Foldable phones are the newest and fastest-developing type of mobile computer right now. Growing out of the desire to put the largest possible amount of screen inside the user’s pocket, they represent the cutting edge of technological innovation, with Samsung and Huawei offering the most notable early examples. A good foldable is one that combines the greater usability and potential of a large-screen tablet with the effortless portability of an everyday smartphone. We can expect foldables and their hinge designs to keep evolving at a breakneck pace, as hardware companies work to figure out exactly how to fold and market this new breed of portable computer.
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Verge Score
Samsung’s flagship foldable is as good as ever, but it feels anything but fresh.
The Galaxy Z Fold 6, Galaxy Z Flip 6, Galaxy Watch Ultra, Galaxy Watch 7, Galaxy Ring, and Galaxy Buds 3 revealed at Samsung’s Unpacked event went on sale globally today, though some regions / carriers may vary.
The exception is the Galaxy Buds 3 Pro, which are delayed (until August 28th in the US) due to quality issues with the removable ear tips.
Samsung gave 17,000 of its Galaxy Z Flip 6 phones to athletes and others around the Olympic and Paralympic games, and here’s one more unboxing.
The phone itself isn’t more impressive than anyone else’s, but British rower Imogen Grant chose a tough upgrade path — the phone she’s replacing was another freebie from Samsung that she picked up at the Tokyo Olympics.
Gemini is available on the Galaxy Z Fold 6 and Z Flip 6, and Google is touting a bunch of new AI features it previewed earlier this year, like homework help in Circle to Search and contextual suggestions. But they’re still coming “soon,” so it doesn’t look like we’ll get to try them out right away on the new foldables. Bummer.
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Verge Score
The bigger, better cover screen is a delight to use — but familiar problems persist.
Images of what looks like a damaged Pixel 6-style Fold showed up on the XDA forums, in a May thread that quietly petered out.
The phone, which forum members assumed was fake, appears to be a legitimate prototype of a foldable that was once rumored for a 2021 reveal, according to Android Authority, citing an unnamed source within Google.
A new teaser for Motorola’s next-gen Razr gives us a brief glimpse at the foldable and confirms a June 25th launch date. So far, leaks suggest that the Razr 50 Ultra and its cheaper counterpart will come with larger cover screens.
Specifications for the upcoming foldable have leaked ahead of its expected launch next month, with Smartprix reporting incremental improvements over its predecessor.
The device will supposedly feature a 7.6-inch 120Hz Dynamic AMOLED 2x internal screen with a 2160 x 1856 resolution and a 4:3.4 aspect ratio. It’s also 14 grams lighter and powered by Qualcomm’s latest Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chip.
Honor launched its first clamshell style foldable today, the Honor V Flip, with a Haute Couture Edition designed by the fashion legend himself. Apparently he’s taking advantage of the big 4.0-inch cover screen and embracing the whole phone-on-your-shirt concept I’ve been experimenting with. I think he wore it better.
The V Flip is up for pre-order today — but only in China. It starts at 4,999 yuan.
Samsung, unsurprisingly, but:
Samsung, a trailblazer in the foldable phone market, commanded over 80 percent of the market share in 2022. However, with increasing competition from various brands in 2023–2024, Samsung’s share dropped from 60 percent and it now struggles to maintain 50 percent.
The tech analysts at TrendForce say foldable phones will only represent about 1.5 percent of the global smartphone market by the end of 2024, but grow to 5 percent by 2028 after Apple enters the race.
Seems those renders from February were spot on according to the latest Ice Universe drop. We’ll know for sure on July 10th if that Samsung Unpacked rumor is true.
Android expert Mishaal Rahman has shared what could be Google’s second-generation foldable with Android Authority.
As you can see from the photo, the most noticeable difference is a square-shaped camera module, which appears to replace the camera bar that extends across the back of the first-gen device. Rahman’s source also says the potential Pixel Fold 2 has a slimmer form factor, along with rounder inner and outer displays.
Despite years of rumors and everyone else jumping on the foldable trend, an Apple foldable is nowhere to found. The latest folding iPad rumor from The Elec says 2026 or 2027 for a 7- or 8-inch model, saying it’ll be Apple’s first foldable despite rumors of a foldable iPhone as early as 2025.
MacRumors maintains a running summary that tracks rumors for both the folding iPhone and folding iPad, if you want to dig in.
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It’s thin and light enough to feel like a regular smartphone when folded. That’s impressive. I just wish Honor’s software were as svelte.
Samsung is apparently trying to trademark the word for foldable OLED panels, as reported by Android Central. My guess is that it’s some marketing term for more durable foldable screens — perhaps for the next Z Fold and Z Flip?
