More than four years after the launch of Samsung’s first Galaxy Z Fold, foldable phones have finally become commonplace. Despite the astronomical prices, buyers have found themselves lured in by the promise of perfected mobile productivity or — in the case of clamshell phones — portability in a fun-sized package. What may have seemed like a novelty has proven to be a new type of device and some of the best Android phones around, destined to win over power users and gadget fanatics everywhere.

It’s taken years for more foldables to expand outside of China into the US, but for the first time since 2019, if you’re a US-based shopper, you finally have some real competition for Samsung’s Galaxy Z-series. Devices from Motorola and Google continue to challenge Samsung’s new Galaxy Z Fold 5 and Z Flip 5 for their respective crowns. And with new hardware on the way from OnePlus later this year, the race for the best foldable is truly heating up. Here are our favorite foldables in 2023 so far.

Source: Motorola

Moto Razr+ (2023)

Best clamshell foldable

$900 $1000 Save
$100

The Motorola Razr+ puts the fun back into a smartphone. With a 3.6″ 1:1 display on the outside of the device, it has never been easier to manage notifications, texts, navigation, and so much more. And when you unfold the phone, a more standard 6.9″ display is revealed. The Razr+ is a surprising rebound after the first couple of generations failed to get any traction.

Pros

• Big front display
• All-day battery life
• It’s a fun phone

Cons

• Cameras aren’t particularly good
• Some panel limitations on the front screen
• Motorola’s updates arrive later than Samsung’s

The Motorola Razr+ isn’t just my favorite folding phone of 2023 — it’s my favorite foldable ever. While readers who find themselves drawn to the promise of a pocket-sized tablet will need to look for other options, anyone who misses smaller smartphones will find themselves head over heels in love with Moto’s latest clamshell.

Its design isn’t far from what Samsung has perfected over several Galaxy Z Flip generations, but it has a couple of key improvements. For one, the entire chassis is slimmed down, allowing the whole phone to fold flat while staying thin and light in your pocket. Its rounded edges also feel excellent to the touch. Performance is also great, with the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 balancing speed and efficiency for all-day battery life.

Of course, it’s not a perfect phone. The cameras, unsurprisingly, suffer thanks to the limited sensor space and Motorola’s subpar image processing. It also picks up plenty of smudges on the front display, which might leave you cleaning your fingerprints off constantly. But if you’re after a phone that balances feeling small and large without much compromise, you can’t do better than the Motorola Razr+.

Source: Samsung

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5

Best tablet foldable

$1550 $1800 Save
$250

The Galaxy Z Fold 5 picked up a new hinge and a thinner design that’s much easier to carry around for this generation. Its upgraded Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 CPU can keep up with any task, and you can expect the battery to get you through most of the day. The screens are still brilliant, and the same quad-camera setup is available.

Pros

• Good – if unpredictable – battery life
• Slimmed down chassis finally feels pocket-friendly
• One UI’s foldable enhancements remain excellent
• Upgraded Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 CPU

Cons

• Design feels a bit stale
• No tangible camera improvements over the Fold 4
• Only 25W charging

When it comes to tablet-sized foldable phones, the new Galaxy Z Fold 5 should be the choice for you. It has a tall and narrow design when folded up; the 6.2-inch OLED screen with 2316×904 resolution remains perfectly usable if just a bit cramped when typing. Opening the Z Fold 5 reveals the main screen that measures 7.6 inches with a 2176 x 1812 resolution. It also uses OLED tech for a stunning picture, and it’s large enough to feel like a small tablet when you’re using your favorite apps. The new Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset can keep up with pretty much any task without overheating.

Samsung didn’t make any huge design changes for this generation, but it did eliminate the gap between the two halves of the phone when folded. In my Galaxy Z Fold 5 review, I noted that “the Galaxy Z Fold 5 is finally slim enough fit in your pocket comfortably.” The look might be a bit stale, but at least this generation has slimmed things down. Cameras have also gone unchanged save for a new lens coating that should reduce lens flare.

