Ready to move on from the traditional glass slab? Introduce a hinge into your life with these folding smartphones.
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- Featured in this article
- Best Folding Phone
- Samsung Galaxy Z Fold8
- Read more
- $1,900
- Samsung
- Best Folding iPhone
- Apple iPhone Duo
- Read more
- $1,999
- Apple
- Best Flip Phone
- Motorola Razr Ultra (2026)
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- $1,500
- Amazon
- Best Budget Folding Phone
- Motorola Razr (2026)
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- $800
- Amazon
- You may be
- scoffing as you read this.
- The best folding phones? Really? Aren’t those just gimmicks?
- I’m here to tell you they’re pretty darn useful. And yes, there are quite a few now (even
- Apple is in on the action
- ), so you have options. Folding phones are an evolution of the traditional
- single-screen slab of glass
- we’ve all been using for nearly two decades.
- They largely come in two forms: a folding flip phone or a folding book-like phone, enabling you to either relive the glory days of small phones or expand your multitasking options while on the go. A
- folding phone
- is a personal decision—arguably even more than a traditional smartphone, since it hinges (heh) on what style you prefer. We have tested almost all of them, and these are our favorites.
- Check out our other mobile buying guides, including the
- Best Android Phones
- ,
- Best iPhones
- ,
- Best Cheap Phones
- ,
- Best Samsung Phones
- ,
- Best Google Pixel Phones
- ,
- Best Motorola Phones
- ,
- Best Phones With a Headphone Jack
- , and
- Best Phones You Can’t Buy in the US
- .
- Updated October 2026: We’ve added the Apple iPhone Duo, more on the Z Fold8 after testing, and updated prices.
- Best Folding Phone
- Photograph: Julian Chokkattu
- Photograph: Julian Chokkattu
- Photograph: Julian Chokkattu
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- Save to wishlist
- Samsung
- Galaxy Z Fold8
- $1,900
- Samsung
- $1,900
- $1,700
- (11% off)
- Amazon
- $1,900
- $1,700
- (11% off)
- Best Buy
- The
- Galaxy Z Fold8
- features
- fresh proportions
- for a form factor that feels
- just right
- and purpose-built. It is shorter and wider than the Galaxy Z Folds you might be used to, yet when you open it up, it feels even more
- tablet-like
- than ever. The crease is significantly less obvious than previous models, and the Fold8 is lighter and easier to handle than the
- larger Fold8 Ultra
- . You lose a little bit of screen real estate, but it’s marginal.
- The front 5.5-inch screen has a nice
- 10:16 aspect ratio
- that doesn’t cause ridiculous letterboxing. I also found I opened the inner 7.6-inch screen far more often than with the Ultra, and you can comfortably have three apps side by side in split-screen mode. The Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chipset ensures the smoothest of rides with apps and games. The Fold8’s 4,800-mAh battery (Samsung’s first with
- silicon-carbon battery technology
- ) lasts about five to six hours of screen-on time.
- Where the Fold8 loses ground compared to the more expensive Ultra is the camera. The Fold8 has a 50-megapixel main sensor and a 50-megapixel ultrawide, with two 10-megapixel selfie cameras on the outer and inner screens. The Ultra adds a more powerful 200-megapixel main camera and a 10-megapixel telephoto offering 3X optical zoom, making it the better choice for photographers. That said, the Fold8 still takes great photos and will serve just fine for most folks.
- If you’ve been on the fence about foldables, the Fold8 could be the tablet-phone combo to tempt you down. It’s pricey at $1,900 (the Ultra is $200 more), but there are already offers popping up, and we’ll see more as we head into the holiday season.
- Specs
- External display:
- 5.5-inch, 120-Hz LTPO, AMOLED
- Internal display:
- 7.6-inch, 120-Hz LTPO, AMOLED
- Processor and RAM:
- Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 with 12 or 16 GB RAM
- Storage:
- 256 GB, 512 GB, or 1 TB
- Battery:
- 4,800 mAh
- Cameras:
- 50-MP main camera, 50-MP ultrawide, 10-MP front camera, 10-MP inner selfie camera
- Updates (from date of manufacture):
- 7 years of software updates
- Extras:
- Wireless charging, IP48, fingerprint sensor, NFC
- Carrier compatibility:
- Works on all three major US networks
- Best Folding iPhone
- Photograph: Julian Chokkattu
- Save to wishlist
- Save to wishlist
- Apple
- iPhone Duo
- $1,999
- Apple
- The
- iPhone Duo
- is astonishingly good for a folding-phone debut, and we’re impressed by its polished hardware, graceful hinge, and durability. The outer screen is big enough to be useful, and it opens to a small tablet size with a clever nanotexture finish that almost completely hides the crease. But it is heavy at 254 grams (the Fold8 above only weighs 201 grams).
