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- Foldable phone shipments are expected to reach 21.4 million units in 2023, up more than 50% from the 14.2 million shipped in 2022.
- We take a look at the foldable phones currently in the market.
- For more stories, visit the Tech and Trends homepage.
At its Google I/O 2023 annual developer conference, the tech giant showed off its first foldable form factor, the Pixel Fold.
Teased a week prior to its unveiling on 10 May, the Pixel Fold is a large 7.6-inch tablet that folds into a narrow 5.8-inch smartphone. While Pixel devices are not available through official channels in South Africa, it joins a growing list of foldables available on Android, with Apple notably absent in the space.
Folding tablets that are available locally include Samsung's Z Fold 4 and Huawei's Mate Xs 2, with the Mate X3 being unveiled in Johannesburg on 18 May.
An interesting design choice on the Mate X3, unveiled globally in Dubai on 10 May, is an inward folding screen, versus an outward one, seen on the Xs 2, which featured a single display. The Mate X3 has a 7.85-inch screen when opened, and a 6.4-inch one when shut.
Manufacturers that have dabbled in the folding tablet space, as seen at MWC Barcelona 2023 in February, included Oppo, Honor and Tecno.
Oppo's Find N2 tablet did not make its way to SA, however the N2 Flip launched locally recently. Other clamshells on the market include the Z Flip 4 and the Huawei P50 Pocket.
Flipping the script
Samsung was first to impress me with the Flip 3, thanks to nostalgia and the satisfaction of snapping the phone shut, however, the battery life, especially standby time, was not great.
I've since spent time with the Flip 4, which retains the same 1.9-inch horizontal cover display, but it's obvious they improved on the battery significantly. It no longer loses power drastically while idle. Another thing to note is that the camera is not as good as that of the S Series, but people are not buying flip phones for the camera.
And then Oppo came out with a 3.26-inch vertical cover screen that improved the experience. For comparison, the P50 Pocket has a 1.04-inch round cover display that feels limiting, plus a lack of Play Store access makes it difficult to recommend.
A cover display on a foldable is what excites me the most because it is changing my viewing habits and the way I interact with a phone.
This brings me to my next point; manufacturers tend to limit the apps and widgets available on cover displays, so I tested a third-party app called CoverScreen OS for Samsung and Oppo.
CoverScreen OS is a game changer
It can be buggy and has ads on the free version, but it allows access to all apps on the front display without opening the phone, which is probably a good thing until we know for sure how durable foldables are.
The ability to check notifications discreetly on the cover display is a huge drawcard, as well as Tap to Pay, but I like the convenience of accessing emails, messages, social media, etc. without flipping it open.
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The N2 Flip is great for vertical format videos, like Instagram Reels, Stories and TikTok whereas the Z Flip 4 works better for Netflix or YouTube, and the like. If you need to choose between the two, it comes down to what content you view the most on the cover display.
What does the future look like?
It seems like almost every major smartphone manufacturer is dabbling in the space, despite still finding their feet with cover screen size, inward vs. outward folding tablets, and crease visibility.
The International Data Corporation (IDC) has forecast that foldable shipments will reach 21.4 million units in 2023, a more than 50% increase from the 14.2 million shipped in 2022.
It's impossible to say if Apple will enter the arena this year, but I'm keen to see what they eventually come out with based on what Android has to offer, and the fact that my digital life sits in iCloud. If there's a future with an iPhone Flip, I'm looking forward to it.
