Best Foldable Phones 2023: The six best foldables we’ve tested

Samsung dominates the foldable market and while there are others available from the likes of Huawei, Oppo and Xiaomi they’re far from widely available.

Samsung’s latest edition of its flagship foldable – the Z Fold 4 – is the finest one we’ve reviewed to date. It matches the Galaxy S22 Plus for camera skills, packs a smattering of smart software tweaks to make it a far more productive device than the S22 Ultra. It also doesn’t seem to suffer from any of the durability issues that plagued some previous entries, thanks to an improved hinge and stronger glass.

There are two OLED displays here, a smaller outer panel and a larger internal one. Our reviewer said the internal display was fantastic for detail and colour reproduction, and there’s S Pen support for doodling and drawing.

The 4400mAh battery got our reviewer through a busy day, even if they did wish the charging was a little faster. You’ll need a full 90 minutes to get from 0-100%.

If you’re after a foldable that’s a little cheaper, and a little smaller, there’s the Z Flip 4. This is Samsung’s other foldable and it mimics the look of a classic flip phone.

Reviewer: Max Parker

Full review: Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 review

If you’ve got your heart set on a clamshell-style foldable, the Motorola Razr 40 Ultra should be of serious consideration. The Razr 40 Ultra takes the clamshell experience to the next level with a large 3.6-inch pOLED exterior display with a super-smooth 144Hz refresh rate.

The display is large enough not only to run widgets like the Oppo Find N2 Flip but full Android apps, allowing you to control smart home tech, reply to incoming messages and get directions from Google Maps having to unfold the display. It not only cuts down on how often you’ll have to open the phone, but the folded form factor makes it comfortable to use too.

That’s not to say that you’ll always be using the external display, especially with a tall, narrow 6.9-inch pOLED display found within. It’s super smooth at 165Hz, and boasts LTPO tech that allows it to intelligently adapt the refresh rate depending on what you’re doing. The catch is that you can’t force that top-end 165Hz refresh rate, so it’ll only be available when the phone deems it useful.

The Razr 40 Ultra’s hinge also allows for a near-gapless fold that reduces dust ingress, an improvement on the older Razr (2022), and also manages to reduce both the visibility and the tactile feel of the crease on the inner display.

The 12MP main camera may not sound that impressive on paper but paired with OIS, PDAF and a wide f/1.5 aperture, it excels both in well-lit and low light environments. It’s still not quite on a par with top-end flagships, but it’s impressive for a slimline foldable.

The phone is powered by the year-old Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1, which may put some off, but everyday performance is solid. It does tend to overheat when playing graphics-intensive games, however.

The 3,800mAh battery is an improvement on the Razr (2022)’s 3,500mAh cell and it’s capable of lasting all day, though it won’t make it that long into the second. It’s a good thing it charges in less than an hour with 30W fast charging tech.

Reviewer: Lewis Painter

Full review: Motorola Razr 40 Ultra review

The Oppo Find N2 boasts the same general form factor as the Z Flip 4, and even comes in a very similar shade of purple, but it fixes some of the big complaints about Samsung’s foldable and, crucially, is cheaper too.

The big improvement is the hinge, and more specifically, the ability to close completely flat with no gap. This protects the inner display from dust and other debris from your pocket while making it look more premium than Samsung’s option.

There’s also a large 3.45-inch cover display that not only provides a full camera preview compared to cropped previews from other foldables, but the ability to access widgets specifically designed for Oppo’s cover display. This makes it far more useful, meaning you’ll have to unfold the phone less often, though it’s not quite as capable as the Razr 40 Ultra’s external panel.

While on the subject of the fold, it’s worth noting that the Find N2 Flip has a pretty decent hinge mechanism with a new Flexion hinge that reduces the crease by up to 60% compared to the already-impressive original Oppo Find N. The end result is a crease that’s barely visible when looking straight on, and there’s only a slight change in sensation as you run your finger over it.

There’s also a boosted camera offering comprised of a main 50MP snapper and an 8MP ultrawide, and the ability to shoot in 4K@60fps is handy too, especially in the phone’s special camcorder mode.

Throw in top-level performance from a Dimensity 9000+, a 4300mAh battery that provides true all-day battery life and a cheaper price tag than competing clamshell foldables and you’ve got a very tempting clamshell phone.

