Categories: Tech

Foldable phones are impressive technological marvels but come with serious compromises

I would love a foldable phone. It’s fun to imagine strutting into a coffee shop, flipping open your phone like you’re Batman calling Alfred.

But now Samsung’s dropped the seventh-gen Galaxy Z Fold and Flip, Google threw in the Pixel Fold, Motorola whipped out retro with the modern Razr+, and it all sounds exciting until you start looking closer. I’m giving away a new iPhone 16 Pro. Enter to win now.

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How they work

Foldable phones use ultrathin flexible glass over OLED displays, combined with a mechanical hinge system. The tech allows the phone to physically bend while still displaying a full-resolution screen.

The hinges are engineered to survive hundreds of thousands of folds, which maths out to up to a decade of opening and closing more than a few times a day.

Big screens, big prices

The Galaxy Z Fold 7 opens like a book, giving you a tablet-size 7.6-inch screen inside and a 6.2-inch screen outside.

The Flip 7 folds vertically like a compact mirror that’s a 6.7-inch screen when open and a 3.4-inch mini display on the outside. Perfect for glancing at texts and ignoring people in real life.

Google’s Pixel Fold offers a wider front screen and a slightly smaller inside display.

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They’re eye-catching, no doubt. But here’s the part that usually gets glossed over: The Fold 7 starts at $1,899 and the Pixel Fold at $1,799. The Flip 7 and Motorola’s Razr+ are slightly more “affordable” at around $999, but still a serious chunk of change.

These phones are bulkier, more fragile and harder to protect than the slab you already own. By the way, Google’s dropping a new foldable on August 20, 2025.

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A Samsung Electronics Co. Galaxy Z Flip 6 smartphone displayed at a Samsung store. (SeongJoon Cho/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
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The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold7 smartphone is displayed at a Samsung store. (Photo by JUNG YEON-JE/AFP via Getty Images)
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A Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 smartphone during an event in New York. (Jeenah Moon/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Fun to try

Foldables are like marriages based on chemistry: thrilling at first, full of cracks later. They’re cool for early adopters, tech collectors and people who like showing off gadgets. There’s nothing wrong with that, just don’t confuse a flashy fold with long-term value.

Battery life still lags behind traditional phones. Foldable displays, while tougher than before, are still more prone to damage. And the software? Think beta, not breakthrough.

You don’t get more phone, you just get more surface area and more things that can go wrong.

And yes, Apple is coming

You heard it here: Apple is testing foldable iPhones behind closed doors. The rumors say 2026 for a release. One model folds like a book, the other like a flip phone. Apple’s waiting until the tech is truly seamless, no half-baked experiments.

My advice? Sit this trend out. The wow factor fades fast, but the price tag doesn’t.

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