In my extended circle of acquaintences and colleagues I know around eight people with folding phones. I have seen ONE of them ever use it open - even in situations where you’d think it’d be great, like sitting at the tables in the office kitchen at lunchtime browsing, almost never used unfolded.

It seems like it should be a great idea, but for the majority of people the majority of the time, it appears to be an otherwise normal phone that’s just twice as thick as it needed to be. One of the owners of these devices - who had it bought for them rather than choosing it themself - made that exact complaint to me, in fact.

That said, don’t let this put you off. If it’s a thing you think you would like, the technology has definitely progressed to the point where the more glaring issues (of reliability, mostly) have been worked out. But definitely spend some time playing with one in a store before committing if you can.

yes

(it’s polarizing and a bit different for different people who want different things. i’m on the “it’s abysmal” side)

Writing this on a Pixel Fold…

The concerns about the screen fragility are overblown, I’ve been using this thing for a year now with no screen damage, no scratches, and the hinge is fine… I run a cheap snap-on plastic case with no screen protector. There’s a small scratch on the hinge itself from one of the many times I’ve dropped it.

It’s nice to have a larger screen for videos and pictures. It’s nice to be able to run two full-size apps at once, but Hearthstone + YouTube is really the only thing I ever use that feature for. It’s nice for DS/3DS emulation, if you attach a controller. But for me personally, I don’t feel I use it unfolded enough to justify the extra weight and thickness. I’ll be going back to a slab phone when it’s time to upgrade.

I’d watch some videos on the YouTube channel JerryRig Everything. He does destructive tests on these kinda phones.

Advantages:

• The screen is protected when the phone is closed
• It allows for a larger screen while maintaining portability

Disadvantages:

• The screen is plastic, instead of glass. Meaning it is very easy to scratch
• The screen has a hump where the hinge is
• The hinge can get dirt in it, at which point you start developing lots of problems
• They are very expensive

I personally buy mid-budget phones, which means these aren’t even a consideration. But, I probably wouldn’t buy one even at the same price due to the plastic screens being very easy to scratch and a larger screen not having much value for me. But, really it’s up to you what you value in your phone.

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I have a clamshell “z flip 6” prior to that I also has the 3 and before that the 2.

I’m extremely clumsy and always drop my phone. Prior to these flips, my primary reason for upgrading was that I cracked the screen. I’ve never once cracked the screen on my flip because it’s always inside and the case covers the entire outside when folded.

I also haven’t observed any issues with the hinge area cracking on any of them. Not sure if I’m just lucky. But I do tend to sit there and stim opening and closing the phone repeatedly so I don’t think it’s due to my usage.

My partner is ymas keen photographer and has the fold out tablet style one and loves the big screen for viewing photos and websites, but I like the little one because it fits in my tiny pockets and purses.

Starting with Samsung’s Flip5/Fold5 they are solid enough IMHO.

Read several test reports before you buy.

I use a Galaxy fold, and honestly, you can take my folding phone from my cold dead hands, because there is no other way in giving them up.

A buddy of mine has a foldable Samsung and likes it. IDK what model but it’s big, looks like a full sized phone when folded, and opens out into something with 2x the screen space of a normal phone, basically a mini tablet.

I had a number of flip phones in the old days and they all broke at the hinge. So there’s that.

I got an pixel 9 pro fold used for like $1000 on eBay. Way cheaper than a new one and about the same cost as a new non-folding phone. I installed graphene os on it and I’ve been digging it. Def don’t use the inner screen as much as I thought I would but its still cool to have when I do use it.

The screen breaks, don’t buy one

I like it a lot but I have a clamshell. I don’t understand the purpose of the other form factors. It really isn’t much different from other phones after a while, except you forget about how nobody else’s phone closes or fits in their pocket.

I occasionally get remarks about it like “your phone is cool” but literally forget that other people are stuck with the traditional candy bar style.

Some considerations:

• Do you prefer to have only the latest technology, regardless of cost? These phones are in flagship price ranges.

• Are you very careful with your phone? Cases exist, but necessarily protect less of the device. The screen is far more prone to damage, but they are durable enough for daily use if you are a careful person.

• Are you looking to get/replace both a phone and a tablet? Reviewers tend to say that foldables are not an adequate replacement for a tablet, but people I know personally say that it is more than enough to use as a tablet.

• What features are you willing to compromise? Foldables often have lower quality cameras, chips, and smaller batteries than similarly priced phones. I’m assuming you have already looked into it, since this is easiest thing to check.

• Do you just really want a foldable? Honestly, everyone I know who has one loves it. If you like the format then go for it :)

My nephew has a Pixel Fold and it’s kinda neat and all, but he barely uses the unfold feature cause he just doesn’t need a big screen most of the time so it’s mostly just a really thick-ass phone. It’s not even great for watching movies because it’s a weird aspect ratio so you have big black bars on the top and/or sides.

Also we tried folding phones before, we called them flip phones, and the hinges were always the first thing to break.