5 of the Best Android Foldable Phones You Can Buy in 2021

The days of the foldable smartphone have begun. Foldable Android phones have come on strong in 2021, and they are here to stay. The screen technology still requires some ironing out, but each release provides a look at the potential future of smartphone design. This following is a list of the best foldable phones you can buy in 2021.

Also read: How do Foldable Phones Work?

1. Motorola RAZR

The original Motorola RAZR was launched in 2006, and it changed the flip phone world forever. Fast forward to 2021, and Motorola is attempting to recapture the magic with its Android variant of the RAZR.

In the place of the alphanumeric keypad is a 6.2-inch OLED display. The RAZR is basically a half-size phone when the display is closed.

• 6.2 inch OLED (2142 x 876) display
• 2.7 inch gOLED (800 x 600) display
• Qualcomm Snapdragon 710 processor
• 6GB RAM
• 128 GB internal storage
• 2,510mAh battery
• USB-C Charging
• 16-megapixel camera
• 5-megapixel internal camera (used for face unlock, selfies, display features)
• Splash-proof design

Motorola promises there won’t be a crease on the screen for more than two years of normal use. That will be the biggest test for the RAZR. Can its display last for two years of normal wear and tear?

2. Samsung Galaxy Z Flip

Samsung’s second foray into the foldable smartphone arena, the Galaxy Z Flip, is very much a hit-or-miss option. At its core, the Z Flip is really a great smartphone, as it mirrors the Galaxy S10+ in specs. The hardware feels high end and packs some of the best cameras. However, early user reports indicated a small crease appeared at the bend point of the phone after some use. For what you spend on the Z Flip, having a crease appear is disappointing.

Samsung did pack the Z Flip with some of its touchstone features into Flex Mode which detects when the phone is half open so you can have two apps open at once.

• Android 10
• 6.7 FHD+ Dynamic AMOLED (2636 x 1080) Display
• 1.1” Super AMOLED Cover Display
• 10-megapixel Selfie Camera
• 12-Megapixel Ultra Wide Camera (Rear)
• 12-Megapixel Wide-Angle Camera (Rear)
• 3300mAh Dual Battery
• Fast/Wireless Charging compatible
• Octa-Core Processor
• 8GB RAM
• 256GB internal storage

One final note on the Z Flip is that its outside display is mostly useless.

3. LG G8X ThinQ Dual Screen

LG G8X ThinQ doesn’t make use of a foldable screen. Instead, it uses two separate screens that close together like a wallet. This also explains why its price tag is almost half of most foldable smartphones. Both displays are 6.4 inches in size with Full HD resolution. This device is unquestionably a multitasker’s dream, as running apps or multiple apps at once is the star of the show.

Each screen can work independently of the other, so you can Twitter on one side and have a web browser on the other display. While you can go full screen, the hinge in the middle makes it a less-than-ideal experience. On the other hand, playing games on the top screen with on-screen controls loaded in the lower half display is something gamers will rave about for years to come.

• Dual 6.4” OLED Full HD displays
• Octa-core Snapdragon 855 processor
• 12-megapixel rear standard camera
• 13-megapixel wide-angle rear camera
• 32-megapixel front-facing camera
• 4,000mAh battery
• Fast Charging QC 4.0 plus wireless charging
• In-display fingerprint sensor
• 128GB internal memory (expandable up to 2TB with microSD card support)
• 6GB RAM

4. Samsung Galaxy Fold

Introduced in February of 2019, the Samsung Galaxy Fold remains one of the best foldable Android phones you can buy. After a few months of hardware problems, Samsung tweaked the design and hardware to release a “fixed” version of the device. With a 4.6-inch screen on the outside and a massive 7.3-inch screen on the inside, the Fold is one of the largest foldable phones around. It is also one of the costliest foldable phones out there.

Costing just shy of $2,000 dollars, the Fold is almost twice as expensive as most premium smartphones available today. You do get some top-end specs like 12GB of RAM and 512GB of storage, though.

Samsung promises that you can run three apps simultaneously on the Fold. If you want the biggest screen with the best specs right now, the Fold is your best choice. The biggest downside? You are going to need really big pockets to carry it around.

• 7.3 inch Dynamic AMOLED (1536 x 2152) internal display
• 4.6 inch Super AMOLED (720 x 1680) external display
• Android 9.0 (upgradeable to Android 10)
• Octa-core Snapdragon 855 processor
• 12 GB RAM
• 512GB internal memory
• 12-megapixel wide-angle main camera
• 12-megapixel telephoto main camera
• 16-megapixel ultrawide camera
• 10-megapixel wide-angle front-facing camera
• 8-megapixel wide-angle front-facing camera
• 10-megapixel wide-angle cover camera
• 4,380mAh battery

5. Huawei Mate XS

The Huawei Mate XS has been widely praised for having some of the best-engineered hardware around, but it comes with a price. The most important aspect is the lack of Google services on this phone, and it is not available for the US.

Designed to look and operate like a normal smartphone, the XS unfolds to become a tablet. When it’s unfolded, the Mate XS is beautiful. The crease between the screens is barely noticeable. The 6.6-inch OLED display is vibrant when it is unfolded to show off its 8-inch mini-tablet design. Throw in some excellent cameras and strong battery life and the Mate XS puts forth a strong argument as the best foldable smartphone available. Finding it globally isn’t all that difficult, but be prepared to pay well over $2,500 for the chance to own one.

• Android 10
• 6.6 inch AMOLED main display (1148 x 2480 pixels)
• 8 inch OLED display when opened (2200 x 2480 pixels)
• Octa-core Kirin 990 5G processor
• 512GB internal memory
• 8GB RAM
• 40-megapixel wide-angle rear camera
• 8-megapixel telephoto rear camera
• 16-megapixel ultrawide rear camera
• 4,500mAh Battery
• Fast Charging (85% in 30 minutes)

One way or another, foldable and flip Android smartphones are likely the future. Is it useful? That is hard to say, as there are not many apps optimized for the foldable phones yet. Will you get a foldable phone today? Let us know in the comments below.