The best foldable phone sits at the cutting edge of today's mobile technology. With displays that fold completely flat and open with hardly a crease in sight, a foldable phone should give you more than just a smartphone that folds. It should be two devices in one, with a sum that is greater than the large and small parts.
There are two sizes of foldable phones. The larger tablet foldable starts as a normal-sized smartphone then opens into a mini tablet. With a display that rivals the screen area of an iPad mini, a tablet foldable is great for work, playing games, and watching movies.
The smaller clamshell or flip foldable phone starts as a normal smarthphone, then folds up smaller to fit in a pocket or small bag. The smaller display on the outside gives you notifications and messages, and the best flip foldable becomes a pocket-sized communicator when shut.
Samsung practically invented this category, but recent phones from OnePlus and Motorola have truly impressed us more than the latest Galaxy Z Fold and Galaxy Z Flip. We're expecting new foldable phones from Samsung within the next few months, so keep checking for updates on this list of the best foldable phone to buy.
The quick list
Here are our top picks for the best tablet foldable, the best flip foldable, and the best foldable if you're buying on a budget.
The best tablet foldable phone
The OnePlus Open is the first tablet-sized foldable that gets the size right. Every other tablet foldable is too narrow when closed, but the OnePlus Open gives you a perfect screen size no matter how you fold it.
The best flip foldable phone
Surprised that the best flip phone is making a comeback as the best flip foldable phone? It's all about that extra display, which makes the Moto Razr Plus into something totally new and exciting.
The best budget foldable phone
The Motorola Razr has been discounted perpetually since it launched, and it's probably the coolest phone you can buy for under $500. If you want a foldable for less, this is the one to buy.
Best foldable phones 2024
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We've reviewed all of the best foldable phones you can buy, and here are specs and details for each of our favorites.
The best tablet foldable phone
The OnePlus Open gives us everything we want in a tablet foldable phone that we weren't getting before. It has the best cameras on any foldable, where cameras were a huge weakness. It also has the best shape and design of any big foldable phone, and it's the only tablet foldable that doesn't feel like it's compromising its outside display just for the foldable shape.
In classic OnePlus fashion, the OnePlus Open is a flagship killer, so you get great specs, especially when it comes to the phone's performance and the great displays, inside and out. You also get a cool design, all for a lower price than most competitors. Don't be scared off by the phone's price tag, OnePlus is making it easy to get an even bigger discount if you have any phone to trade.
The OnePlus Open admittedly comes with some compromises that you won't find on a Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5. It isn't water resistant, while Samsung's phone can take a dunk under water. It doesn't have S Pen support, or a ton of great productivity features, like Samsung has.
That doesn't matter, because the OnePlus Open is built right, while the Samsung Fold just feels wrong. It's too narrow when closed, while the OnePlus Open feels perfect. If you want a tablet foldable phone, there's only one to consider ... for now.
Read our full OnePlus Open review
The best flip foldable phone
The Motorola Razr Plus (or the Razr 40 Ultra outside the US) is more than just the best flip-style phone you can buy, it’s an entirely new category of smartphone, offering more than any handset before it. With the phone shut, it's a compact miniature communicator, a pocket mirror, and a palm-sized map.
That external display isn't a gimmick, and it isn't low-quality. It's big: big enough to type on the keyboard with ease. Big enough that you're not just getting driving directions, you're reading the street names on the map.
The Razr Plus is the most fun phone that you can buy right now; it's the most unique experience you’ll have with any smartphone. Just like the original Razr, this is going to redefine smartphone design and unleash a deluge of copies. Flip phones are about to have a big moment.
Even when the Razr Plus is bad, it’s good. The cameras aren’t great, but you can create such unique angles and shots that you might forgive the blur. Battery life could be better, but that’s because the extra screen is going to draw extra power. It’s a worthwhile trade.
If you’re bored with the incremental updates and minor tweaks you got with your last new phone, the Razr Plus will shake up your expectations for what a smartphone can be.
Read our full Motorola Razr Plus 2023 review
The best budget foldable phone
The Motorola Razr isn't a game-changing flip foldable like the Razr Plus, but for such a great price, you can have the coolest phone around, with all the benefits of a compact flip phone.
You don't get the big outer display on the Motorola Razr (2023), but the slim screen is still very useful on its own, even if it can't run apps. The Razr also comes in a great vegan leather finish, and Motorola has chosen excellent colors to complement the look. This is a really snazzy device, and you'll love to show it off.
This phone has been discounted every since it launched by around $200 in the US, making it the most affordable foldable phone worth buying. It doesn't have the power or features of a Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5, but it also costs almost half as much as that phone.
If you want a huge display you can fit in your pocket, or if you just want the most unique phone for an affordable price, check out the Motorola Razr (2023), also called the Motorola Razr 40. It's a solid clamshell that will remind you how great it was to hang up on people.
Read our full Motorola Razr 2023 review
How to choose the best foldable phone for you
First decide if you want a foldable phone that opens into a larger tablet display, or a foldable phone that folds into a smaller clamshell device. We have picks for both options.
A tablet foldable phone gives you an outer display that is a little smaller than a normal smartphone, especially if you buy a Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 instead of our pick, the OnePlus Open. The inside display on the OnePlus Open gives you more screen real estate than an iPad mini.
A flip foldable phone gives you an inner display that is larger than most smartphones. The Motorola Razr Plus has a 6.9-inch foldable display (and so does the Moto Razr (2023), while an iPhone 15 Pro Max has a 6.7-inch display.
How we test the best foldable phones
We've only included phones on this list that we've thoroughly tested, and our testing regiment is deep and detailed. We test every aspect of a phone that you might use from day-to-day, then we dive deeper to discover all of the hidden features.
We test phones for battery life and charging, speed and performance, and especially for camera capabilities. We make sure that phones deliver on their manufacturer's promise. If it says a phone can charge in 30 minutes, we break out the stopwatch.
We've seen every phone around, so we have a good idea of how each model stacks up to one another. We know what you're getting, no matter what you pay. We make sure the phones deliver what we'd expect for the cost.
Once we're done, we don't stop. We keep updating our reviews as we learn more, and as the phones are updated. Our reviews are always fresh, so check back before you buy to make sure you're getting the latest opinion on the best phones you can buy.
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