If you love the indulgence of a big screen, but hate big phones that won’t fit in your pocket, the resurgence of folding phones is great news. Since they first hit the bigtime in the mid 1990s, flip-phones and other folding designs have always been a great way to cram more phone into a smaller space – often adding a dash of design flair for good measure.
For a decade or so it looked as though the smartphone had killed off phones that fold, but the advent of bendy OLED (organic light-emitting diode) screens has resurrected them. While Apple has steered clear so far, brands like Samsung and Moto have spearheaded a new generation of folders.
There are two main types of folding phone available. Smaller, clamshell or ‘flip’ phones are most like the folding phones of the 1990s, in that when you’re not using them they flip shut into a compact shape, around the size of a box of mints. Open them up to reveal a phone about the same size and shape as a regular slate smartphone. The alternative is a full-sized foldable that starts out about the size of a regular smartphone, and opens out into a much larger tablet.
Which you choose depends on what you need from a folding phone. If you want a regular smartphone that folds into a more compact space, a clamshell is for you. If you want the biggest screen you can fit in your pocket, you’ll be more interested in a full-sized foldable phone.
Either way, today’s best folding phones combine great design, a small size and a big screen, all in a robust package. On the flip side (pun intended), you’ll pay a lot more than you would for a regular mobile. How do you choose the foldable phone for you? Find the perfect partner in our folding phones guide.
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold3 5G
Price £1,599 (from Samsung) – browse Samsung phone deals on Mozillion
Mozillion rating
Why buy?Probably the best foldable phone available
The cheaper optionA refurbished Galaxy Z Fold 2
Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold3 5G is arguably the best folding phone you can buy. On the outside, its 6.2” AMOLED display is much like the display you’d find on a conventional smartphone. But open it up and there’s a huge, 7.6” workspace, helping you work, game or entertain yourself in fine style.
This is a very highly specified phone. Its high-end Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 chip is paired with a huge 12GB of RAM, and either 256 or 512GB of storage. Both screens feature a 120Hz refresh rate, so their operation is smooth and fluid at all times. As you’d hope from a phone that’s more of a tablet, there’s also support for the Samsung S Pen, meaning it can double as a note or sketch pad when needed.
While not market-leading, the Galaxy Z Fold3 5G has a decent camera setup featuring three 12-megapixel (MP) rear cameras. There’s a 10MP front camera, along with a 4MP camera under the display itself. As you’d hope, given all that screen real estate, power comes from a hefty 4,400mAh battery that should keep things going for a day of typical use.
If the Galaxy Z Fold3 5G has a weakness – other than the fact it’s big and heavy – it’s that it’s simply one of the most expensive phones around. As such, it pays to shop around for Samsung Galaxy discounts and get a better price.
Samsung Galaxy Z Flip3 5G
Price £949 (from Samsung) – save with Mozillion’s Samsung phone deals
Mozillion rating
Why buy?The best modern flip phone
The cheaper optionA refurbished Galaxy Z-Flip
While Motorola’s modern RAZR phones have resurrected an icon, Samsung started from scratch with its Z Flip series. And with its glass-protected, folding AMOLED display and ingenious hinge, the Galaxy Z Flip3 5G comes close to beating Motorola at its own game. Slim, stylish, reasonably powerful and comparatively affordable, is the Z Flip3 5G the best clamshell phone around?
Like the RAZR, the Z Flip3 5G pairs a small external touchscreen, visible when the phone’s closed, with a larger screen that unfolds when it’s open. Its 6.7” main screen is bigger than the 6.2” screen in the RAZR 5G, and its 2,640×1,080 resolution is higher. And while the RAZR 5G has a 90Hz refresh rate, the Samsung goes up to 120Hz.
Samsung hasn’t skimped on the horsepower: the Galaxy Z Flip3 5G is powered by a high-end Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 processor. While it’s far from the fastest phone around, it’s easily capable of breezing through modern games. And while its 3,300mAh battery isn’t massive by modern standards, it’s enough to comfortably see the phone through a typical day’s use.
This phone makes do with only a 12MP dual camera setup at the rear, covering wide and ultra-wide angle shots. At the front there’s a 10MP camera. In most other respects, however, it outguns the RAZR 5G, yet costs a couple of hundred pounds less. For us, that makes it a winner: the best flip phone you can buy.
