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The best foldable phones to buy in 2023

Updated: Nov 14, 2023, 7:50 AM

We are well into the second half of 2023 and it has proven to be a great year for foldable phones so far. Of course, there are Samsung's Galaxy Z Fold 5 and Z Flip 5 which released in the beginning of August, but there are other players in this foldable phone game that have caught more attention.

The Pixel Fold — Google's first and long-awaited foldable phone — is finally out, while Motorola released two new clamshell foldables, the affordable Motorola Razr and its high-end brother the Motorola Razr Plus. There is the even more recent OnePlus Fold (company's first foldable) which has arguably the best camera system in this phone segment!

If you're wondering what is the best foldable phone right now, you've come to the right place. Below are the best foldable phones out there.

Best foldable phones in 2023, summarized list:

OnePlus Open — the best camera system on a foldable phone
Google Pixel Fold — everything you love about the pixel but with a power-user twist
Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 — the best clamshell foldable

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 — the safe choice

Honorable Mentions:

Honor Magic V2
Xiaomi Mi Mix Fold 3

Jump to:

Are foldable phones worth the extra cost
Are foldable phones durable enough
Is battery life affected in foldable phones
Are there any differences between foldable and traditional phones camera quality

OnePlus Open

The best camera system on a foldable phone

6.5

OnePlus Open

The Good

Excellent lightweight design
A rather versatile camera system
Decent performance and great thermal management
Decent battery life even when using the main display
Very fast SuperVOOC charging
Large and bright HDR-capable displays with smooth refresh rate
The OnePlus alert slider is here!

The Bad

Relatively high price
Audio system lacks base
No wireless charging
Just IPX4 water resistance

Deal $1300 at OnePlus $1500 at Amazon $1400 at BestBuy

OnePlus took the foldable phone market by surprise with its first foldable phone, the OnePlus Open. Not only is it super slim and overall a leight one for this form factor, but it also comes with arguably the best cameras on a foldable phone so far.

OnePlus has used new tech to achieve this feat, more specifically with the main 48MP camera that manages to achieve levels of image quality comparable to those seen with Samsung's Galaxy S23 Ultra! The 64MP 3X telephoto camera is also very impressive, including the 6X sensor crop that it is used for.

On top of all of this, you get fast 67W charging, good battery life, great performance and thermal management, and awesome displays. OnePlus truly impressed us with this one.

Google Pixel Fold

Everything you love about the pixel but with a power-user twist

5.9

Google Pixel Fold

The Good

Gets the foldable design right
Front screen is a lot more useful than on Galaxy Fold
Beautiful and clean interface with no bloatware
Pixel camera look
Decent battery life

The Bad

Long-term durability is iffy
Gets hot even with ordinary tasks
Screen is very delicate, scratches from fingernails
Screen is also very reflective, has a crease
Pricey

Deal Buy at Amazon Deal $1199 at BestBuy $980 at Walmart

This year was an exciting one as far as the foldable phone space is concerned, and one of the main reasons we can afford to say that is Google's first jab at it with the Pixel Fold! Now, no first attempt is perfect, or even great, but a first attempt can be inspiring, and we think Google's Pixel Fold is exactly that.

Essentially, we are talking everything you love about Pixel phones in the foldable phone format, including Google's software smarts adapted to make use of that folding screen. That said, one of our favorite quirks of the Pixel Fold is its cover display which, unlike the Z Fold 5, comes with a size that is closer to that of a regular phone.

Of course, the Google Pixel Fold still falls in the niche spectrum so it is more suited for early adopters and people who would really make use of that larger screen. Nevertheless, this is a great start for Google, with a solid base upon which it can improve in the future. We hope to see some more affordable options to rival the Motorola Razr and Galaxy Z Flip in the future too!

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5

The safe choice

6.3

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5

The Good

Improved hinge feels better
Fast and solid performance
Sharp, colorful screen with smooth refresh rate
Wide and detailed sound from the speakers
S Pen (separate purchase) is excellent

The Bad

Battery life is ok at best
External screen can be too narrow for comfortable typing
The crease is shallower, but still very much present

Deal Buy at Amazon Deal $1500 at BestBuy Deal $1000 at Samsung

By now, you probably know all about the Galaxy Z Fold series from Samsung, and if you missed the recent announcement of the latest iteration, the Galaxy Z Fold 5, it probably won't take you too much time to learn everything new about it. Why? Well, because Samsung has mostly stuck to very incremental changes with this year's generation.

That is not necessarily bad news though, as the Galaxy Z Fold series was already one of the best book-like foldable phones on the market. The lack of any major changes also means that it is a rather safe choice for buyers, especially if you are upgrading from an older generation like the Z Fold 2 or Z Fold 3.

Honestly, the only reason the Galaxy Z Fold 5 is on this list is because it is newer, but it could easily swap places with the Galaxy Z Fold 4 and still keep the same position for the same reasons. If you find a much cheaper Z Fold 4 then you should probably get it instead.

The Honorable Mentions

Honor Magic V2

This one has the potential to be much more than just an HONORable (wink, wink) mention. Not only is it the thinnes foldable phone, coming in at 156.7 x 145.4 x 4.7 mm when unfolded, but it is also the lightest made so far, weighing just 231g.