As for battery life, you can expect nearly-all-day performance. As mentioned in our review, it’s not a bad idea to plug it in before heading out for the night. A quality power bank is also a solution for those always on the go. One drawback is the 25W charging cap. This phone is expensive, and you’d expect at least 45W charging here to go along with the Galaxy S23 phones.

Nevertheless, the Z Fold 5 is one of the few options actually available in the US. It’s not a huge upgrade over the Z Fold 4, but it’s been heavily polished and is the best version of the Samsung Z Fold so far. Be sure to check out our Z Fold 5 vs. Z Fold 4 comparison for more details about the changes for this generation.

Source: Samsung

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5

Best Samsung clamshell

$900 $1000 Save
$100

Those who prefer One UI over Motorola’s Android build should consider the Galaxy Flip 5. It has a new cover screen, a new processor, and a new hinge, plus you can pick it up in plenty of different colors to suit your style. Best part? Despite all the improvements, Samsung is asking the same launch price as the Z Flip 4.

Pros

• New 3.4-inch cover screen
• Upgraded Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 CPU
• Same launch price as the Z Flip 4

Cons

• No upgrade to the cameras

Like the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5, the clamshell Galaxy Z Flip 5 is a 2023 release that builds on the previous generation. Comparing the Flip to the Fold, it’s clear that the former device got a bit more love this time around.

New to the Z Flip 5 is a 3.4-inch cover display that’s nearly four times the size of the front screen on the Z Flip 4. The 720p resolution at 60Hz works wonders for checking notifications and interacting with widgets, and you can even use a keyboard to answer messages. The internal 6.7-inch screen remains the same, though it does have a new hinge that apparently lessens the shock of impacts when dropped or bumped.

The Z Flip 5 comes in four colors, including Mint, Graphite, Cream, and Lavender. Buying straight from Samsung opens up additional Blue, Gray, Green, and Yellow colors. Unfortunately, there’s no Bespoke Edition program that lets you select individual colors for each part. The phone’s cameras remain unchanged compared to the Z Flip 4, and it still has IPX8 certification for water resistance.

You should expect slightly better performance this time around from the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset. It comes with 8GB of RAM and either 256GB or 512GB of storage space; no more 128GB option. It also uses the same size battery as the Flip 4, and it suffers from the same slow 25W charging as the Z Fold 5.

All that being said, Samsung is offering the Z Flip 5 — with new cover screen, new CPU, and 256GB of storage space to start — at the same launch price as the Z Flip 4. Be sure to have a look at our Z Flip 5 vs. Z Flip 4 comparison for more information on how the two generations compare.

Source: Google

Google Pixel Fold

Best Pixel experience

Google’s first foldable improves on Samsung’s models in a lot of ways. For instance, the switch to a wider phone means the front screen feels much more comfortable in daily use, plus the inner display opens up perfectly for video. It does have some first-gen issues on the hardware and software side of things, but if you want a Pixel phone with the flexibility of a tablet, this is the one to get.

Pros

• Book-like hinge
• Folds flat and relatively thin
• Best camera on a foldable

Cons

• Inner screen quality leaves something to be desired
• Some odd software issues
• Mixed battery life and thermal performance

Not everyone is into Samsung’s software experience, and thankfully, there’s finally another option in the US. The Google Pixel Fold is far from a perfect device — it suffers from the same first-gen hiccups that we often see from the company’s products — but if you’re after a Pixel-style experience on the biggest screen you can find, the Pixel Fold is the one to get. Plus, thanks to an improved design, the outer display is usable for most tasks, which is not true with Samsung’s form factor.

At 5.8″ and with a more rectangular aspect ratio than most phones these days, the screen is a great introduction to the Pixel Fold. The interior display, however, feels a generation or two behind compared to what Samsung’s doing. While the displays are the exact same size and shape, the Pixel’s been rotated 90 degrees to open wide, and the larger bezels and lower quality compared to the Galaxy Z-series might turn off some users. Nevertheless, the Pixel software experience continues to mostly shine.

The biggest problem has to do with apps. Google chose to prevent third-party apps from filling the entire screen unless they’re enhanced by developers, which means lots of apps fail to use up the available screen real estate. The Pixel Fold more than makes up for that in the camera department, though. There’s much to love about how this phone takes photos, and it’s by far the best camera you’ll find on a foldable. Although some might choose to wait for a second generation to help smooth out some of the bugs here, it’s still a solid alternative to what Samsung is doing, especially if you don’t care for One UI.

