Foldable phones make their move to mainstream

The wait for foldable smartphones to go mainstream may finally be over. After seven years of development, with Samsung's Galaxy Fold being the pioneer, foldables have evolved to the point where they're now worthy of wider appeal.

Creaseless displays and huge batteries push foldables forward

Honor's upcoming Magic V6, launching this weekend, boasts a creaseless internal display and a massive 6,100mAh battery. This comes on top of the slim, comfortable design that made the Magic V5 a pleasant experience when folded.

With these improvements, the seven-year-old dream unleashed by the Galaxy Fold has seemingly been fulfilled. However, there's one major issue left with foldables, and it's unlikely to have an easy solution anytime soon.

But at what cost?

Foldables are still extremely pricey, even with their advancements. Devices like the Honor Magic V6 and Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 are around 50% more expensive than slab flagships. Rumors peg Apple's iPhone Fold at a whopping $2,400, double the price of the iPhone 17 Pro Max.

Meanwhile, chip shortages and rising component costs threaten to further inflate prices, making foldables even less accessible to the masses. Even without these factors, book-style foldables have historically been some of the priciest smartphones on the market.

Yet, despite these challenges, what's unequivocally true is that modern foldables are worth it. Gone are the days of fragile and hefty designs. Today's foldables offer excellent smartphones that perform just as well as any other flagship, plus the added benefit of a great tablet experience when unfolded.

Combine that with a mobile keyboard, and foldables can even serve as Chromebook replacements. All this makes the hefty price tags somewhat justifiable, even if only for a niche audience willing and able to splurge.