A cheap foldable phone is coming, but should you buy it?

Clamshell foldable phones have been around for less than five years, and these pocket-sized devices typically retail for about $1,000. But brands like Motorola and TECNO also jumped on the bandwagon last year, launching devices priced under $800.

Fast forward to MWC 2024, and there’s no shortage of affordable foldable flip phones on the show. However, most consumers have not heard of these brands. And of course, there’s Nubia and its 599-euro Nubia Flip 5G. But we also have devices from ultra-niche brands like the BlackView Hero 10 and the Doogee Flip X. Even the company behind the Energizer brand of phones has launched the Ultimate U660S foldable phone with a claimed price of 500 euros.

It’s great to see these cheap foldable phones on display. But how do manufacturers reach these price points? More importantly, should you really buy these devices?

All of these foldable phones will launch at €600 or less, which is a significant price drop compared to the big names in the clamshell segment, such as Samsung’s $1,000 Galaxy Z Flip 5. Mid-range foldable devices also have to cut corners due to their lower price points.

For one, these cheap foldable phones lack high-end chipsets. The most powerful device of the bunch appears to be the Nubia Flip 5G, as it comes with a powerful yet still mid-range Snapdragon 7 Gen 1 SoC.

On the other hand, both the BlackView Hero 10 and Energizer Ultimate U660S are powered by the Helio G99 chipset, which is actually a mid-range chip starting in 2020. This means no 5G, older Wi-Fi standard (Wi-Fi 5), no 4K video recording, and no need for AV1 decoding, allowing for more efficient video streaming.

These new foldable phones also offer a compromised camera experience on paper. Even though we expected a solid primary camera, all of these phones come with inferior secondary cameras. That Nubia phone comes with a horrendous 2MP macro lens – a completely useless extra. Meanwhile, other cheaper foldables offer 8MP or even 5MP ultrawide cameras and nothing more.

Cheaper phones often offer less impressive IP ratings, and mid-range foldable phones appear to be no different. Most of the foldable devices we saw at MWC didn’t reveal their IP ratings, which isn’t a good sign. However, the Nubia Flip 5G is very much a rebranded ZTE Libero Flip, and the phone offers an IP42 rating. This means it should be able to withstand some water droplets (such as drizzle), but nothing more. In comparison, the top model offers IPX8 protection.

It’s not uncommon for cheaper smartphones to have more questionable build quality, which is something to be wary of with these more affordable foldable phones as well. Our own C Scott Brown criticized the Nubia Flip’s “fragile” design in his hands-on video (see above). But I can also vouch for a device like the TECNO Phantom V Flip having a “loose” design, for lack of a better term.

One encouraging sign is that some of these phones come with larger batteries than the Galaxy Z Flip series. The BlackView phone has a 4,000mAh battery, while the Nubia Flip 5G has a 4,310mAh battery. However, the Energizer and Doogee phones come with 3,400mAh and 3,800mAh batteries respectively. coin. Ironically, Energizer-branded foldable phones come with tiny batteries.

That’s just the beginning of the cuts; foldable phones also seem to sacrifice features you take for granted on a good foldable phone.

None of these foldable devices feature ultra-thin glass (UTG). This technology improves the scratch resistance and overall durability of the folding screen. That’s not a sacrifice you want to make on a foldable phone.

Some of these devices also have relatively small screens compared to the Motorola RAZR Plus and Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5. This isn’t a huge deal, but it does mean that the screen protector has limited usefulness.

I also noticed that none of these brands talk about the durability of their foldable screens. By comparison, Samsung says its foldables can be folded and unfolded 200,000 times. Motorola says its 2023 foldable phone can be folded and unfolded 400,000 times.

Cheap foldable phones are also a gamble when it comes to hinge clearance. Some monitors leave a noticeable gap between the two folded monitor halves when closed. This may not seem like a big deal, but this gap can open up the folding screen and cause damage from debris in your pocket or bag. Samsung only recently addressed this issue with the Galaxy Z Flip 5, while its previous device (shown below) still had a wider gap.

It’s also worth noting that the display crease seems to vary greatly depending on the device. We think the Nubia Flip 5G has a very noticeable crease. Of course, the expensive Galaxy Z Flip 5 also has noticeable creases, but phones like the Motorola Razr 2023 have very small creases.

Another thing worth remembering is that major brands like Samsung offer free or discounted screen repairs. This should give you some peace of mind compared to buying a cheap foldable device from Doogee or BlackView.

While hardware is important, you’re also losing a lot on the software front if you opt for one of these cheap foldable devices.

Perhaps the biggest problem is that none of these brands have publicly stated software update policies for their phones, let alone their foldable devices. That means there’s no guarantee that one of these cheap foldable devices will get a software update six months from now, let alone two years from now. For such a complex form factor, this is no small feat.

You’re also likely to get fewer foldable-specific features on these new budget foldable phones. After all, this is the first foldable product from any of these brands. Therefore, they need to rely heavily on AOSP for most foldable-related features. By comparison, Samsung, OPPO, and other brands have been making foldable phones for a few years and have developed a lot of internal features to take advantage of the form factor.

The fact that small phone manufacturers are showing off cheap foldable phones is a very interesting development in 2024. But you should definitely avoid most of them.

There’s no guarantee that most foldable phones will actually end up on store shelves. One example is Energizer’s Ultimate U660S, which is scheduled to be released in November. However, the company behind the brand has previously showcased the phone at expos, but ultimately failed to actually launch it. The only exception might be the Nubia Flip, which comes from a larger, reputable brand and is based on a phone already available in Japan.

Then there’s the compromise mentioned above. A slower chipset, smaller cover screen, and less RAM/storage are expected and understandable, but these phones also seem to lack the durability of more premium foldable phones. With most of these phones, you certainly won’t receive software updates for long (if at all).

Don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying you shouldn’t buy a cheap foldable phone in 2024. But you should definitely stay away from smaller brands that can’t even guarantee updates, let alone durability.