Equally impressive is the fact that despite its slim and lightweight characteristics, the Honor Magic V2 comes with some impressive specs including a massive 5,000mAh battery, which is a pure mystery how Honor managed to fit inside this phone. There is also a 7.92-inch OLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate, and a 6.4-inch cover display that you use when the phone is closed.

No matter how impressive the Magic V2 is, however, it is still only sold in China, so it is not exactly accessible. There's also Honor's MagicOS which might not be everyone's cup of tea, at least not in Europe or North America.

Xiaomi Mix Fold 3

The Mix Fold 3 from Xiaomi is one of the most recent new additions to the foldable phone world, and it is definitely contending for that first spot when it comes to book-like foldables. In fact, in many ways it can be considered better than Samsung's Galaxy Z Fold 5.

While it has the same lightning-fast UFS 4.0 storage, LPDDR5X RAM, and the latest Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset, it comes with a slimmer and sleeker design. It beats the Z Fold in terms of charging speeds, maxing out at 67W wired fast charging and 50W wireless charging, and its 4800mAh battery is said to last up to 22 hours on a single charge (according to Xiaomi).

What's more, the Mix Fold 3 comes with a larger inner display measuring 8.03" compared to the Z Fold's 7.6" and its cover screen has a much more natural (regular phone-like) aspect ratio.

The perks of Xiaomi's premium foldable don't end there though, as the camera system on the Mix Fold 3 also provides the same if not better image quality. It also comes with a 5x periscope telephoto camera, something the Z Fold 5 does not have in its arsenal.

So why is the Mix Fold 3 an honorable mention and not in the best foldable phones list? Simply put, availability. As it currently stands, the Xiaomi Mix Fold 3 is only sold in the Chinese market, so even if it was the greatest of all time it would be hard to recommend to people who do not have easy access to it.

Are foldable phones worth the extra cost?

It depends on the case, but generally, yes. We can definitely say devices like the Z Fold 4 (all in all, the best foldable phone right now) are worth the cost given the stellar performance, improved durability and multitasking abilities. However, you need to really think about why do you need a foldable phone.When determining for yourself whether or not getting a foldable is worth it, think about the following things:

A foldable in a folded state is much thicker than a regular smartphone (won't really be comfortable in jeans pockets)
They tend to be heavier
There is a display crease where the screen folds. Some models have refined that to be almost invisible, but it is still there for now

If you don't mind the above and you would really use a bigger screen of a Z Fold or the clamshell portability of a Z Flip, then it will be worth it.

Are foldable phones durable enough?

The foldable tech has been improving in the last couple of years. Foldable smartphones were somewhat fragile in the beginning. Now things have changed and current foldable phones are way more durable. For the Z Fold 4, Samsung promises the device is durable enough to survive a minimum of 200,000 folds – more or less 5 years if you fold and unfold it 100 times a day. Americans check their phones on average 344 times per day, according to a survey by Reviews.org on smartphone usage for 2022. That's around 122,000 checks a year. But checking doesn't mean interacting with it – you can check the outer screen of the Samsung foldable for notifications, texting, or even a brief scroll through social media, without ever unfolding the phone.

The moral of the story – a foldable phone like the Z Flip 4 and the Z Fold 4 should survive for around five years of regular usage. Good enough for today's standards.

Is battery life affected in foldables phones?

Yes, battery life seems to be a bit lower than regular flagship phones. When comparing a foldable phone to regular flagship devices, we see some differences in the battery department, including when pinning them against the best Android phones. As you may know, we at PhoneArena perform extensive tests for all the phones we review. Check the table below to see for yourself what the battery life results for foldable phones vs regular phones are.

Web Browsing(hours)Higher is better	Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 412h 43 min Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 411h 40 min Motorola razr(2022)9h 4 min Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra18h 57 min Apple iPhone 14 Pro Max19h 5 min
Video Streaming(hours)Higher is better	Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 48h 47 min Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 47h 20 min Motorola razr(2022)11h 53 min Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra8h 54 min Apple iPhone 14 Pro Max11h OPPO Find N29h 31 min
3D Gaming(hours)Higher is better	Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 44h 28 min Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 45h 8 min Motorola razr(2022)4h 17 min Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra7h 13 min Apple iPhone 14 Pro Max8h 39 min

View all

Are there any differences between foldable and traditional phones' camera quality?

It depends on which foldable vs which traditional phone. The camera has no interaction whatsoever with the folding mechanism, and is like any other smartphone camera. If it has a higher megapixel count and better features, image processing and color calibration, it will be better no matter if it's on a foldable phone or a standard smartphone. The only thing is that some folding phones may lack the space for a periscope lens or some other special lens though. If we talk about selfies, some foldable phones like the Z Fold 4 can deliver even better results given the fact that you can use the phone's rear camera to take a selfie.

Also check out: the Best phones to buy right now

View Full Bio

Aleksandar is a tech enthusiast with a broad range of interests, from smartphones to space exploration. His curiosity extends to hands-on DIY experiments with his gadgets, and he enjoys switching between different brands to experience the latest innovations. Prior to joining PhoneArena, Aleksandar worked on the Google Art Project, digitizing valuable artworks and gaining diverse perspectives on technology. When he's not immersed in tech, Aleksandar is an outdoorsman who enjoys mountain hikes, wildlife photography, and nature conservation. His interests also extend to martial arts, running, and snowboarding, reflecting his dynamic approach to life and technology.