- The side-by-side view for optimized apps on the inner screen is lovely, and Apple has shifted iOS navigation elements to the right, which works well in apps that take advantage of it. As a great choice for multitaskers, you may even consider
- working on the iPhone Duo
- . The battery life is excellent, and you’ll likely have around 40 percent left after an average day’s use.
- Apple has also added features that take advantage of the form, like Kid Cue to help you catch your kid’s attention for photos and Smart Take, which lets you prop it on a table and automatically shoot photos when everyone is posed. It also adds enhanced
- StandBy support,
- letting you use the outer screen as an alarm clock while the inside display gently pulses with light to wake you. Apple Pencil support will also arrive later this month.
- Familiar folding-phone trade-offs include no Face ID (Touch ID is in the side power button) and no telephoto lens (you get a 48-megapixel primary camera and a 48-megapixel ultrawide). Despite the limitations, this is the first chance for Apple fans to try a folding phone, so even starting at $1,999, it’s sure to be popular.
- Specs
- External display:
- 5.4-inch, 120-Hz LTPO, AMOLED
- Internal display:
- 7.6-inch, 120-Hz LTPO, OLED
- Processor and RAM:
- Apple A20 Pro with 12 GB RAM
- Storage:
- 256 GB, 512 GB, 1 TB, or 2 TB
- Battery:
- 4,883 mAh
- Cameras:
- 48-MP main camera, 48-MP ultrawide, 12-MP front camera, 4-MP inner selfie camera
- Updates (from date of manufacture):
- Apple doesn’t officially state this, but around 7 years of software updates is likely
- Extras:
- Qi2 25W wireless charging, IP68, fingerprint sensor, NFC, Wi-Fi 7, ultra-wideband
- Carrier compatibility:
- Works on all three major US networks
- Best Flip Phone
- Photograph: Julian Chokkattu
- Save to wishlist
- Save to wishlist
- Motorola
- Razr Ultra (2026)
- $1,500
- Amazon
- $1,500
- Motorola
- Flip phones are perfect if you want something that comfortably fits in your pocket or a small clutch. Motorola’s Razr Ultra isn’t just compact, but it’s also the most fashionable smartphone today. You can buy it with suede-like Alcantara or a sustainably sourced wood on the back—both look and feel fantastic. It’s also reasonably durable, with an
- IP48 rating
- for some dust protection, a titanium-reinforced hinge, and Gorilla Glass Ceramic for more durable displays.
- Not much has changed over last year’s
- Razr Ultra 2025
- . You get the same Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset, 512 GB of storage, and 16 GB of RAM. The 4-inch OLED screen on the front lets you add multiple widget panels, so you don’t need to open the phone as frequently. Once you do, though, you’ll enjoy a super-bright, colorful 7-inch AMOLED screen. The big upgrade is the
- 5,000-mAh silicon-carbon battery
- , which can easily last two days between charges and is impressively huge for a phone this small.
- The 50-megapixel main camera delivers great photos, and there’s a reliable 50-megapixel ultrawide and a 50-megapixel selfie camera. While it’s a good camera, it still doesn’t quite match candybar phones from the likes of Google and Apple. Still, I love being able to take a selfie with the phone closed and see a preview with the front screen, and my wife loves it when I take a picture of her because she can see a preview of herself on the other side of the phone and can correct my poor angle. Video capture is also good, with Dolby Vision support that makes clips look sharp, colorful, and not too grainy in low light.
- You’ll hear a lot about Motorola’s AI features on this phone—there’s even a dedicated “AI” button—but the long and short of it is that most of these features aren’t very helpful. Pay Attention is the only one I’ve found myself using due to the nature of my job; it starts a recording with real-time transcription and an AI summary at the end, but most flagship phones can do that these days. Don’t buy it for Moto AI, buy it because it’s a flipping-cool Razr.
- Specs
- External display:
- 4-inch, 165-Hz LTPO, AMOLED
- Internal display:
- 7-inch, 165-Hz LTPO, AMOLED
- Processor and RAM:
- Snapdragon 8 Elite with 16 GB RAM
- Storage:
- 512 GB
- Battery:
- 5,000 mAh
- Cameras:
- 50-MP main camera, 50-MP ultrawide, 50-MP selfie camera
- Updates (from date of manufacture):
- 3 OS upgrades, 5 years of security updates
- Extras:
- 68-watt wired charging, Qi wireless charging, IP48, fingerprint unlock, Gorilla Glass Ceramic 3 (cover)
- Carrier compatibility:
- Works on all three major US networks
- Best Budget Folding Phone
- Photograph: Julian Chokkattu
- Save to wishlist
- Save to wishlist
- Motorola
- Razr (2026)
- $800
- Amazon
- $800
- Motorola
- You can get a cheaper folding phone if you’re willing to make a few sacrifices. The regular Razr flip phone has a similar design to the Ultra, but with slightly smaller screens. It also makes do with a slightly souped-up MediaTek chipset and less RAM, which means slower performance, but nothing too frustrating. It has the same titanium-reinforced hinge as the Ultra and an IP48 dust- and water-resistance rating.
