Latest news with #foldingphones
Bloomberg
10-07-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
Yaccarino's Exit From X Leaves Musk Seeking Someone to Put Out the Fires
Welcome to Tech In Depth, our daily newsletter about the business of tech from Bloomberg's journalists around the world. Today, Kurt Wagner reports on Linda Yaccarino's resignation as chief executive officer of the social media platform X. New Samsung devices: Samsung unveiled several new devices, including its thinnest and cheapest folding phones yet — which it hopes will help the segment catch on with mainstream consumers.
Digital Trends
27-06-2025
- Digital Trends
Four folding phones that I hope the Galaxy Z Fold 7 emulates
Samsung is set to launch the Galaxy Z Fold 7 at Galaxy Unpacked in under two weeks, but it will face intense competition from key folding phone rivals on the global stage, despite being the thinnest and lightest Samsung folding phone to date. The Oppo Find N5 is currently the world's thinnest folding phone, but it's set to be surpassed by the new Honor Magic V5. Unlike the former, the Honor is expected to launch in many global markets that the Galaxy Z Fold 7 is likely to target as well. Recommended Videos Then there's China, the world's biggest smartphone market. Folding phones are most popular in Asia, and China is a key market for every phone maker. It is also the most fiercely competitive market, with many folding phones only launched in China. Here are four phones that I hope the Galaxy Z Fold 7 emulates and why. Vivo X Fold 5: Battery, Cameras, and Apple integration This is the newest official device on our list, as Vivo unveiled the X Fold 5 just two days ago in China. This is a China-only release for now, but unlike previous versions, it's also expected to make a debut outside China, this time in India. There's good reason that strategy will likely be successful: the Vivo X Fold 5 is the best value-for-money folding phone on this list. In China, it's priced at CN¥6,999, or approximately $976, which is hundreds of dollars less than its key rivals. For that, you get an excellent specs sheet that includes an 8-inch main display, a 6.53-inch Cover Display, and a Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 processor paired with either 12GB or 16GB of RAM and between 256GB and 1TB of storage. There are three 50MP cameras, including a periscope telephoto offering 3x optical zoom. All of this is powered by a 6,000 mAh battery, the largest of any book-style folding phone to date. I hope Samsung copies Vivo — and many other phone makers, including Motorola — by adopting Silicon Carbon battery technology, as higher density means bigger batteries in the same physical space. The Vivo X Fold 5 also features 80W wired charging and 40W wireless, both of which are faster than the current Galaxy Z Fold 6. The most interesting Vivo X Fold 5 feature is the reported integration with Apple devices. Vivo claims that it's the first Android phone to support the Apple Watch. Once paired with an iPhone, a future update for Vivo will enable the phone to update health information, display notifications, and receive or make calls and texts. Vivo goes even further, though: the X Fold 5 will also work seamlessly with AirPods and can be paired with an iPhone, so all your calls, texts, and notifications from your iPhone are mirrored on the Vivo. There's also deep integration with Macs, allowing you to use the X Fold 5 as an extended screen, similar to the iPad with Sidecar. Vivo's software also offers a Big Screen Experience, allowing you to run up to five apps simultaneously, with file transfer support across these apps via drag-and-drop functionality. Samsung supporting the iPhone and Apple ecosystem would be a great way to tempt users to switch, especially with the rumored iPhone Fold still a year away. The Vivo won't make its way to the US, so Samsung could bring this feature to the US for the first time as well. Honor Magic V3 / V5: Thinnest and Lightest foldable The Galaxy Z Fold 7 is expected to be one of the thinnest phones on the market, but Honor kickstarted this trend with the Magic V2, which was 4.7mm when unfolded. A year later, the Magic V3 pushed the boundaries further to 4.35mm, and the Magic V5 is expected to be even thinner. The latest Galaxy Z Fold 7 rumors suggest that Samsung's new foldable may be even thinner than the Honor when unfolded at 3.9mm, or it might be roughly similar in thickness, at 4.2mm. Regardless, Samsung is set to follow in these footsteps, which is a welcome improvement from the Galaxy Z Fold 7, which is 5.6mm thick when folded and 12.1mm thick when unfolded. As folding phones have gotten thinner, they haven't dropped as much in weight, and most folding phones are at least 20-30 grams heavier than the best phones. However, the Magic V5 is expected to be the lightest folding phone yet, which will help push the industry further in this direction. Oppo Find N5: Design, Stylus, Open Canvas, and Battery Following the Magic V3, Oppo unveiled the world's thinnest foldable, the Find