Huawei Mate Xs
Price £2,300 (from Huawei)get cheap Huawei phones from Mozillion
Mozillion rating
Why buy?A huge, clever foldable phone
The cheaper optionSamsung Galaxy Z Fold3 5G
Let’s not mess about: there are two big problems with the Huawei Mate Xs. The first is that, like other recent Huawei phones, it’s locked out of the Google ecosystem, so you need to use Huawei’s own store to add apps and updates. This only serves to exacerbate the second issue, which is that Huawei will charge you a whopping £2,300 for a new one.
So why is it in our list? Simply because this is a brilliantly designed foldable phone that stands out from the pack. Most significantly, its huge 8” screen sits on the outside of the phone when it’s folded, meaning the phone doesn’t need a second, smaller screen to handle notifications. Huawei’s ‘falcon wing’ design places the hinge slightly off centre, creating a full-thickness bar at one side of the phone to house all the cameras. It’s an elegant solution, allowing a thinner phone, and letting the rear cameras double-up for selfie duty.
The Mate Xs comes with 512GB of storage and 8GB of RAM, and is powered by a powerful Kirin 990 chipset. Its quad-camera array includes a 40MP wide main lens and 8MP telephoto. Huawei has also found room for a 4,500mAh battery, and with support for 55W fast charging it’s unlikely you’ll be left out of juice for long.
Physically, this is a brilliant phone, but many potential buyers will feel put off by the lack of Google support. If you can live with that, keep an eye on Mozillion’s great Huawei phone deals, and see if you can pick up a bargain on a new or refurbished Huawei Mate Xs.
Motorola RAZR 5G
Price £1,200 (from Motorola) – buy a RAZR 5G for less on Mozillion
Mozillion rating
Why buy?A rebooted icon
The cheaper optionSave a fortune on a refurbished Motorola RAZR 5G
Motorola helped define the clamshell phone with the Razr V3 and its successors, back in the mid 2000s. Fifteen years later, it rebooted the series with the Android-based RAZR smartphone. While this wasn’t a runaway success, the revised RAZR 5G improves it in every way, combining the latest features with an iconic flip-phone design.
Unlike full-sized foldable phones, the RAZR 5G is a compact device, about the size of a regular smartphone. When unfolded, there’s a 6.2” screen giving you the same space as a regular slate smartphone. Flip the phone shut, however, and a 2.7” external display keeps you looped in on conversations and other notifications.
This phone’s clamshell design means its camera points rearward when unfolded, and to the front when folded. It’s a decent enough camera, but its single 48MP sensor (outputting 12MP photos by default) is indicative of the phone’s rather mid-range specs elsewhere. The RAZR 5G has a useful 8GB of RAM, but the Qualcomm Snapdragon 765 chipset is hardly anything to text home about.
The RAZR 5G is rather expensive, like other folding phones, but its specification may be more basic than you’d expect for the price. It’s still a great phone, though, so if you’re tempted, our advice is to shop around for a Motorola RAZR 5G deal.
Samsung Galaxy Z Flip
Price discontinued – buy a refurbished Galaxy Z Flip on Mozillion
Mozillion rating
Why buy?The best cheap folding smartphoner
The cheaper optionTrack down an original Motorola RAZR!
What if you’re set on a folding smartphone, but you can’t pay the premium for the latest models? If it absolutely has to fold, search out a quality pre-owned device like the original Samsung Galaxy Z Flip. While it isn’t water resistant like today’s Z Flip3, it’s just as stylish, and has a decent specification that won’t feel massively behind current phones.
As with other clamshell-style flip phones, the Galaxy Z Flip has a small external display for notifications. Open it up and there’s a 6.7”, 1,080×2,636 resolution touchscreen, giving the same space as a conventional phone for games and other media. Samsung has also managed to squeeze in a 3,300mAh battery – enough to keep the lights on for a typical day’s use.
The Galaxy Z Flip launched with Android 10, and can now be upgraded to Android 12. Under Samsung’s ‘three major updates’ policy, Android 13 should become available before support ends. This, along with regular security updates, should provide some long-term reassurance to anyone buying a refurbished Samsung Galaxy Z Flip.
