Folding phones didn’t get off to a great start. Samsung’s first Galaxy Fold device broke in the hands of reviewers and cost $1,980 in 2019 dollars. That’s almost $2,500 today, which is a lot to beta-test a new form factor. The best folding phones have come a long way in five years. They’re cheaper, durable, more attractive, and mature.
It took longer for North American foldables to catch up with the competition in Asia, but they’re now as close as ever. The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold and Z Flip 6, OnePlus Open, Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold, and Motorola Razr are great options in the foldable market. Still, people hesitate to try these devices due to lingering misconceptions about folding phones. Let’s bust these five mistaken beliefs about foldables that shouldn’t affect your purchasing decision in 2024.
1 Foldables aren’t durable
With exhaustive durability tests and IP ratings, you can trust folding phones to hold up
I don’t blame anyone for being skeptical of the durability of folding phones. I had the built-in screen protector of an early foldable crease and crack to the point that my Galaxy Z Flip 3 became unusable. However, phones have come a long way since, and you can trust their durability. The best ones are water resistant, have some dust protection, and include screens that survive reasonable drops and scratches. Need proof? Watch Samsung’s brutal durability tests in the video below.
The durability of folding phones can be measured in a few ways. Each one is often rated for a certain number of folds. The Galaxy Z Fold and Z Flip 6 handle 200,000 folds, while the OnePlus Open is good for one million folds. They also typically come with an ingress protection (IP) rating, like traditional smartphones. Samsung’s latest foldables are rated for IP48, which means they have some dust protection and a high level of water resistance.
Samsung is the best when it comes to durability. OnePlus offers an IPX4 rating on the Open, and Motorola provides an IPX8 rating on the Razr+ (2024). However, all new foldables withstand daily usage like other phones. Sure, they can crack and break, but all phones can. The issues you’ll find aren’t exclusive to foldables.
2 Foldables aren’t thin enough
The latest folding phones are barely thicker than their flagship counterparts
For a while, foldable phones were beastly devices thick enough to take up the same space as two phones in your pocket. These phones needed a case because folding phone durability wasn’t there yet, and doing so meant that foldables became thicker. Now, thickness isn’t a concern. The Pixel 9 Pro Fold is 9.2mm thick when closed and 4.35mm thin when open. By comparison, the Google Pixel 9 Pro measures 8.5mm thick.
When you choose a foldable, you may add a few tenths of a millimeter in terms of thickness, but that’s all. The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 is 12.1mm thick and one of the thickest foldables. Between the Galaxy Z Fold 6 and the Pixel 9 Pro Fold is the OnePlus Open, which is 11.7mm thick. If you’re in a market that offers Xiaomi, Honor, or Vivo foldables, you’re in for a treat. The Honor Magic V3 is 9.2mm thick when folded, and it’s a game-changer.
Thickness isn’t a problem anymore. If you’ve used a flagship phone with a case, you’ve used a phone thicker than a foldable.
3 Foldables are too expensive
Budget and last-gen devices can eliminate this problem in the US
The price of folding phones can be off-putting, especially when they lack key features. However, the high cost of foldables is somewhat of an overblown issue. For starters, the Motorola Razr (2023) is a solid budget folding phone that is available for $400 following the release of the Razr (2024). A step-up to the Razr (2024) gives you a phone that feels like a Razr+ (2023) for a lower price of $700. In the flagship tier, the Razr+ (2023) and the Galaxy Z Flip 6 cost around $1,000.
You can find a clamshell foldable for under $1,000 and get a great device. Big-screen foldables are trickier to acquire for an affordable price, but it isn’t impossible. You can import a Tecno Phantom V Fold to the US for about $1,000, which is solid. A more realistic option for North American buyers is to find a foldable from Samsung or OnePlus at a discount or take advantage of trade-in deals. Whichever way you go, there are possibilities for getting foldables on a budget.
4 The crease is annoying
You’ll forget about the crease in minutes
The crease on the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 6 (left) next to the Galaxy Z Flip 4 (right).
All foldable phones have a crease. They use flexible displays that aren’t covered in glass. The main screen is covered in a soft, plastic protective layer, and there’s a visible indentation where it folds in half. However, after using various folding phones for years, I can assure you that the crease isn’t an issue. As you can see in the photo above, the crease is getting less noticeable with every generation of foldables. When using the device, it’s easy to forget the crease is there.
5 Foldables are too heavy and bulky
They aren’t that much heavier than regular phones nowadays
Finally, there’s the perception that foldable phones are heavier than a regular flagship. To unpack the weight situation, let’s explore how heavy traditional smartphones can be. The iPhone 15 Pro Max weighs 221 grams, the Google Pixel 9 XL weighs 220 grams, and the Galaxy S24 Ultra weighs 232 grams. Flagships aren’t light.
By comparison, the Galaxy Z Fold 6 weighs a bit more than the Galaxy S24 Ultra, at 239 grams. The OnePlus Open matches that in the Voyager Black colorway but weighs 245 grams in Emerald Green. The Pixel 9 Pro Fold, which is the heaviest of the bunch, measures 257 grams. Consider the foldables in Asia or flip-style folding phones. They’re even lighter. Weight isn’t something that should affect your purchasing decision because foldables are close enough to regular flagships.
Is it time for you to try a foldable?
Foldables still aren’t for everyone, and North American devices need to catch up with their competitors in Asia. However, they’ve come a long way in five years since the original Samsung Galaxy Fold launched. If the drawbacks of folding phones stopped you from buying one in the past, it might be time to reconsider. The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 6 is a great place to start.
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