N5, earlier this year. However, this was not before they disappointed customers by announcing that it wouldn't come to the US as the OnePlus Open 2, as was originally expected. The reason is unclear, but it is rumored to be due to the price, with the Find N5 the most expensive foldable on this list. That's not a bad thing, as the Find N5 is currently the best folding phone you can buy. It has the ultra-thin design, and at 4.21mm thick when unfolded, it's stunningly beautiful in the hand. However, the Find N5 offers more than just pretty looks, with a specs sheet that wouldn't be out of place in any flagship. This includes the largest main display on a folding phone, measuring 8.12 inches, and a triple camera setup featuring two 50MP cameras, including a telephoto lens with 3x optical zoom. It's powered by the 7-core version of the Snapdragon 8 Elite processor, paired with 16GB of RAM and 512GB or 1TB of storage. Despite its thin body, the Find N5 manages to pack a 5,600 mAh Silicon-Carbon battery with 80W charging, which can charge it to full in just 50 minutes. For context, the Galaxy Z Fold 6 is almost twice as slow, as despite a smaller 4,400 mAh battery, the 45W charging takes around 100 minutes to charge to full. The Find N5 also follows Samsung's lead with stylus support, but, like Samsung, it's not embedded within the device. However, Oppo managed to beat the current Galaxy Z Fold series by enabling Oppo Pen support on both the front and main screens, whereas the Galaxy Z Fold 6 only supports the S-Pen on the main screen. I'm not sure how many people use the S-Pen with the Galaxy Z Fold series, but I hope the Galaxy Z Fold 7 finally supports the S-Pen on both screens. The Find N5 also features the innovative Open Canvas multitasking feature, which transforms the large main screen into a virtual canvas, allowing you to run three apps in full size, free from the boundaries of the physical screen size. It's incredibly innovative, and I would love for Samsung to introduce an evolved version of its excellent multitasking that incorporates a virtualization feature, similar to the Oppo Find N5. The key Galaxy Z Fold 7 rumors The Galaxy Z Fold 7 is widely expected to be the biggest update to the Fold lineup in years, and Samsung has confirmed as much with its tease of the new Ultra foldable experience. We've already rounded up all the key features of the Galaxy Z Fold 7, but the biggest changes are expected to be in the camera, displays, and build. The two displays are expected to be larger, with Samsung adopting a wider form factor that's more akin to the best folding phones, such as the Google Pixel Fold. The main display should increase to around 8.2 inches, making it the biggest of any folding phone yet, and bigger than the latest iPad Mini. The main camera is also expected to receive an upgrade, with Samsung opting to use a 200MP camera, similar to the one found in the Galaxy S25 Ultra. Presumably, this will be the same 200MP sensor found in the Galaxy S25 Edge, which is approximately 20% smaller to accommodate the thin design. As mentioned above, the key selling point of the Galaxy Z Fold 7 is likely to be its significantly thinner and lighter design compared to previous devices. Will there be any major trade-offs? I'm not sure, but I'm already giddy with excitement for the Galaxy Z Fold 7. The next two weeks can't pass fast enough.
Digital Trends
25-06-2025
- Digital Trends
What's the best flip phone design? I tested several to find out
Over the past five years, every list of the best folding phones has had a plethora of book-style ones, most of which follow the same form factor and overall design concept. There's a big smartphone-sized front display, and when you unfold it, you get a tablet-sized screen. The design of book-style folding phones has mostly reached its final form — until tri-folds become popular — but the opposite is true for clamshell-style flip phones. Here, every phone maker is trying to solve a key problem — how to make a smartphone smaller — with wildly different approaches to the Cover Display. Samsung is launching the Galaxy Z Flip 7 in two weeks, and it's expected to feature a fuller front display that's more akin to the Motorola Razr Ultra 2025. It's unclear whether Samsung will make it as easy as Motorola to run any app or widget on the front screen, or if the company will stick to its current approach of offering a curated experience. Recommended Videos Is this the flip phone's final form factor? Or should Samsung have stuck to its existing approach, or even followed the vast array of different front designs found in Asia? To dive deeper, I tested several different flip phones; here are the phones I tested, along with their unique approaches to the flip phone format. Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 6: the big smartwatch The Galaxy Z Flip 7 is expected to have a better front display than the Galaxy Z Flip 6, as the latter features a folder-style design and a 3.4-inch cover display that's smaller than the competition. In contrast, the new one will feature a full-screen display on the front, likely measuring 4 inches. Samsung Galaxy Flip 6 specs Dimensions 72x165x6.9mm (unfolded) 72x85x14.9mm (folded) Cover display 3.4in AMOLED, 720×748 Main display 6.7in AMOLED, 2640×1080, 120Hz Cameras 50MP + 12MP (rear), 10MP (front) Battery 4000mAh, 25W Wired15W wireless Weight 187 grams This approach to the design has necessitated that the Galaxy Z Flip 6 Cover Display offers a far more curated experience. This means that you can't easily run any app on the front screen, unlike the competition. Instead, you must use the Good Lock app and its modules to achieve an inferior experience. Samsung has developed a range of impressive panels and experiences for the front screen, but this remains a walled-garden experience that's far less flexible than it could have been. The various panels are optimized for the folder-style design of the cover display, which has proven to be a unique and elegant solution for accommodating the cameras. However, it's no surprise that the Galaxy Z Flip 7 is expected to signal a shift in strategy. Samsung's approach to the Galaxy Z Flip 6's cover display is more akin to the lack of customization and flexibility offered by a smartwatch, rather than the compact, full-Android experience provided by its biggest competitor. Motorola Razr Ultra 2025: the mini phone The Motorola Razr Ultra 2025 — also known as the Razr 60 Ultra — is the third generation of Motorola's current flip phone design language, and arguably the current gold standard for flip phones. The first flip phone to be branded the Ultra experience, it offers almost everything you can need from a flip phone. Motorola Razr Ultra 2025 specs Dimensions 171.5 x 74 x 7.2 mm (unfolded) 88.1 x 74 x 15.7 mm (folded) Cover display 4in AMOLED, 1272×1080, AMOLED, 165Hz Main display 7-inch AMOLED, 2640×1080, 165Hz Cameras 50MP + 50MP (rear), 50MP (front) Battery 4700mAh, 68W Wired, 30W wireless Weight 199 grams We recently tested the smartphones with the best battery life, and the Razr 60 Ultra outperformed virtually every phone, including top models like the Galaxy S25 Ultra and iPhone 16 Pro Max. Key to the Razr 60 Ultra experience is Motorola's approach to the front screen, which is also the gold standard for functionality. Motorola was the first to switch from a small, curated front screen to the expansive displays we have today. Along with this, the company has a clear strategy: the front screen is a compact phone that's always in your pocket. It has all the specs you could want from a flagship screen, including a 165Hz refresh rate that's market-leading. The Razr Ultra 2025 is the gold standard for flip phones This means that the Razr Ultra and the rest of Motorola's flip phones, including the Razr 2025, allow you to use every feature on your phone. Whether it's changing quick settings, reading and responding to notifications, playing games, checking widgets, or accessing any app, you can do it all on a Razr. It's essentially the same concept as a book-style foldable, except it goes from big phone to little phone instead of big phone to tablet. There are naturally some pitfalls to this, namely in how to accommodate the cameras, but even here, Motorola has optimized the experience specifically for the Razr. If you'd rather not have the screen overlap — or the many times you need to access bottom menu items that are otherwise covered by the camera — you can enable a black bar at the bottom. The screen becomes smaller, but it is the mode I use the most. One key advantage of the Razr's approach is that the front screen is ideal for many features where a large display is not necessary. Scrolling Instagram allows you to see one post at a time. Navigating with Google Maps is ideally suited to the screen's aspect ratio. Setting alarms, quickly triaging notifications, and using the cover display as a camera viewfinder are all ideally suited to the Razr form factor. The Razr Ultra 2025 is the gold standard for flip phones for good reason. Huawei Pura X: the small tablet Samsung and Motorola have primarily focused on flip phones designed to make smartphones smaller. At the same time, competitors like Oppo, Vivo, and Huawei have taken alternative approaches designed to rethink the front screen concept. As it turns out, there are benefits to all of these. One of the most interesting phones I've used this year is the Huawei Pura X. Huawei was one of the first to launch a book-style folding phone in 2019, and since then, the company has also released the Mate XT with a triple-folding screen, and is working on a rolling phone. Huawei Pura X specs Dimensions 143.2 x 91.7 x 7.2 mm (unfolded) 91.7 x 74.3 x 15.1 mm (folded) Cover display 3.5in LTPO2 OLED, 980 x 980, 120Hz Main display 6.3in AMOLED, 1320 x 2120, 16:10, 120Hz Cameras 50MP + 8MP + 40MP (rear), 10.7MP (front) Battery 4720 mAh, 66W wired, 40W wireless Weight 194 – 196 grams It's not just those folding phones, however, as the company also unveiled the Pura X, which is a unique take on the flip phone form factor. Instead of a