The History of Foldable and Next Generation Foldable Phones

Are smartphones getting boring every year? Some mobile phone users will agree that yearly phone upgrades are slowing down. You will notice that phone manufacturers more or less promise stability on their mobile devices plus one or two minor changes or improvements.

You will find a lot of smartphones on the market today are subtle refinements of existing devices. Yes, these mobile phones are better than ever. However, they lack an overwhelming sense of excitement.

But that changed with the rise of folding phones.

What You Need To Know About The History of Foldable Phones

The history of foldable phones is still young, yet several people are talking about this device.

• Early Years of Foldable Phones
  For some people, they started hearing about foldable phones around 2019. It was the year when Samsung launched its Galaxy Fold smartphone. But the thing is, the idea of folding phones has already been around as early as 2006.
  That year, a company called Polymer Vision presented its Readius concept. It is an e-reader with mobile phone capabilities. It would have opened up to reveal one large, tablet-sized screen, similar to the foldable phones you see today.
  Unfortunately, that ambitious concept never came to fruition.
  Years later, several companies began creating dual-screen "foldable phones." With these mobile phones, you could either split the screens or go into extended mode.
  With these phones, you can do different things with the split-screen feature. Or you can combine the two screens using the extended mode.
  The thing is, these devices are not "true" foldable phones. They are dual-screen mobile phones that offer a tablet-sized display with an enormous gap in the middle. Yes, it is close, but it is still not a foldable phone.
• The advent of Foldable Phones
  The advent of foldable OLED screens happened in late 2018. The first one to emerge was the Royole Flexpal. However, most people do not find this device worth the $1,300 price tag.
  The first fold emerged in early 2019 at Samsung Unpacked event. It was the Samsung Galaxy Fold, a smartphone with a 7.5-inch inner display.
  What made the Galaxy Fold exciting for most people is that it can be a mini-tablet when you unfold it.
  

  

  Samsung Galaxy Fold, a smartphone with a 7.5-inch inner display, is the first foldable device. (Photo credit: Androidauthority.net)

  And four days after the release of the Samsung Galaxy Fold, Huawei impressed the crowd with its Mate X.
  As the second folding phone, the Huawei Mate X drew a lot of attention. This smartphone offers a large tablet display in a portable form factor. But it is still quite different from the Galaxy Fold.
  You see, Galaxy Fold has a separate cover display and concealed its inner one when closed.
  Meanwhile, the Huawei Mate X has a single screen wrapped around the entire body of the phone.
  As such, whether you open or close the device, you are still using that same folding display panel. It means that when the Mate X is in phone mode, there is a screen on the front and back.
  The excitement about the Galaxy Fold came to a pause when Samsung delayed its launch. It was because the phone was so easy to break.
  People who tested the phone noticed that the device was susceptible to irreversible damage. As such, Samsung began recalling all of the review units.
  It was only more than five months later that Samsung re-launched the Galaxy Fold. The device still has the same specs and display. But at that time, Samsung made an effort to stop the smartphone from breaking easily by doing durability tweaks.
  With Galaxy Fold available for purchase in the market, Motorola showed the first look of the Motorola RAZR.
  With the foldable Motorola RAZR, the company reintroduced the iconic design of the RAZR flip phone from 2003. Motorola used it to test the waters for a foldable screen.
  When opened, the RAZR looks like another Android phone. However, you can close the device to be about half the size. It was different from the Galaxy Fold and Mate X.
  With the Motorola RAZR, there is the portability of a flip phone folding design.
  
• Next Generation of Foldable Phones
  In 2020, Samsung launched its Galaxy Z Flip. While this phone has a similar flip phone design as the RAZR, people find the Galaxy Z Flip better. That's because it has a faster processor, enormous battery, higher resolution display, and better cameras. Moreover, this foldable phone price was more affordable than the RAZR.
  Samsung was able to sell its Galaxy Z Flip a few days after the company announced it to the public in February 2020.
  In the same month, Huawei announced the successor of the Mate X. The Mate XS has a similar folding display, yet the company improved its durability and ruggedness.
  It was in March when TCL joined the folding phone trend. This company introduced the bifold tablet, a mobile device with two distinct folds that open up and reveal an enormous 10-inch display.
  With this device, you can close one of the folds for a smaller tablet. You can also turn it into a 6.6-inch smartphone.
  TCL also launched the rollable/extending folding phone. This device has an extended full display. However, the extra screen in this phone can roll back into itself and create a standard smartphone form factor.
• Current Foldable Phones
  The third generation of foldable phones started in 2021. With these smartphones, manufacturers started working out on what these devices lack and focused on adding features buyers deserve.
  For Samsung, the company added IPX8 water resistance and 120Hz displays to its Galaxy Z Fold 3 and Z Flip 3. Moreover, the Fold phone gets S Pen support and a screen protector. It increases the durability of the device by 80 percent.
  Huawei has its Mate X2, which comes with an incredible camera set and has a display that folds inwards.
  TCL, on the other hand, unveiled its concept of a foldable phone. It shows that the device folds out into a phablet and then rolls out into a tablet.

What Are The Best Foldable Phones You Can Buy Today?

Are you thinking of buying a foldable smartphone? Are you confused as to which brand and model to get? The following list of the best foldable phones might help you in your mobile phone shopping.

• Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3. This device is the latest foldable phone by Samsung that comes with OEM's first-ever under-display selfie camera. You can find it tucked away in the enormous 7.6-inch internal display of this smartphone.
  You will also notice that both of its internal and external displays now offer 120Hz refresh rates.
  The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3 packs a Snapdragon 888 processor. It also comes with 12GB of RAM, 512GB of storage, and an impressive 4,400mAh dual battery.
  As for its camera setup, the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3 has three 12MP rear cameras. On its external display is a 10MP front-facing camera and the under-display selfie shooter that packs 4MP.
  Samsung also kept the side-mounted fingerprint reader in this smartphone. It has an added brand-new S Pen support too.
• Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 3. If you are looking for the cheapest foldable phone to buy in the market today, this device is the right one for you. The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 3 offers an excellent build quality with its premium exterior finish and an improved 6.7-inch internal display.
  This foldable phone has a 1.9-inch external display that makes managing your notifications with more ease. On the inside of the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 3 are the Snapdragon 888 processor, 8GB of RAM, and up to 256GB of storage.
  The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 3 has two 12MP rear cameras and a 10MP front-facing shooter. It also comes with a 3,300mAh battery and a side-mounted fingerprint scanner.
  

  

  The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 3 is the cheapest foldable phone you can buy today in the market. (Photo credit: Review Geek)

• Motorola Razr 5G (2020). This device has a design similar to the classic Razr V3 mobile flip phone, first released in 2004. The Motorola Razr 5G (2020) is thin at 14mm. It unfolds into a 6.2-inch 21:9 display.
  When folded, the Motorola Razr 5G (2020) has a 2.7-inch display that you can use to check notifications, control media, among others. You can also take selfies with its 48MP rear camera that turns into a front-facing snapper.
  The Motorola Razr 5G (2020) comes with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 765G chip, 8GB of RAM, and 256GB of storage. It also has a small 2,800mAh battery.

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