The versatility of flip phones is undeniable. With the latest devices sporting large outer screens and even bigger internal displays, flip phones have come a long way over the past couple of generations. They’re an alternative for consumers who are fed up with the enormous sizes of many of today’s best Android phones.
However, there aren’t a lot of devices available at the moment. This is especially true for buyers within the United States – the five foldables below are the only flip phones we’d recommend you consider right now. Luckily, they’re all quite good, and actually have replacements in the pipeline, although it may be a few months until they hit the market.
The best flip phones available
Motorola Razr+ (2023)
Well-crafted and beautifully designed
Motorola took a brief hiatus from selling flip phones in the United States but came back swinging with its latest and greatest flip phone. The Razr+ is an exciting device that sees the company go back to its roots. It designed a stellar clamshell that does more than enough to put some serious pressure on Samsung.
- Large and versatile exterior display
- Decent battery life
- Performance is more than adequate
- Cameras are mediocre
- Motorola’s update history
- Cameras can get in the way of the outer screen
Motorola wasn’t afraid to push the envelope when it designed the Razr+. It was the first foldable to utilize a larger outer display, giving it a huge boost in versatility. The 3.6-inch pOLED outer display has a 165Hz refresh rate for buttery smooth animations. Unlike its competitors, Motorola allows you to open any app on the display, allowing you to completely forego the large 6.9-inch FHD+ internal display unless you absolutely need it.
Open or closed, the Razr+ is a svelte flip phone. When opened, it measures 73.95 x 170.83 x 6.9mm and 73.95 x 88.42 x 15.1mm when closed. It weighs 188.5g and is protected by Gorilla Glass Victus on both the front and back. It also has an IP52 water-repellent design, giving it some protection against both dust and water.
Motorola equipped the Razr+ with a Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 processor and 8GB of RAM. While the processor is not as fast as the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, it is more than capable of keeping up with day-to-day tasks without breaking a sweat. It also comes with 256GB of internal storage.
One common trait you will notice among flip phones is the cameras can be lackluster, and that trend continues with the Razr+. The Razr+ ships with a 12MP main sensor and a 12MP ultra-wide lens. It’s adequate and capable of getting some decent shots, although it’ll let you down at times and can’t hold a candle to something like the Google Pixel 8.
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With two great displays, great performance, and decent battery life, the Razr+ is truly a top-notch phone. Motorola’s update history and camera performance leave a bit to be desired, though. Overall, the Motorola Razr+ truly is the best flip phone on the market today. We’ll see if that remains true at the end of the summer, by which point we’ll likely be deep into hands-on testing with the new 2024 Motorola Razr+.
Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5
Fast and versatile
Samsung was the company that started the flip phone revolution, and the Galaxy Z Flip 5 doesn’t disappoint. With a refined design, gorgeous displays, and fantastic performance, it’s easily one of the best devices you can currently find. This is especially true if you are an ardent Samsung fan.
- Larger outer display
- Refined fold-flat design
- Fantastic performer
- Camera is only adequate
- Battery leaves a bit to be desired
- Outer display is a bit limited
If you want a great flip phone and are a Samsung fan or want something with a guaranteed update policy, look no further than the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5. Samsung refined its Galaxy Z Flip formula, resulting in a device that opens and folds completely flat. With an IPX8 rating it’s more waterproof than the Razr+, but lacks any official dust protection.
Thanks to its internal 6.7-inch display, it is a slightly smaller device overall, though that internal display is just as beautiful as you would expect a Samsung display to be.
Samsung followed Motorola’s lead and gave the Z Flip 5 a much larger outer display. At 3.4 inches, this is the largest outer display Samsung has put on a Z Flip device. It’s a bit more limited than Motorola’s offering, mostly due to its 60Hz refresh rate and its compatibility with certain apps. Most of the important ones support it, but you can’t use any app you want on it.
The Z Flip 5 does come with a Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 processor, allowing this device to fly through anything you can throw at it. If you are an ardent mobile gamer, the better processor and GPU may be more than enough to sway you to Samsung’s offering. Samsung also has a much better track record when it comes to updating its devices promptly.
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Much like the Razr+ it comes with a 12MP main camera and a 12MP ultra-wide camera. They produce adequate images, but the device is sorely lacking a telephoto lens. It also struggles a bit in the battery department, but you should still manage a day if you don’t push it too hard. If battery life’s a key concern, you have the Galaxy Z Flip 6 and its possible July launch to look forward, with a likely Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chip inside.