big phone that folds into a smaller one, the Pura X is a compact phone that unfolds to reveal a compact tablet. The display's 16:10 aspect ratio is designed for watching movies and video content, which is traditionally shot and released in a 16:9 aspect ratio. The Pura X does have its challenges. It runs a highly optimized version of HarmonyOS, which is also used in everything from regular phones and laptops to cars and smart home products. The Square Cover Display offers a few shortcuts to key apps, but swiping up allows you to access the full phone, including all of your apps. Imagine a 7-inch tablet experience in half the size, and you have the Pura X front screen. One added benefit of Huawei's approach is that the camera is separated from the display. As a result, instead of the dual camera setup of most flip phones, the Huawei Pura X has a quad-camera setup that's one of the best of any flip phone. It's a great all-around phone, made possible by the design approach. Oppo Find N3 Flip: the vertical display The majority of flip phones have featured a horizontal front display; however, before the industry shifted towards the current all-screen-on-the-front design language, Oppo demonstrated what is possible with a vertical cover display on a flip phone. Oppo Find N3 Flip specs Dimensions 166.4 x 75.8 x 7.8 mm (unfolded) 85.5 x 75.8 x 16.5 mm (folded) Cover display 3.26in AMOLED, 382 x 720 Main display 6.8in AMOLED, 1080 x 2520, 21:9, 120Hz Cameras 50MP + 32MP (2x zoom) + 48MP (rear), 32MP (front) Battery 4,300 mAh, 44W wired Weight 198 grams The Find N3 Flip is almost two years old, but it remains one of the few phones that tried a vertical screen approach. The decision was understandable, especially since the logic was that the cover display could be a small phone, which we naturally use in a vertical orientation. The Oppo Find N3 Flip features a 3.26-inch cover display, and Oppo has built an optimized software experience that is more useful than a smartwatch and less distracting than a normal phone. It's the ideal experience for those times when you urgently need to perform a task, and don't want to be sidetracked by an errant notification on your phone. One of the biggest benefits of the vertical screen approach is that while the screen is smaller, apps don't need to be optimized to run on it. Instead, the phone can scale down an existing app, and it works fairly well. The horizontal orientation on the Razr 60 Ultra screen crops the display so you have to scroll more, whereas the Find N3 Flip can show more on the screen, albeit with smaller text. Huawei Pocket 2: the pocketwatch From the same company that brought us the mini tablet flip phone comes the modern pocketwatch flip phone. The Huawei Pocket 2 is unique, as its front display is a small circle, essentially a contemporary take on the traditional pocket watch. Used for hundreds of years, the pocket watch is a staple when it comes to telling the time, and the Pocket 2 is designed primarily with this function in mind. There's a selection of curated widgets for the cover display, and it is also in use when making payments. Naturally, you can also use it as a very small viewfinder when taking a photo. Huawei Pocket 2 specs Dimensions 170 x 75.5 x 7.3 mm (unfolded) 87.8 x 75.5 x 15.3 mm (folded) Cover display 1.15-inch LTPO OLED, 340 x 340 Main display 6.94-inch LTPO OLED, 1136 x 2690, 120Hz Cameras 50MP + 8MP + 12MP + 2MP (rear), 10.7MP (front) Battery 4520 mAh., 66W wired, 40W wireless Weight 199 grams Talking of photos, what is the biggest benefit of sacrificing on the cover display? The first-ever quad camera setup in a flip phone, as well as 40W wireless charging for the first time. The Pocket 2 front display won't be for everyone, but it's a worthwhile sacrifice for the other features that are packed into the Pocket 2. The best of the rest Of course, other flip phone designs are worth mentioning, but the above five offer the best flip phone experience. If you want a flip phone that oozes luxury, there's a strong chance that you'll consider the vast array of unique Razr Ultra 2025 colors, especially the pink or red leather or the reclaimed wood. However, if you want something more luxurious, the Vivo X Flip is the answer. The reason for this is the textured vegan leather finish, which looks stunning, especially in the purple finish. Then there are older flip phones, such as the Razr 2023 and the Galaxy Z Flip 4. These feature a pager-like design with a small display strip across the front of the phone. These offer limited features, and even the base Razr 2025 now offers a large 3.5-inch display, as the previous design lacked the utility we've come to expect. With fewer companies focusing on the flip phone market, just as the book-style folding phone market is fiercely competitive, it's no surprise that we're starting to see flip phones mostly adopt the same overall design. As the Motorola Razr 60 Ultra shows, that's not necessarily a bad thing. There's a reason it's one of the best phones you can buy, whether it's folding or not.