Source: Samsung

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4

Best value tablet foldable

The Galaxy Z Fold 4 is still and excellent folding phone with plenty of power thanks to a Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 and 12GB of RAM. The center screen is a large 7.6-inch 120Hz OLED with S Pen support making this phone perfect for getting work done without opening a laptop.

Pros

• Gorgeous 7.6-inch internal 120Hz OLED
• Upgraded cameras over the previous generation
• Support for S Pen input

Cons

• Wired charging speed tops out at 25W
• Doesn’t fold as flat at the latest model
• Still very expensive

Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold 5 has upgraded most aspects of the Z Fold 4 from last year, but the older model is still an excellent folder for those looking to upgrade without spending new phone prices. The star of the show is the large 7.6-inch OLED inside running at 120Hz and powered by the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1. With another 6.2-inch 120Hz OLED on the outside for quick tasks, this phone can run just about anything you throw at it with ease. It’s also a multitasking master with plenty of screen real estate on the inside for multiple windows. You can even pick up an S Pen for fine inputs or note-taking.

The battery isn’t winning any awards at a modest 4,400mAh and only charging at 25W, but our Galaxy Z Fold 4 review found that it should still make it to the end of the day with moderate usage. Luckily, it supports 15W wireless Qi charging so if you’ve equipped your desk with one of the best wireless chargers for Z Fold phones, you can leave work with a full charge. This phone also has a solid camera system with telephoto and ultrawide cameras in addition to the 50MP main shooter which is still a match for the Z Fold 5 most of the time.

Samsung has also gone to great lengths to keep its flagship models up-to-date longer than most other manufacturers, including Google. Samsung has promised four major OS upgrades and five years of security updates for the Z Fold 4. That means that you can download and install the latest Android 13 update with One UI 5.1 right out of the box.

Source: Samsung

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4

Best value clamshell

$830 $1000 Save
$170

Despite its smaller external display, the Galaxy Flip 4 is still a sleek and convenient clamshell folding phone. It’s got plenty of power for modern tasks with the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 under the hood and years of updates promised.

Pros

• Sleek and durable
• Distinctive design

Cons

• Small cover display
• So-so cameras

The Galaxy Z Flip 4, like the Z Fold 4, is still a strong pick for many people with hardware that can still keep up with modern apps and tasks without breaking a sweat. This phone has a solid 6.7-inch 120Hz OLED display on the inside that folds right down the middle. Once folded, you can still get basic notifications on the 1.9-inch external display. This clamshell folder is powered by Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 with 8GB of RAM, so it still has the same sort of compute power you’d find in a standard Galaxy S phone. It will even keep working if it takes a quick swim with an IPX8 rating.

This phone, however, does have to make a few cutbacks to accommodate its compact size starting with the battery. This 3,800mAh battery will struggle to sustain a heavy user through the whole day and charging isn’t blazing with 25W wired and 10W wireless charging available. The USB port is also only USB 2.0 spec meaning you won’t be using Samsung features like Dex with this phone and transferring large files to a PC could be quite slow at just 480Mpbs peak transfer speeds.

While a clamshell folding phone definitely isn’t for everyone, this folder is still a strong choice for those it does work for. Samsung has extended its promise of four OS upgrades and five years of security updates to this device, so you’re not stuck using old software. In fact, this phone is ready to be updated to Android 13 with One UI 5.1 as soon as you get it connected to Wi-Fi.

Picking the right foldable

It’s taken a few years, but Samsung finally has a couple of rivals in the United States. Whether you’re after a clamshell phone like the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 or Motorola Razr+, or you want an expansive display like those offered on the Galaxy Z Fold 5 or Pixel Fold, there’s something for you.

You can even shop models from last year like the Z Fold 4 with some sellers and carriers offering discounts on the older model. And with new options planned for the rest of the year — including the first-ever OnePlus foldable — the market for folding phones is only getting more interesting by the day.