Reviewer: Lewis Painter

Full review: Oppo Find N2 Flip review

If you’re on the market for a foldable with some kind of water resistance, your options are admittedly limited to the book-style Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 and its clamshell, the Galaxy Z Flip 4.

Compared to the outgoing Z Flip 3, the changes are minimal and if you invested last year you shouldn’t feel much need to upgrade again. The Z Flip 4 has a newer, faster Qualcomm chip inside, tougher glass and a slightly thinner display bezel.

The biggest update though is the battery. The cell is now larger, and paired with the more efficient chipset really helps the endurance out here. While we struggled to get through the day with the Z Flip 3, we got around 10% extra juice per day with this updated model and that makes all the difference. It’s got faster charging too, but you will need to provide your own plug.

Samsung hasn’t drastically improved the cameras hare. You’ve still got two 12MP sensors on the lid, and another inside, and they all take reliable snaps. Low-light is improved this time thanks to a larger main sensor and more focus on low-light modes, but the lack of an optical zoom means cropping in isn’t the best around.

The Cover Display provides a handy small display for checking notifications, keeping an eye on timers and skipping through songs. It’s not as feature-rich as the panel on the Moto Razr or Oppo Find N2 Flip though, and you can only use apps supported by Samsung.

The Z Flip 3 is still available and would remain a good pick if you can find it cheaper, especially as the upgrades here aren’t massive.

Reviewer: Max Parker

Full review: Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4 review

Competing directly with the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4, the Honor Magic Vs has its sights set on being the best book-style foldable on the market, and while it doesn’t quite meet that goal, it’s still a fantastic device that has Samsung beat in one key area: the display.

The Magic Vs comes packed with a slender 6.2-inch outer display and an impressive 7.9-inch display on the interior. Both displays are larger than what the Z Fold 4 has to offer, something that really helps to maximise the potential of the foldable form factor.

For instance, the larger 7.9-inch display is perfect for watching content and it’s large enough to make multitasking a breeze. Plus, if you’ve ever found yourself cursing that onscreen keyboards are just too small to avoid making typos, then you’ll really appreciate the added real estate on the larger display which makes note-taking so much easier.

Thanks to the Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1 chipset inside the Honor Magic Vs, multitasking works really well, and we didn’t pick up on any noticeable slowdown when running two apps at the same time.

Unfortunately, the Magic Vs is held back by the fact that plenty of apps have yet to be optimised to make the most of the foldable format, and Honor’s very-own MagicOS throws a little too much bloatware into the mix which cannot be deleted from the phone itself.

Still, the massive 5000mAh battery can see you safely to the end of each day without worry and under modest use, you can even expect to run through two-days on a single charge. It’s also worth mentioning that the Magic Vs is cheaper than the Galaxy Z Fold 4, and it only comes in one high-specced 512GB option with 12GB RAM to boot. If you’re after an alternative to Samsung’s foldable then the Magic Vs is a great place to start.

Reviewer: Thomas Deehan
Full review: Honor Magic Vs

The Huawei P50 Pocket follows a similar blueprint to the Z Flip 4, using its foldable screen as a way of recreating a classic clamshell-style phone. Huawei’s entry isn’t as durable as Samsung’s and it lacks Google apps (we’ll delve deeper into this later) along with 5G but it does have a very good camera, excellent display and a lovely design.

As is often the case with Huawei’s phones, the camera here is king. Our reviewer found Images were very good, packing in plenty of detail without adding too much post-processing. Colours remain natural and vivid.

We also prefer the internal screen here to the one on the Samsung Z Flip 4, mostly down to the lack of a really obvious crease across the middle. Our reviewer commented on how immersive the 6.9-inch OLED screen was, especially when watching media.

Sadly this phone does have a big issue, and that’s the lack of Google apps and no access to the Play Store. If you rely on Docs, Gmail and other big apps you’ll struggle here. It’s a shame, and Huawei’s own app alternatives still can’t quite match up with quality or quantity. Availability is an issue too, so you might have find innovative ways of finding this phone if you want to buy it.

Reviewer: Peter Phelps

Full review Review: Huawei P50 Pocket review