Motorola Razr (2023)
A budget-friendly flip phone
Motorola opened up the flip phone design to an entirely new set of consumers with the Motorola Razr (2023). It took its excellent Razr+ and turned down some of the specs, creating a device that starts at $700 and can very often be found for much less than that.
- Vegan leather finish is fantastic
- Same beautiful internal display as the Razr+
- Decent battery life
- Limited external display
- Cameras are adequate
- Slower performance compared to its flagship competition
Flip phones are fantastic devices, but their high price points have kept them out of the hands of more budget-conscious shoppers. The Motorola Razr (2023) and its $700 starting price tag flipped that script, bringing clamshell designs to the upper mid-range of devices for the first time. Motorola did have to cut some corners but created another great flip phone.
The Motorola Razr feels great in the hand thanks to its vegan leather finish and similar overall dimensions to its more expensive sibling. It also has the same beautiful internal 6.9-inch LTPO display that the Razr+ uses.
To get the price this low, Motorola had to make some tough decisions. It nixed the large outer display and replaced it with a much smaller and limited 1.5-inch one. It is suitable for reading short messages but pales in comparison to the larger displays used on the more premium lineup.
Motorola also went with a Snapdragon 7 Gen 1 processor and 8GB of RAM. From a power standpoint, this chip is much weaker than the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 but is more than capable of handling day-to-day tasks. It may chug along at times, but you’ll hardly notice any real-world slowdown.
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It’s not the flashiest or most powerful, but this clamshell foldable is great for the space
One added benefit of a smaller outer display and the weaker processor is pretty good battery life from the included 4,200mAh battery. Flip phones aren’t known for great battery life, so knowing you won’t be hunting for a charger, even during heavy usage, is a great feeling.
Nubia Flip 5G
High-end design at a midrange price
There’s nothing like giving consumers a choice, which is one reason we’re so excited about the Nubia Flip 5G. This solidly midrange device sports hardware that should work well for years, and unlike Motorola’s similarly priced competitors, this one sports a reasonably large and well-implemented outer display.
- Looks quite fancy
- Cheapest flip foldable yet
- Bigger cover display than other cheap foldables
- Build quality could be tighter
- Cameras aren’t the greatest
- Limited network compatibility
Still a relatively niche form factor, you can’t expect there to be a ton of cheap clamshell foldables. Last year, Motorola’s Razr showed us that it’s possible to deliver a competent midrange device with a folding screen at a price that doesn’t break the bank. This year, ZTE spin-off company Nubia’s pushing its envelope globally, bringing the $500 Nubia Flip to the States.
The Nubia Flip, like the Motorola before it, does make notable sacrifices compared to flagship alternatives. But while true enthusiasts might balk at the Snapdragon 7 Gen 1 SoC, it’s honestly fine for day-to-day use. It plays games reasonably well, doesn’t suck up too much battery, and rarely gets warm or throttles. Its pixel density’s even better than the Z Flip 4’s.
Where it really shines, though, is in the cover display. The round outer screen feels very much like a smartwatch slapped on a phone, in a good way — we had no trouble navigating and utilizing the various widgets it supports, which give it considerably more functionality than its counterpart in the base model Razr 2023. And, taken as a whole, the entire thing looks quite a bit like a $1,000 phone, even though it costs half that.
The tradeoffs, while noticeable, didn’t hamper our experience in any material way. As nice as the phone looks, its assembly isn’t on par with anything twice its price. There is a little give in the hinge, and we felt some flex and even heard some rattling periodically, but it nevertheless feels solid and doesn’t give us pause in terms of long-term durability — though be warned, your warranty and repair support here won’t compare to Samsung or Motorola.
Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4
A bargain if you’re brave enough to buy refurbished
After foldables got seriously refined, but before the clamshell versions got big outer displays, the Galaxy Z Flip 4 was once among the leaders of the pack. If you’re aware and not afraid of the potential pitfalls of buying a pre-owned device, it’s easily the most affordable flip phone around.
- Performance is still exceptional
- Great software support
- Can be found for cheap
- Small outer display
- Lackluster battery life
- Only worth it secondhand
Let’s be clear and upfront here: at full price, the Z Flip 4 in new condition should be ignored. But it’s not a bad phone at all, and the 2022 flagship hardware driving it still performs admirably. After all, it sports the same Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 found in the Razr+ 2023, and the screen’s nearly as nice, too.
