TECH THAT...

FOLDABLE PHONES TO THE TEST

SHOULD YOU COME INTO THE FOLD?

I ADMIT – I thought foldable phones were a bit of a gimmick. Having spent time with one, though, I can see that’s not quite true. There’s more to it than meets the eye.

And while it’s hard to see them going mainstream – the price is prohibitive – I’m pretty sure there’s some future down the foldable road. I’ve been using Samsung’s Galaxy Z Flip, left, and there are advantages over conventional slab phones. The first is size. It’s twice as thick when closed, but a more convenient package for stowing in a pocket.

There’s also a tiny external screen giving quick access to features like the time and messages.

This might seem a small thing but sneaking a look to see if I had any notifications, or to check the time, did not automatically lead to a lost hour on social media.

Fully open, the Galaxy Z Flip looks like a regular slab phone, but you can have it half open on your desk for video calling. More useful right now than usual – but now the video call floodgates are open, there’s no closing them, even post-pandemic.

These are small advantages and, even together, don’t justify the Z Flip’s price.

Samsung’s other foldable phone, the Galaxy Z Fold, inset below, is a much more versatile device, which folds out from a tall narrow phone when closed to reveal a 7.6in screen.

Obviously this offers all the advantages of the Z Flip, but brings much more to the table – it’s a phone and a tablet, and it fits in your pocket.

The Z Fold has just been updated with a much bigger external screen, which is a welcome addition. But at an eye-watering £1,799, the Z Fold is very much for early adopters.

You can see where it’s going when you have one in your hand, though, and foldables are only going to get better and cheaper. The tipping point for mainstream adoption will then be only a matter of time.

The Galaxy Z Flip costs £1,399 with the Z Fold2 starting at £1,799. The Flip is available from Vodafone starting at £88-a-month with a £99 up-front cost.

The Fold2 costs £99-a-month with a £299 up-front cost. Both are on 24-month contracts available at vodafone.co.uk