After adopting book-style foldables, flat glass phones feel like a step in reverse. The big interior display, hinge that doubles as a stand, and the way software now bends around (literally) the form factor all contribute to making these everyday tasks feel significantly faster and more pleasant. It is no longer a novelty; it’s just a better way to use a phone.
Analysts with Counterpoint Research and IDC have repeatedly highlighted foldables as the fastest-growing slice of the premium market, buoyed by improved durability, friendlier dimensions and sharper pricing from sales through carriers. So it feels clear that my instincts are correct: the category has advanced to solve problems a slab can’t, without forcing too many compromises in return.
Multitasking that finally feels native on foldables
My day alternates between email, research and drafting. On a foldable, I can pin three apps across a spacious canvas and keep them live side by side, rather than doing a hopping dance through one cramped window. OnePlus trendified this on Open Canvas, which allowed multiple apps to park themselves off the edge of the display and then slide into view. Vivo’s Workbench does the same and then some, serving as a desktop-lite environment where reference material is only a tap away but doesn’t crush my document.
Google’s efforts on big-screen Android—taskbars, improved app resizing, drag-and-drop—are finally matching the OS with the hardware. The result is the first phone that really replaces a few quick laptop sessions: triaging a pitch deck while chatting in Slack, or cross-checking sources in Chrome while drafting in Docs, all without changing contexts. I multiwindow because it is a delight, not because I make myself do it.
The hinge is a feature, not just a means to an end
A hinge that doesn’t just fold but holds. Samsung’s newer Folds, HONOR’s featherweight designs, and Vivo’s rugged builds all lock at various angles to essentially convert the phone into its own stand. That alters habits: I prop it up on a table for hands-free video calls, watch YouTube videos while cooking without relying on the case kickstand, or keep timers and recipes displayed while the other half of the screen is still usable.
The hinge also flips open the rear camera for selfies with a live preview on the cover screen. It’s the easiest way to create better-looking self-portraits and travel shots (without a tripod). Night modes, time-lapses, and hyperlapses win out as well—place it down, frame exactly, then let computational photography do the work for you.
A better reader you’ll actually carry everywhere
I’ve tried to like dedicated e-readers, but a standalone device hardly ever makes it past a packing list. Foldables manage to satisfy a sweet spot: an inner display that’s roughly 7.6 to 8 inches for reading novels, showing PDFs and long-form articles — along with flagship phone speed. I’m able to read subscription sites, annotate and dart between tabs, without the lag inherent in E Ink.
When I want pure focus, Focus Mode and ebook-inspired monochrome modes — HONOR’s Magic V-series is a good example — bleach away color and push me more toward a reading state. It doesn’t feel like paper, but it’s the most practical reading setup I’ll consistently have with me, which is what really counts.
Hardware maturity in modern foldables is real
Early foldables felt like prototypes. And the models from Samsung, Google, HONOR, OnePlus, Vivo, HUAWEI and Tecno available today are thinner, lighter and stronger. Ultrafine hinge tolerances minimize gaps, UTG and protective layers fight off daily scuffs, and water resistance ratings on some models offer peace of mind. The joke that is battery life finally has a punchline; companies like HONOR and Vivo, especially, are bundling lean software with efficient silicon and larger cells for sufficient standby.
Perhaps most, weights are increasingly settling within the 230–260g bracket — similar to big ol’ slabs with huge camera bumps. OnePlus and HONOR showed that you can achieve a larger inner display without making it feel like you are carrying a brick in your pocket, and it moves the needle such that foldables become easier to recommend to those who prefer not to have their pockets sagging.
Caveats to consider: app support and overall cost
Not all apps comply with the new rules. Many social apps still default to tall-phone layouts, and some will letterbox or ignore split views altogether. There’s guidance on adaptive layouts from Google, but the adoption is spotty. The good news: The worst offenders are getting rarer with each new generation, and table stakes for apps that want to appear on a big screen are steadily being established.
Price remains the other hurdle. DSCC also pointed to improving panel yields, and promos have taken some of the sting out of sticker shock, but foldables still exist in a premium space. Yet, when you consider one device usurping a slab, a mini tablet, and a stand, the value case becomes even more apparent than it does on paper.
Why I couldn’t go back to traditional slab phones
When your phone is both a pocketable work surface and a stand, an e-reader and a slab of glass with distractions on it, using the slab feels like commuting on a unicycle: conceivably doable, but pointlessly constraining.
The book-style foldables aren’t just different; they’re quite frankly better at the things I spend most of my time doing. The market data says there’s momentum toward their winning, and you know what? I’m folded until slabs learn to bend space.
