When it comes to real-world recommendations, the Galaxy Z Flip is our top foldable pick. Unlike the Huawei Mate Xs or Motorola RAZR, its screen isn’t exposed or sliding, so is less prone to damage. Meanwhile, the durable Gorilla Glass clamshell protection on the outside is as hardy as we need it to be. While the Flip doesn’t pack the utility of a phone that turns into a tablet, like the Galaxy Fold, when it comes to wow-factor, the Z Flip still has it in spades. Is it worth the hefty asking price? Definitely not if you want maximum bang for buck; but if you can afford it and crave a compact clamshell that unfurls into a full-screen smartphone, it’s the only phone worth considering right now.

Great design; Nippy performance; Novelty factor;

Front screen too small; Main screen is fragile; Mono speaker;

Great design; Nippy performance; Novelty factor;

Front screen too small; Main screen is fragile; Mono speaker;

Samsung’s Galaxy Z Flip isn’t just the latest foldable phone to hit store shelves -- it’s also the least expensive, and the one we enjoy using the most. The main draw here is the design: The Z Flip feels like a perfectly normal smartphone while open and folds down to half size when closed.

Flip phone form factor is practical and fun; Great all-around performance; Solid camera quality; It feels like a standard smartphone when open; It’s the least expensive foldable out there

Inherently more fragile than other phones; External screen is too small to be helpful; The main glass screen is still prone to scratching; Flex Mode is pretty limited; Less future-proof than more traditional rivals

The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip is particularly convincing with its folding concept, which is much easier to handle in everyday life than other smartphones with such a large display. Besides, it's simply a joy to fold the smartphone with one hand.

fancy and compact foldable mobile phone; bright and color-accurate OLED panel; fast Snapdragon SoC; good cameras; dual-SIM via eSIM; broad frequency range

no storage expansion possible; Wi-Fi should be faster; moderate call quality; sliding properties of the display surface could be better

Samsung’s second stab at making a foldable smartphone has a killer form-factor that sets it apart from almost everything else out there. Unfortunately, by most metrics, it also lags behind everything else you could possibly buy for the premium price-tag. It’s also missing a lot of the things you’d usually take for granted in a smartphone that costs this much.

When spending less money gets you a better display, longer battery life, sharper optics, 5G connectivity and less worries, being able to fold a 6.7-inch screen in on itself doesn’t seem nearly so tempting.

Ultraportable; Clean software;

Lacks flagship features & camera; Durability concerns; Too expensive;

It’s been a little over a year since foldable display smartphones have become a real thing. Samsung hit a few snags with the launch of the Fold and Huawei took a few extra months to make sure the Mate X could withstand the rigors of day-to-day use.

Incredible performance, Great durability, Coolest phone money can buy

Software still needs improving, Definitely not affordable, Average cameras

The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip is the flip-phone-style foldable smartphone with a 6.7-inch display that collapses in half. Its novelty will turn heads, but so will its extraordinarily high price. It now comes in 4G LTE or 5G, each with durable thin glass that makes it feel more durable than the Moto Razr foldable.

Neat folding concept; Cool splitscreen UI; Durable flip design;

Incredibly expensive; Cover Display is tiny; First-gen limitations

If you aim to make a decisive fashion statement while seeking one of the most compact phones that money can buy, the Galaxy Z Flip is your best bet with its ultra-compact clamshell design that unfurls into a massive 6.7-inch phone with respectable hardware and cameras.

Samsung’s brand-new Galaxy Z Flip is the third folding screen phone that I’ve reviewed. It happens to also be the best folding screen phone I’ve reviewed — but don’t let that fool you.

Great performance; Decent battery life; Solid-feeling; smooth hinge

Glass screen’s plastic covering picks up scratches easily; Cameras aren’t as good as S10 or iPhone 11; Expensive

The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip is the first folding phone to really work, but it's still a costly and potentially fragile fashion object rather than a mainstream hit.

Solid all-around performance; L-shaped mode is good for taking photos.

The utility of the folding screen doesn't justify the high price.