystem (no Google apps here, sadly).
Besides that, this device is running with a Snapdragon 888 SoC which would make it quite a good performer and you get a camera capable of video recording up to 4K at 30fps.
Motorola RAZR 5G
So now we move on to the aging Motorola RAZR 5G which sports a different ideology for what a foldable phone is. We already mentioned its successor above, but this clamshell foldable is the only foldable Motorola available in the USA. Just like the RAZR 2022, this device folds like a flip phone and we think that’s pretty cool. It might not sport a massive display but the tall 6.2-inch screen is pretty cool by itself.
There is also this weird chin on the bottom which we kind of dig since it sits flush when you do the satisfying slap to close your smartphone. Additionally, if you just wanted to check the time or see if you have any messages, there is an external 2.7 inch OLED display to tell you the time and sеe your notifications. But we should add that this same chin is also a slight pain. When we covered it with a hand, we regularly dropped our Wi-Fi connection which is something you don't want to see on any phone.
Camera-wise you’re getting a rather capable phone with the ability to record up to 4K at 30fps, it's certainly not as great as the rest of the phones in this lineup, but it should do the job. Performance-wise, this smartphone is weaker than the Z Flip 4 and RAZR 2022, since it sports a Snapdragon 765G and if that wasn't enough, it also thermal throttles to oblivion leaving you with no power for games and the like. As you might’ve guessed, this wasn’t a flagship phone spec wise even when it was first released, and although its design is supposed to carry it into that title, we'd still keep the RAZR 5G away from it.
Huawei P50 Pocket
8.5
Huawei P50 Pocket
The Good
- Great photo quality
- Fun Pro camera mode for photography enthusiasts
- Comfortable size (both folded and unfolded)
- Reliable battery life
- Fast wired charging
The Bad
- No Google Services is a major con
- No 5G support
- The U.S. chip and software limitations alter the value-for-money ratio
- No wireless charging support
Huawei's first clamshell-style smartphone was announced less than a month ago. The phone looks very stylish with its circular cover display and camera module and its two textured color options. This phone also has a third matte black option which isn't textured. We should admit that other than the black color option, the rest look to target mostly the women demographic. That's not something bad though, as it really looks like it will be very desirable for the ladies.
Other than its pretty looks, the Huawei P50 Pocket has an impressively big 6.9-inch OLED display, a 40MP triple-camera setup, and a 4,000mAh battery. The phone is powered by the Snapdragon 888, which means it should be great in terms of performance. What's not so great though is that it doesn't have 5G. Another concerning fact is that this phone runs HarmonyOS 2.0, and as our
Huawei MatePad 12.6 review showed, it isn't the best software for outside of China as of yet.
What's good about the P50 Pocket is that it supports 40W fast wired charging, which is one of the best among foldable phones. You even get the charger in the box. Unfortunately, for now, it is a China-only smartphone, but it is expected to arrive in Europe soon.
Are foldable phones worth the extra cost?
It depends on the case, but generally, yes. We can definitely say devices like the Z Fold 4 (all in all, the best foldable phone right now) are worth the cost given the stellar performance, improved durability and multitasking abilities. However, you need to really think about why do you need a foldable phone.When determining for yourself whether or not getting a foldable is worth it, think about the following things:
- A foldable in a folded state is much thicker than a regular smartphone (won't really be comfortable in jeans pockets)
- They tend to be heavier
- There is a display crease where the screen folds. Some models have refined that to be almost invisible, but it is still there for now
If you don't mind the above and you would really use a bigger screen of a Z Fold or the clamshell portability of a Z Flip, then it will be worth it.
Are foldable phones durable enough?
The foldable tech has been improving in the last couple of years. Foldable smartphones were somewhat fragile in the beginning. Now things have changed and current foldable phones are way more durable. For the Z Fold 4, Samsung promises the device is durable enough to survive a minimum of 200,000 folds – more or less 5 years if you fold and unfold it 100 times a day. Americans check their phones on average 344 times per day, according to a
survey by Reviews.org on smartphone usage for 2022. That's around 122,000 checks a year. But checking doesn't mean interacting with it – you can check the outer screen of the Samsung foldable for notifications, texting, or even a brief scroll through social media, without ever unfolding the phone.
The moral of the story – a foldable phone like the Z Flip 4 and the Z Fold 4 should survive for around five years of regular usage. Good enough for today's standards.
Is battery life affected in foldables phones?
Yes, battery life seems to be a bit lower than regular flagship phones. When comparing a foldable phone to regular flagship devices, we see some differences in the battery department, including when pinning them against the
best Android phones. As you may know, we at PhoneArena perform extensive tests for all the phones we review. Check the table below to see for yourself what the battery life results for foldable phones vs regular phones are.
| Web Browsing (hours) Higher is better | Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 12h 43 min Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4 11h 40 min Motorola razr (2022) 9h 4 min Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra 18h 57 min Apple iPhone 14 Pro Max 19h 5 min |
| Video Streaming (hours) Higher is better | Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 8h 47 min Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4 9h 45 min Motorola razr (2022) 11h 53 min Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra 8h 54 min Apple iPhone 14 Pro Max 11h OPPO Find N2 9h 31 min |
| 3D Gaming (hours) Higher is better | Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 4h 28 min Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4 5h 8 min Motorola razr (2022) 4h 17 min Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra 7h 13 min Apple iPhone 14 Pro Max 8h 39 min |
View all
Are there any differences between foldable and traditional phones' camera quality?
It depends on which foldable vs which traditional phone. The camera has no interaction whatsoever with the folding mechanism, and is like any other smartphone camera. If it has a higher megapixel count and better features, image processing and color calibration, it will be better no matter if it's on a foldable phone or a standard smartphone. The only thing is that some folding phones may lack the space for a periscope lens or some other special lens though. If we talk about selfies, some foldable phones like the Z Fold 4 can deliver even better results given the fact that you can use the phone's rear camera to take a selfie.