Of course, there’s no reason to spend anywhere near the $800 some third-party retailers continue to sell it for. But as enthusiasts move on to new, more mature foldables, plenty of Z Flip 4s have hit the used market. You can easily find a Z Flip 4 in “excellent” for right around $300 — absolutely a better value on paper than any new phone.
But there are obvious reasons to be wary of the secondhand market, especially with foldables. The Flip 4’s IPX8 rating means it’s not impervious to damage from dust and other small particulate matter, which you can blame on the hinge. Hinge durability, itself, rightly gives people pause — although the Flip 4’s multiple years of refinements have left it pretty durable.
But the biggest concern with a refurbished or otherwise certified-used Z Flip 4 is the battery. Battery life was already middling when the thing was new, and a couple of years of daily driving certainly won’t help. But it’s not all bad news: While Android 14’s efficiency updates won’t magically repair an aging battery, it will mitigate some of the capacity loss. There’s even a chance, however remote, of Samsung’s upcoming Battery AI tool reaching into the past and enhancing Flip 4 owners’ lives.
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The worst case scenario is you’re forced to have Samsung replace a misadvertised, barely functioning Z Flip 4 battery. At that point, you’d have spent roughly $400 on something with not just more powerful hardware, but more refined software and a comparable (and possibly more user-friendly) camera setup compared to the $500 base model Razer. That’s nothing to sneeze at.
What about international models?
While the flip phones available in the United States cover just about everything you could want from a device, you may be wondering about some of the other major international players. There are actually some very good flip devices available from around the world, but we don’t really recommend importing them to the States. Two major reasons we can’t recommend them are the lack of warranty support and cell phone band support.
If you still find yourself interested in an international model, then take a hard look at the Oppo Find N3 Flip. With a stunning internal 6.8-inch LTPO display, a 3.26-inch outer display, and a MediaTek Dimensity 9200 chipset, this device is a beast. In addition, Oppo found a way to cram a triple-camera setup into this thing. It has a 50MP main camera, a 32MP telephoto lens, and a 48MP ultra-wide camera. If Oppo ever releases this device stateside, Samsung and Motorola may be in serious trouble.
The Oppo and Vivo are in the middle
Another solid contender is the Vivo X Flip. The X Flip is not as tempting as Oppo’s Find N3 Flip, but is a solid enough phone. It has a 6.74-inch LTPO internal display and a 3-inch outer display and is powered by a Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 chipset. It has a 50MP main lens and a 12MP ultra-wide lens. While a decent device, it doesn’t do enough to justify losing the warranty and possible connectivity issues.
Durability concerns
If durability is a concern for you, there are some important factors to note. While large outer displays are a fantastic addition, it does make them more likely to break over time, so make sure you get yourself a solid case and a set of outer display screen protectors.
Water and dust protection is also crucial. This is where Motorola has Samsung handily beaten. Both the Motorola Razr+ and Razr are IP52-rated. This means its devices can withstand rain and other light water splashes, but more importantly, can stop dust from getting into the device. The Galaxy Z Flip 4 and 5 have IPX8 ratings, making them more water-resistant, but completely lacking any kind of dust protection.
The best flip phone for you
The Motorola Razr+ is truly the best flip device you can get. With a fold-flat display, a large and capable set of displays, and great performance, the Razr+ checks a lot of boxes. It may not be perfect, and there are some question marks regarding Motorola’s update history. But if you are looking for the best flip phone today, you can’t do much better than the Razr+. Just make sure to keep it protected in a quality case.
If you want to save money and aren’t bothered by less-than-flagship performance, the regular Razr is worth a look. It sports reasonably powerful hardware, a durable design, and is routinely on offer for just $500. Or splurge a little on a Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 for the most polished foldable software experience on the market. It’s the same price as the Razr+, but much less frequently discounted.
Motorola Razr+ (2023)
Beautiful, powerful, and top-notch
The Motorola Razr+ gets Motorola back on top of the flip phone market. It checks a lot of boxes. It is wonderfully designed, offers good performance, decent battery life, and has two amazing displays. The Razr+ is a great device for anyone even remotely interested in flip phones.
