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The best flip phones

Folding phones and rugged flips, from cheap to flagship.

Two very different kinds of phone share this page. Folding smartphones are ordinary flagships with a hinge in the middle: a full Android phone that closes into something pocket-sized, with a second screen on the outside that handles payments, maps and notifications without opening it. Rugged flips are the opposite idea — deliberately simple clamshells, often with a keypad, bought by people who want fewer notifications rather than more.

If you are looking at folding phones, the cover screen matters more than the spec sheet suggests. It is the screen you will actually use most, and sizes range from 3.4 to 4 inches across current models, with corresponding differences in what will run on it. After that, check the battery: folding bodies leave less room for a cell, and the gap between the cheapest and the most expensive models here is a full working day.

The crease is the question everyone asks and the one owners stop noticing first. Every owner report we have collected says the same thing — visible at an odd angle, invisible in use. The thing to worry about instead is dust in the hinge over several years, which is why a folding phone is a three-to-four year purchase rather than a seven-year one.

CAT S22 Flip open and closed, showing the 2.8-inch touchscreen and the cover displayCATCAT S22 FlipA real Android phone in a rugged clamshell. The original, and now the most expensive way to buy it.
Two Unifone S22 Flip units, one open and one closed, showing both displaysUnifoneUnifone S22 FlipThe S22 Flip hardware — a rugged Android clamshell — at a fraction of the price.
VAHVARNA Arctic X1 open and closed, showing the 2.8-inch main screen and the 1.44-inch cover displayVAHVARNAVAHVARNA Arctic X1The best-documented version of the rugged Android flip: cover display, glove mode and a 100 dB speaker.
Motorola Razr 2025 in Pantone Spring Bud, shown open and closedMotorolaMotorola Razr 2025The cheapest way into a modern folding phone, and the one most people should buy.
The Razr+ 2025 in Pantone Mocha Mousse, shown open and folded side by sideMotorolaMotorola Razr+ 2025A flip phone that gives up almost nothing, with an outer screen that does most of the work.
The Razr Ultra 2025 in Pantone Cabaret, shown open and folded side by sideMotorolaMotorola Razr Ultra 2025The best flip phone Motorola has built, and the first that feels like a flagship first.
The Razr 2024 in Koala Gray, shown open and folded side by sideMotorolaMotorola Razr 2024Last year's Razr, and the one several owners chose over the newer model on purpose.
The Galaxy Z Flip7 FE in JetBlack, shown open and folded with the cover display and the two rear camerasSamsungSamsung Galaxy Z Flip7 FEThe cheapest way into a Samsung flip — as long as you check what it gives up against the older Flip6.