Foldable phones have felt like cool but somewhat niche devices so far, but with reported massive pre-orders of the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5, foldables could finally be going mainstream.
According to Yonhap News, pre-orders for the Galaxy Z Flip 5 and Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 total 1.02 million units, with the Flip 5 taking up a hefty 70% of those pre-orders. As 9to5Google reports, those pre-orders surpass the 970,000 scored by the Galaxy Z Flip 4 and Galaxy Z Fold 4 across the same time period.
In short, the new Galaxy foldable phones look set to be a hit. While the Galaxy Z Fold 5 doesn't really do much to mix up the large foldable phone formula over its predecessor, the Galaxy Z Flip 5 offers a bigger and thus more capable cover screen.
Not only is this more attractive, but it’s also better at letting users do more when the phone is folded — or is that unflipped? I’ve never been caught up in the Flip hype, but having seen the new Flip 5, I'm more onboard with its form factor, all thanks to that new 3.4-inch Super AMOLED cover display.
The evolution of the Flip and the slow and steady iterative upgrades of the Fold series continue to see these Galaxy phones top our list of the best foldable phones.
And as they seemingly grow in popularity, we could see greater competition in the foldable phone arena. This year we’ve already seen the Google Pixel Fold fire a shot across the bow of the Galaxy Fold series, and the Motorola Razr+ offers compelling competition to the Flip 5.
However, I’d argue more is needed to further fuel interest in foldable phones. Not only do I think the likes of the Galaxy Fold could be priced more competitively, but I also think other phone makers need to get in on the action. OnePlus, for example, has yet to enter the foldable fray, despite its sibling brand Oppo already being a player. And Apple has seemingly shunned the idea of a folding iPhone, though rumors of the so-called iPhone Flip pop up from time to time.
Nevertheless, I’d now say the quality of the foldable phones you can buy today is at a standard where you can make such a purchase and not be too fearful of the phone breaking or malfunctioning. While I doubt foldable phones will replace their non-folding brethren anytime soon, expect to see a lot more Flip phones in use while out and about.
