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When you stop to think about it for a moment, the idea of a phone with a folding screen is the kind of thing to come straight out of science fiction.
The fact that engineers have turned it into a reality is remarkable. You can now enjoy a full smartphone experience in a device that folds into a small square, or take your phone and turn it into a small tablet.
It’s still early days for the technology too, so the best foldable phones are just going to get better over the next few years.
But if you can’t wait that long, then we are here to help.
In order to help offer some insight into which are the best foldable phones available in Australia, we’ve done the research for you.
We’ve rounded up the three most recommended foldable phones you can buy in Australia today.
Of course, everybody has different needs when it comes to a smartphone, so you may find none of these phones match your needs.
If that’s the case, consider checking our guide to the best mobile phones or the best Android phones. If you’re on a budget, we have a guide to the best cheap phones in Australia as well.
We’ve also rounded up the best brand phones as well:
Alternatively, reach out and let us know what you’re looking for and we’ll try and help directly.
These are the 3 best foldable phones in Australia right now:
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold5 256GB Cream Editor choice
Recommended by 100% of review sites
The Samsung Galaxy Fold 5 is still fairly new, but it comfortably shot to the top of this list.
It’s packed with power, impressive battery life and a stunning 7.6-inch folding screen on the inside partnered with a dynamic 6.2-inch AMOLED display.
Both screens boast a 120Hz refresh rate, so everything looks great and performs well.
Plus, the triple camera array on the rear of the phone is exceptional, letting you take great photos in either folded or open modes.
Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5
Samsung Galaxy Z Flip5 AI Smartphone, 256GB, Mint Editor choice
Recommended by 100% of review sites
The 2023 iteration of the Galaxy Z Flip is the best version of the phone so far. It offers an impressive design with a robust hinge that is genuinely great to open.
It brings Samsung’s excellence with performance to this class of phone, which is made even more useful with the 3.4-inch external display. The larger external screen gives you access to an array of apps and functions previously unavailable on a Samsung Flip phone.
Unfortunately, camera performance doesn’t quite meet the same standards as the Fold 5. The fold design does let you prop the phone for nice selfies, though.
Motorola Razr 40 Ultra
Recommended by 100% of review sites
Motorola’s RAZR phone was an icon in the early 2000s, a stylish flip phone with a futuristic design and solid performance.
2023’s RAZR 40 Ultra continues the refresh of that iconic design for the foldables age. You get a crisp 6.9-inch folding AMOLED screen, plus a 3.6-inch pOLED on the outside.
You can run your apps on the phone’s external display, which is great for accessing key information without having to open up the phone completely.
Motorola has even beefed up the camera on previous models here. It’s still not the best in class, but it’s good enough for most people.
How we chose the best foldable phones
Review sites – including this one – are subjective by nature. Everybody has a different opinion of what is best.
So to try and counter the fact that every best guide on the internet has a different opinion of what is best, we approached our list by combining the results of some of the top sites recommending foldable phones on the market today.
To determine this list, we followed the same journey most consumers would follow: we went to Google.
We searched for “Best foldable phone” and identified 10 of the top results. It’s important to note that Google results can change often.
Sites referenced
We listed out all the phones recommended on each site, tidying up any slight differences in spelling for consistency.
We calculated how often each product was mentioned across those 10 guides. The more frequently a product is mentioned, the more agreement there is between experts reviewing these products that the product is among the “best”.
We set a minimum of five mentions across all 10 guides to be eligible for inclusion here. This means at least 50% of the sites surveyed recommend each product.
Before we created this page, we took some time to remove products that are either unavailable or difficult to find in Australia.
We also leveraged our own experience with products to ensure that we wouldn’t be recommending any product that doesn’t deliver.
What to look for when choosing the best foldable phones
Whether you’re after one of the models listed above or something completely different, the decision factors you need to consider when buying a new foldable phone are the same.
Folding style
If you’ve decided you want to buy a foldable phone, the first question you need to answer is what style of foldable you want to buy.
There are two varieties: The first are foldables that open up like a book; turning a device that looks like a phone into a device that looks like a tablet.
The second are the type that open like a clamshell, which swap from a compact square-ish shape to a more traditional phone design.
Once you’ve decided that, the choice gets much easier due to the limited range of each on the Australian market.
Camera requirements
Mobile phones are now so good at taking photos they effectively replace the entire compact digital camera market.
For foldable phones, the quality of the camera array can be quite stark. Understand your needs as a mobile photographer, and then look for the best model to suit those needs.
You’ll want a phone with multiple lenses on the back, and a high quality selfie lens as well if you’re into that type of thing.
Battery life
For the vast majority of smartphones, you will get between 1-2 days worth of use before the battery runs out.
There are a few things you can do to maximise your phone’s battery. Firstly, choosing a device with a larger battery can help. A 4,000mAh battery is more likely to last longer than a 2,800mAh battery, for example.
You can also choose a smartphone with an effective low-power mode. This mode will switch off a bunch of features when the battery starts to run low. This lets you prioritise battery over functionality.
Additionally, devices with fast charging can be plugged in for just a few minutes to recover a decent amount of battery power.
Performance
Your new phone needs to be able to do whatever you ask of it. The processors that power your phone can vary dramatically in performance.
If your phone is mostly for browsing Facebook or sending text messages, then you probably won’t need a powerful processor. If you want to edit photos or play high-quality video games, you are going to need a processor built for performance.
Benchmark scores are an easy way to understand how good a processor is at doing its job. It’s not foolproof though. Plenty of manufacturers have cheated to make their benchmark scores look better than they really are.
Having a high-performing mobile plan will also help you get the most out of your phone, so make sure you check your plan inclusions every year.
Price
Foldable screens are still fairly new, which means that foldable phones are still on the expensive side.
If your heart is set on a foldable phone, expect to pay over $1,000, even when the product is discounted. Newer models will typically set you back $1,500 and up. If that’s too much, you could always consider a refurbished phone.
Update history
- 23 May 2023 – First published
- 4 September 2023 – Updated the number of products. Added the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5, Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 and Motorola Razr 40 Ultra. Removed the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4.
- 8 December 2023 – Updated the number of recommendations. Removes Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4.
- 22 March 2024 – Update the number of recommendations. Removed Oppo Find N2 Flip.