- The camera is still solid, offering pleasing shots in good conditions, but it struggles a little with low light and high-contrast scenes. The outer display is smaller, but still customizable. Battery life is good and should last a couple of days.
- It’s disappointing that you only get three Android upgrades, and the Razr has the same unimpressive Motorola AI features as the Ultra. But weighing up the package at this price, the Razr is the most affordable, but still worthwhile, way to try a folding phone.
- Specs
- External display:
- 3.6-inch AMOLED, LTPS, 90 Hz
- Internal display:
- 6.9-inch AMOLED, LTPO, 120 Hz
- Processor and RAM:
- MediaTek Dimensity 7450X with 8 GB
- Storage:
- 256 GB
- Battery:
- 4,800 mAh
- Cameras:
- 50-MP main camera, 50-MP ultrawide, 32-MP selfie camera
- Updates (from date of manufacture):
- 3 OS upgrades, 5 years of security updates
- Extras:
- 30-watt wired charging, Qi wireless charging, IP48, fingerprint sensor, Corning Gorilla Glass Victus (cover)
- Carrier compatibility:
- Works on all three major US networks
- Other Folding Phones to Consider
- Photograph: Julian Chokkattu
- Samsung Galaxy Z Fold8 Ultra for $2,100
- The Z Fold8 Ultra is a refined release with a 6.5-inch cover display that opens to an expansive 8-inch screen that feels like two 6.5-inch displays side by side. It’s fast and smooth, with a 5,000-mAh battery, but it’s the camera that earns it the “Ultra” title. It’s an impressive combo, including a 200-megapixel main shooter, 50-megapixel ultrawide, and a 10-megapixel telephoto lens that supports 3X optical zoom. Sadly, it lacks Qi2 support for magnetic wireless charging, and the camera module makes it rock when lying flat on a surface. But the main reason it misses out on a place above is that the smaller Fold8 is so much easier to handle. Samsung Galaxy Z Flip8 for $1,200
- If you want something compact, the Galaxy Z Flip8 is the lightest and thinnest flip phone in the world with a redesigned chassis, and it comes a close second to Motorola’s Razr Ultra. It has a 4.1-inch cover screen, and it flips open to become a 6.9-inch candy bar. It’s also more durable than ever and boasts the same excellent chipset and performance as Samsung’s larger Fold models. The 4,300-mAh battery is solid, but the camera system is relatively basic, comprising a 50-megapixel main shooter backed by a 12-megapixel ultrawide. Photograph: Julian Chokkattu Motorola Razr Fold for $1,900
- The first book-style foldable from Motorola is good, but not great. The front screen feels very much like a normal phone, and you can open it to enjoy the vast 8.1-inch display inside. Sadly, the Razr Fold lacks the top-end processor of the year, which is disappointing at this price. The highlight is the massive 6,000-mAh battery, which can stretch to nearly three days of use. Thankfully, it does come with seven years of software updates (unlike Motorola’s Flip family). Motorola has also added a telephoto lens to the capable, triple 50-MP camera. But, overall, we prefer Google’s Pixel 11 Pro Fold. Motorola Razr+ 2026 for $1,100 : The awkward middle child in the Razr lineup lacks the bells and whistles or top-notch specs of the Ultra, but still costs more than $1,000. You can get very close to the same experience from the cheaper Razr and save hundreds. Even battery life is unimpressive, because it has the smallest capacity of the Razr family. The cover glass isn’t the ceramic glass mixture as on the Razr Ultra. I found out the hard way after dropping the phone once, roughly a 4-foot drop onto asphalt, and the front screen shattered. Get a screen protector! Oppo Find N6 Photograph: Simon Hill Oppo Find N6 for $1,929
- With an 8.12-inch internal display, the Find N6 is a beautifully engineered folding phone that’s impossibly slim and light. Despite the sizable camera bump, the otherwise super-svelte Honor Magic V6 (4.1 mm open, 8.8 mm closed) is a lovely foldable that’s easy to handle and feels close to a regular phone when closed. It brings better battery life, faster charging, and greater durability over last year’s Magic V5 , and also has a versatile camera and a responsive fingerprint sensor in the power button. Honor’s MagicOS is packed with potentially useful foldable and AI features, but also some bloatware.