Foldable phones are currently the rage in the smartphone industry. They stand out for their innovative form factor and big screens, and unlike flagship Android phones, where innovation appears to have plateaued, folding phones are improving at an impressive pace.
Despite their compelling form factor and rapid improvement, however, I am still not entirely sold on foldable phones. There are still some major concerns about their durability and how manufacturers treat them before they can justify their high price tag. Unless these issues are addressed, I will hesitate to spend my hard-earned money on a great foldable phone or recommend one to others. Why? Let’s get into it.
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1 Durability concerns
Still a long way to go
The durability of foldable phones has improved by leaps and bounds in recent years. The OnePlus Open is IPX4-rated, while the Pixel 9 Pro Fold is IPX8-certified. Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold 6 has an IP48 rating, meaning it offers limited protection against dust ingress, but can withstand being submerged in fresh water for up to 30 minutes. While this is impressive, all flagship phones are IP68 certified, providing full protection against dust and water ingress.
It’s not just about the IP rating, though. The inner folding screen on foldable phones is very fragile; you can easily scratch it with a sharp object, including your fingernail. That’s a cause of concern, as there’s always a risk of the display getting damaged if the phone accidentally slips from your hand and falls face down. I tend to drop my phone frequently, and I doubt a foldable phone can survive such abuse for a year or two.
2 Great, but not the best cameras
Still below flagship phones
There’s not a single foldable phone on our best camera phones to buy list, and there’s a reason for that. Folding phones ship with decent cameras, but if you want the absolute best, they should not be your top pick.
The Google Pixel 9 Pro sports amazing cameras that can capture stunning images, but you don’t get the same versatile camera setup on the Pixel 9 Pro Fold. On paper, you might believe the specs are the same, but that’s not the case. Google’s second-gen foldable uses inferior camera sensors than its flagship phone, and this shows in its image quality.
As our Phones Editor, Will Sattelberg, noted in his Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold review, the cameras struggle in low light. The device relies on the primary 48MP camera instead of the 5x telephoto shooter in challenging situations, leading to blurry images in most cases. It’s the same issue with foldables from Samsung and OnePlus. They have good, perhaps even great, cameras but are far from the best.
3 App compatibility issues
The same problem that plagues Android tablets
Android apps are not optimized for large-screen devices. This is not an issue on flip-style folding phones like the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 6 and Moto Razr 2024. However, for book-style foldables like the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6, which sports a 7.6-inch big inner display, this is a problem.
Imagine using an app with a phone-optimized layout on such a big screen. It leads to a poor experience — one that you would not want on a $1,500+ foldable phone. The same story played out with Android tablets, which featured excellent hardware, but suffered from subpar software and app experiences.
While the situation is not as bad now, there’s room for improvement, and many of our favorite Android apps could do with a foldable-focused update. The same is true for media consumption; given the big displays on book-style foldables, you’d expect them to be great for watching videos, but this is only true to an extent. Due to a difference in aspect ratio, many foldable phones play videos on their inner screen with big bars at the top and bottom.
4 Battery life is not the best
And charging speeds are even worse
Foldables like the OnePlus Open and the Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold deliver great battery life, but when pushed hard, they won’t last a day, and you will have to charge them late in the afternoon to make it through a late-night party.
This is not true with flagship Android phones like the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra and the OnePlus 12. Both deliver outstanding battery life and can easily last over 24 hours, irrespective of how hard you push them through the day. Currently, there’s no foldable phone available worldwide that can rival these phones’ runtimes.
Charging speed is another concern, at least with folding phones available in the US. The OnePlus Open supports 67W wired fast charging, but lacks wireless charging. In comparison, the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 maxes out at 25W, while the Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold fares even worse at 21W, with wireless charging topping out at a paltry 7.5W.
Foldables from Chinese manufacturers like Xiaomi and Oppo support superfast wired and wireless charging, but they’re not available in the US.
5 Too expensive
It’s hard to justify the price tag
You expect nothing but the best when you spend upwards of $1,000 on a flagship Android smartphone. Similarly, when you spend $1,800 on a foldable phone, you expect it to deliver on all fronts to justify its high price tag. But that’s not the case.
As highlighted above, foldable phones are not the best at anything. They don’t sport the best cameras, battery life, or displays. Remove their form factor, and it becomes difficult to defend their $1,500+ price tag.
Worse, despite a premium price tag, they don’t get the same software support as flagship phones. Samsung is quick to roll out security patches and major OS updates for its flagships, but its Galaxy Z Fold and Flip lineups only receive the update after a few weeks or months.
Foldable phones must get cheaper and better simultaneously to justify their premium price tag. Otherwise, most foldable phones feel overpriced for what they offer right now.
Folding phones have a long way to go
The original Samsung Galaxy Fold made its public debut in September 2019. In the five years since, the entire foldable phone ecosystem has improved tremendously. Samsung was the market leader initially, making major improvements with every new iteration of its Galaxy Fold and Flip lineup.
However, Chinese manufacturers have taken that baton in recent years. Yet, there are many areas where foldable phones lag behind traditional flagship phones. As enticing as foldable phones may be, I just can’t buy them unless they deliver on all key aspects.
