The Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold, left, and the Motorola Razr.
Credit...Kelsey McClellan for The New York Times

Foldables Are Becoming Good Enough to Be Your Next Smartphone

by · NY Times

Let’s be real. The rectangular design of the quintessential smartphone is getting stale for lots of people, including this graying gadget reviewer. That’s why the next phone I buy won’t be another “same, same” iteration of the iPhone. It will be a foldable, a phone with a bendable display that flips open like a book to increase its screen size and closes up to fit in my pocket.

These folding phones, from companies like Samsung, Motorola and Huawei, have been getting buzz since their debut in 2019 thanks to their novel design. But they remained niche because of issues with software and durability. And at upward of $1,500, they were too expensive.

A shift is underway. The devices keep getting better, and some are becoming cheaper. IDC, the research firm, predicts that handset makers will ship 25 million foldable phones this year, up nearly 40 percent from last year.

After testing two different sizes of foldables that arrived in stores this summer — Motorola’s small $700 Razr and Google’s jumbo $1,800 Pixel 9 Pro Fold — I’m convinced that phones with bendable screens will become mainstream in the next few years.

Most of the issues have disappeared. The Razr resembles a compact mirror and unfolds to become a traditional smartphone. The Pixel 9 Pro Fold looks like a normal smartphone when closed up, but unfolded, it transforms into a tablet.

Both devices demonstrate that bendable screens are no gimmick. They can become even more useful than a traditional smartphone. Above all, they are more than adequate devices for those wanting to try something different.

Here’s what you need to know about the new devices.

Motorola Razr

When unfolded, the Razr reveals a larger 6.9-inch inner screen that functions like a normal smartphone.
CreditCredit...Video by Kelsey Mcclellan For The New York Times

Over the last decade, smartphones kept getting bigger as more consumers gravitated toward larger screens. (Apple, for instance, discontinued its smaller iPhone Mini last year.) But there are still plenty of people who might prefer a smaller phone, including those with dainty hands and shallow pants pockets.

When the Razr is closed, you control a 3.6-inch screen on the cover of the phone. It’s roomy enough to use a set of basic apps for placing a phone call, sending a text, taking a selfie or reading notifications. This is a big improvement from older compact foldables. In past phones, like the $1,380 Samsung Galaxy Z Flip from 2020, the outer screen was much tinier and showed only notifications and a clock.

I found the small screen on the Razr to be delightful. I enjoyed using it to show people photos of my dogs and my newborn. It was best for when I wanted fewer distractions from social media apps, like TikTok and Instagram, but still wanted to keep up with messages.

The Motorola Razr fits comfortably in a shallow pants pocket.
Credit...Kelsey McClellan for The New York Times

When unfolded, the Razr reveals a larger 6.9-inch inner screen that functions like a smartphone. This screen is slightly longer than my iPhone, so it shows more text when I’m scrolling through an article. There’s also a split-screen mode to run two apps side by side — to write an email while browsing a website, for instance — but it felt too cramped for typing.

There’s a crease in the middle of the screen where it folds, which is most noticeable when light is reflecting against it. But it didn’t bother me while looking at photos and videos.

The phone’s camera took crisp, clear photos with vibrant colors in daylight. At night, photos taken in low light looked grainy and dim — not ideal if you’re the clubbing type.

The Razr’s strong battery lasted about 36 hours before it needed a charge.

Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold

Phones that fold and unfold to decrease and increase their screen size are getting cheaper, the technology keeps improving and sales are steadily growing.
CreditCredit...Video by Kelsey Mcclellan For The New York Times

Google’s Pixel 9 Pro Fold is the successor to last year’s Pixel Fold, which I called one of the most impressive pieces of technology of the year. The Pixel foldable caters to the opposite end of the spectrum from the Razr: It’s a product for people who can’t get enough screen.

When the Pixel is folded, its outer screen measures 6.3 inches diagonally. That’s roughly the same as a standard iPhone screen, so it works like any smartphone.

But when you unfold it, things get more exciting. The inner screen, measuring 8 inches diagonally, is roughly equivalent to a smaller tablet like the iPad Mini or an Amazon Fire. This size is comfortable to hold for long durations while reading a book in bed or watching a movie on a plane. Again, there’s a crease that is noticeable only when light reflects against it, so this wasn’t an issue.

Over all, the Pixel 9 Pro Fold is an incremental improvement from last year’s Pixel Fold. The new model is slightly thinner and lighter. The camera produced clear photos with accurate colors in both daylight and low light. The battery lasted a full day before needing a charge, which is decent.

The area that Google wasn’t able to improve on was price, which remains $1,800 and still feels too high. To put that in perspective, a $350 iPad and an $800 iPhone combined are cheaper. Google said the Pixel 9 Pro Fold was its most premium phone offering, in part because of the engineering involved in making the device thinner. The high price tag makes this foldable a product for tech enthusiasts, but it’s a glimpse of what’s to come to the masses when large, bendable screens get closer to $1,000.

Bottom Line

Between the two types of foldables, I’d recommend the Razr because it’s more practical in terms of size and cost. It’s cheaper than flagship smartphones from Apple and Samsung. And as a geriatric millennial who refuses to give up skinny jeans, I especially liked how the compact phone felt in my pocket.

So why, you might ask, haven’t I converted to a foldable already? The simple reason is that I have a personal preference for the iPhone’s software system, and I’m holding out for a foldable one.

There’s hope yet that this will happen. Apple has been developing a foldable iPad, according to an Apple employee who claims to have seen a prototype of the tablet. That could pave the way for an iPhone with a bendable screen. Apple declined to comment.

I, for one, love my iPad for reading articles and watching video, but when I’m on the go, the tablet is usually left at home. I dream of the day that our big, bright screens can fold up so we can carry them everywhere. That future feels inevitable.

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