For years, it seemed Motorola was content with sticking to flip phones as its foldable of choice. Meanwhile, Google has opted solely for book-style foldables and Samsung has invested in both. Now, Motorola is shaking up its lineup with the introduction of the Razr Fold, the company’s first book-style foldable phone, which is set to launch later this year.
This gives consumers another option while allowing Motorola to cater to a different type of consumer, one that prefers the flexibility of a large tablet-like foldable phone. But with that in mind, we want to know what style foldable you prefer; the smaller flip phone or the larger book-style foldable?
Very different form factors for very different purposes
Of course, there are many differences between flip phones and book-style foldables, starting with their size.
Flip phones like the Razr Ultra 2025 aim to minimize their footprint by folding in half form the size of a regular smartphone to a square-like device with an outer screen. That outer screen can be used to view notifications, and on newer, more advanced flip phones, interact with messages, open apps, take selfies, and much more. You also get the nostalgia of being able to flip the phone open or dramatically shut it closed, which is still very fun.
Meanwhile, book-style foldables, such as the Google Pixel 10 Pro Fold, are geared towards productivity, media, and multitasking. They start at the size of a regular smartphone and open to something much larger and with more screen real estate. This makes it easy to run apps side-by-side, drag and drop content between apps, or open up your most-used apps directly from a task bar, not unlike a tablet or desktop.
And if you want to watch videos or draw, the larger screen is an ideal canvas for both.
Of course, beyond size and use-cases, price is also a factor. Flip phones tend to be cheaper, which makes them much more accessible. It’s why they have lead foldable sales for years, until recently.
Meanwhile, book-style foldables are much more expensive, with phones like the Galaxy Z Fold 7 reaching $2,000, and we’re not even going into multi-fold devices like the Galaxy Z TriFold. Still, many consumers don’t seem to mind, and larger-screen foldables are finally finding their stride as technologies improve.
But what about you? What drives you toward either form factor? Drop a comment below and let us know why you would choose one over the other.