It may be hard to believe, but foldable phones have been around for the better part of a decade. Admittedly, the first one I saw in 2019 – actually the predecessor to Samsung’s Galaxy Fold – was a mixed bag. But since then, phone makers have been slowly iterating and tweaking their designs, and this year, manufacturers have finally addressed all the major issues with foldable phones except one: price.
Let’s go back to the OG Fold. Even though it was chunky and heavy, it had little external display and suffered from a hinge that allowed a lot of detritus inside (probably how The Verge’s review unit damaged), still shows great promise. It was a real multitasker — a phone that could turn into a mini tablet in no time. What don’t you like?
This scene would have sent shivers down my spine years ago, but thanks to the IP68 rating for dust and water resistance, the Pixel 10 Pro Fold is no worry. (Sam Rutherford of Engadget)
From there, Samsung improved its foldable with water resistance and S Pen support in the Z Fold 3, followed by removing the gap between the two halves of the closed Z Fold 5. And as the competition grew from OnePlus and Google (not to mention all the Chinese competitors like Oppo, Xiaomi and others), we saw design improvements and software improvements in every category.
In 2025, two phones in particular brought the biggest improvements in overall folding. Although its design has not changed much from its predecessor, Google has managed to get the Pixel 10 Pro Fold an IP68 rating for dust and water resistance – finally putting protection for both dirt and liquids in the same fold for the first time. Now, for all the people out there with regular phones, that might not sound like a big deal. But for devices with complex hinges where you don’t want to get into random junk inside, that’s a huge relief and a huge improvement in the general use of the handset.
Looking at their size alone, you’d be hard-pressed to tell the difference between the Galaxy Z Fold 7 (right) and the S25 Ultra (left). (Sam Rutherford of Engadget)
Meanwhile, with the Galaxy Z Fold 7, Samsung achieved what could be an even bigger breakthrough by creating a foldable phone that was the same size and weight as a traditional brick-and-glass handset – with a larger internal display of at least 8 inches. In fact, if you compare the Z Fold 7 to Samsung’s other flagship – the S25 Ultra – the fold is actually a touch lighter (7.58 ounces vs 7.69 ounces) and nearly as thin (8.9mm vs 8.2mm). That’s a big deal because one of the biggest problems with previous generations of wraps was the bulk and excess heft, to the point where I often had to wear a belt to keep my pants from sagging when I carried them.
Unfortunately, no phone maker has packed both these advancements into one gadget yet. But this is still a big deal, and based on the way things are trending, I’m sure that won’t be the case for much longer.
What about the crease, you say? Of course, even the latest and greatest folding still has a slight stress that goes down the screen when the phone bends in half. Let me be clear: that’s not really the problem. Sure, it would be nice if it wasn’t there, but getting mad at the crease is like getting mad at a convertible that has extra panel gaps because it has a retractable roof. Not only is the crease invisible when looking at it directly (which is most of the time), in reality, people don’t touch the dead center of their phone’s display very often – especially on a screen the size of a small tablet.
The IZ Fold 7 made large folds a thing of the past while the Pixel 10 Pro Fold shows that these phones no longer need to be afraid of dirt. (Sam Rutherford of Engadget)
Actually, one thing the makers of the big folders haven’t figured out is how to make them affordable. The OnePlus brand approached 2023 with the Open, which cost $1,500 after discounts that included trading in virtually any phone (even a broken one). In fact, things are actually kind of backwards. The launch price of the Z Fold 7 ($2,000) is $200 more than what the Z Fold 5 started at a few years ago. Even with the higher prices, I’m starting to see more foldable phones out in the wild than ever before and the data backs up my feelings. Sales of the Galaxy Z Fold 7 are up 50 percent compared to the previous generation while global sales of foldable phones peaked in Q3 of this year, and I’m willing to bet that there are millions more who would be interested in them – if they weren’t so expensive.