Digital Trends
25-05-2025
- Digital Trends
4 phones you can buy instead of the Motorola Razr 2025
If you're looking for one of the best folding phones, the new Motorola Razr 2025 is likely high on your list. It offers the iconic Motorola experience at a more affordable price than its siblings, and as I discovered in our Razr 2025 review, it still feels just as premium, especially thanks to its larger battery. However, folding phones won't be for everyone, and while the Razr 2025 features cutbacks in well-done ways, it's still not as premium as its more illustrious siblings. There's the Razr Plus 2025, essentially the same as the Razr 2024, and the new Razr Ultra 2025, the best flip phone you can buy right now. Recommended Videos If you're not set on the Razr 2025 and want to explore the best alternatives, here are five phones you can buy instead, and why. Motorola Razr Ultra 2025 You can't talk about flip phones without including the best right now, the Motorola Razr Ultra 2025. It brings the essence of the Ultra concept to flagship phones, and while it doesn't feature dedicated telephoto lenses like its nonfolding namesakes, the Razr Ultra 2025 packs everything else you could want from a flip phone. The Razr Ultra 2025 is powered by the same Snapdragon 8 Elite that powers most of the best phones. It's the full 8-core version, not the 7-core, less powerful version used in thin phones like the Oppo Find N5. It has the largest main display of any flip phone at 7 inches, the biggest battery at 4,700 mAh, and two 50MP cameras that capture great photos in most lighting conditions. The 4-inch Cover Display takes over the entire front of the phone and offers the full suite of Motorola's software features. These allow you to use the display like a 4-inch smartphone and run any app or widget. Like every phone, there's a lot of AI with Motorola and Google Gemini introducing new AI features, offerings from Microsoft CoPilot and Perplexity preloaded, and three months free of Perplexity Pro. If there's something the Motorola Razr 2025 is missing for you, the Razr Ultra 2025 almost certainly solves it. The distinct wood finish is also available only on Motorola's flagship flip phone. Google Pixel 9a If the $700 price tag on the Razr 2025 is too high for you, and you like the clutter-free, material design of the Razr 2025 interface, you should consider the affordable Google Pixel 9a. It offers the core experience of the flagship Pixel 9 series, but does so at a significantly lower price. Starting at $499, it's $200 cheaper than the Razr 2025 and offers a dual camera paired with Google's camera algorithm prowess. The 48MP main camera is particularly capable, while the 13MP main camera may yield similar results to the Razr 2025, although it does lack autofocus capabilities. The Pixel 9a is powered by the flagship Tensor G4, which is Google's answer to the Apple A18 or Snapdragon 8 Elite used by Apple and many others. One particularly noteworthy feature is the 5,100 mAh battery, the largest of any Pixel and 13% larger than the 4,500 mAh battery in the Razr 2025. Apple iPhone 16 Plus If you like the Razr 2025's size and don't mind compromises, like the lack of a telephoto camera, and want an equally large display and battery, you should consider the Apple iPhone 16 Plus. It offers a dual camera setup like the Razr 2025, and the range of iPhone 16 colors is also quite stylish, just like Motorola's new smartphone. Battery life is a key strength of the Razr 2025, and the iPhone 16 Plus is equally impressive. The A18 processor is rapid and should be smoother than the MediaTek Dimensity 7400X in the Razr 2025. The 48MP main camera and 12MP ultrawide are fairly evenly matched with the 50MP and 13MP cameras used in Motorola's base flip phone. The iPhone 16 Plus costs more than the Razr 2025, and there are definite downgrades, such as a lower refresh rate and a lack of an always-on display. The iPhone 16 Plus also lacks the wow factor that the Razr 2025's form factor naturally provides, but it's a great option if you aren't ready to switch from Apple's ecosystem. OnePlus Open If you like the idea of a folding phone but prefer the book-style form factor that turns a smartphone into a tablet, look no further than the OnePlus Open. Although it's over a year old, it remains the best all-around book-style folding phone in the US. Many are sold outside the US, including its successor, the Oppo Find N5, but this is the best in the US right now. One reason to pick the Open over a newer device like the Pixel 9 Pro Fold or Galaxy Z Fold 6 is its camera. The triple camera setup pairs a 48MP main with a 48MP ultrawide and a 64MP telephoto lens with 3x optical zoom that can take great photos at up to 100x. The Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 is two generations old, but the OnePlus Open still offers a fast experience, and the 4,805 mAh battery lasts for days. You could also consider many other phones instead of the Razr 2025, but the list is far shorter than you may expect. The Razr 2025 punches above its price and proves that the best folding phones can be both affordable and fabulous.
