Best flip phones

Flip phones, foldable phones, folding phones. Whatever you like to call them, smartphones that unfurl to reveal a larger screen have become increasingly popular over the last few years. Now, with great options available from a wide range of Android phone manufacturers, including Oppo, Motorola, Google and Samsung, the world of flip phones is your oyster.

If you’re considering a flip-up screen for your next phone, then take a look at our recommendations for the best new and refurbished flip phones available through giffgaff.

5. Motorola Razr 40: £799

The cheapest new foldable phone available is the Motorola Razr 40, a beautiful vertically folding design released in June this year.

Motorola is well-known for adding light, clever features to an otherwise close-to-stock Android, and the Razr is no exception. I personally appreciated the phone’s high-end 6.9-inch 1080x2640 144Hz AMOLED screen, while the external 1.5-inch display usefully shows notifications, allowing you to perform basic actions without flipping the phone open. Battery life is another strong suit for this model, though its camera performance leaves something to be desired compared to the more expensive options we’ll look at.

Check out the Motorola Razr 40 at giffgaff

4. Samsung Galaxy Z Flip5: £1,099

Samsung’s latest vertically-folding phone is the Flip5, and it’s very much a classic Samsung folding phone with bleeding-edge performance, strong cameras and a nice 120Hz 1080x2640 AMOLED display that gets brighter than Motorola’s option.

The biggest improvement here is to the external screen, which is significantly bigger than that of the Flip4 or Razr 40 at 3.4 inches. This makes the Flip5 much more usable when closed, and the phone can also fold flatter than it could before.

It’s probably the best vertically folding phone on the market, but it does come at a hefty price.

Shop the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip5 at giffgaff

3. Oppo Find N2 Flip (refurbished): £599

The Oppo Find N2 Flip was designed to fight off Samsung’s last-gen Flip4, but in refurbished form, it’s a better value option even than the new Flip5.

Like the Flip5, the Oppo Find N2 Flip has a large 3.26-inch secondary display, but this one is in portrait orientation. The inner 6.8-inch 120Hz 1080x2520 screen is slightly smaller than the Samsung’s, and the MediaTek chipset is a little weaker too. Still, the dual rear cameras are capable of impressive results and there’s no gap between the two screens when folded. The N2 also boasts a bigger battery.

Overall, it’s a reasonable flip phone alternative to the pricier Flip5.

Shop for your refurbished Oppo Find N2 at giffgaff

2. Google Pixel Fold: £1,829

Google’s Pixel Fold is exactly what you’d expect: a folding version of the Google Pixel smartphones, bringing a top-tier camera and arguably the best version of Android to the folding form factor.

This foldable Google Pixel unfolds horizontally to a 7.6-inch 120Hz 1840x2208 screen, with a 5.8-inch screen on the front too. This makes it a sort of tablet and smartphone in one, and it’s priced accordingly.

Still, there’s plenty to like here from Google’s first foldable, including a robust design, a more streamlined version of Android than some Samsung phones and Google’s contrast-heavy photographic processing. At a lower price, this would be an easy contender for the top spot. However, there’s still plenty here to make the higher price worth consideration as one of the best folding phones.

Get your Google Pixel Fold from giffgaff today

1. Samsung Galaxy Z Fold5: £1,849

Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold5 is our final folding phone for today. This is probably the most popular current-gen horizontally folding phone, combining excellent internal and external screens with the fastest specs, most features and the most polished overall presentation.

Samsung has been in the folding phone game longer than anyone, and that shows in their latest flagship. The 7.6-inch 120Hz 1812x2176 screen performs brilliantly with a host of apps actually optimised for this screen size, while the 6.2-inch cover display is easily as usable as a regular smartphone. I’d still go for the Pixel Fold when it comes to photographic ability and faster Android updates, but for basically everything else, Samsung is deservedly on top.

Shop the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold5 at giffgaff

Wrapping up

Flip phones seem only likely to continue their upward trend over time, so jump aboard. To see the full assortment of flip phones available today, Why not shop giffgaff’s new and refurbished phones?

Thanks for checking out the article and we’ll see you on the next one. If you have any feedback or questions, feel free to ask me on Twitter or join us in the giffgaff community forums.