BACK INTO THE FOLD

Fold or flip them, smartphones with bendable displays are here to stay

- Yamini Chinnuswamy

Huawei's new Mate XT smartphone looks like something out of a dream.

With its three-part screen, where the right and left segments fold into the middle, it opens and closes much like a brochure. Unlike paper brochures, however, it has the processing power of a small computer and a price tag to match (about $3,650).

Currently available only in China, it is among the most buzz-worthy of recent smartphone launches. The foldable phone market is filled with credible options for both clamshell-style flip phones and book-style folding phones with bendable displays.

In September and October, at least two Chinese consumer electronics firms released foldable devices to the global market: Xiaomi, with its first MIX Flip clamshell ($1,499), and Honor, with its Magic V3 book-style phone ($1,999).

Also in October, American tech company Google released the second version of its book-style folding phone: the Pixel 9 Pro Fold (from $2,399).

The trajectory began earlier. In July, South Korean electronics giant Samsung launched the latest version of its Galaxy Z Flip (from $1,648) and Fold (from $2,548) models.

Also available in Singapore, since November 2023, are the Find N3 Flip clamshell ($1,099) and Find N3 book-style ($2,099) folding phones from Chinese manufacturer Oppo.

The Motorola Razr, originally a flip phone that was popular in the mid-2000s, has also been present in the market as a modern touch-screen-only version since 2020.

The latest iteration released in June, the Motorola Razr 50, is not officially available in Singapore. But some retailers on e-commerce platforms Shopee and Lazada are selling it for upwards of $680.

GO BIG OR GO SMALL

Before 3-, 4- or 5G, when mobile phones were mainly for making phone calls or sending short text messages typed on alphanumeric button pads, smaller was better.

The same philosophy held true for much of the early smartphone era as well.