Not too long ago, foldable smartphones were just a concept till Samsung made it a reality for the consumer. Like most things tech, there were teething issues in this new category of phones and also concerns over their durability. Over the past few years most of them have been addressed and things seem fairly settled now.
Since 2023, we have witnessed the arrival of some high quality foldable phones in the country, and we have a handful of options to choose from now if you are looking for one. In this article, let’s look at the top options available in India at the moment. For now, we will only explore the larger full-sized variants and not the flip type.
Best Foldable Smartphones of 2024
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold5
Let’s start with the brand that started it all in this segment. The latest iteration of Samsung’s foldable flagship, the Galaxy Z Fold5 is a powerful and feature-rich device. From raw performance to excellent cameras, this smartphone is everything that a flagship device needs to be. Let’s start with its two displays. You get a 6.2-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X outer display with a resolution of 2316 x 904 pixels, 120Hz refresh rate and Corning Gorilla Glass Victus 2 protection.
When you open the phone, there’s a bright and vibrant 7.6-inch foldable Dynamic AMOLED 2X with a resolution of 2176 x 1812 pixels, 120 Hz refresh rate and HDR10+ compliance. The large display provides a great user experience, irrespective of whether you’re taking notes, watching videos, surfing the web, switching between multiple apps or gaming. The UI adjusts smartly when switching between the two screens. The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold5 debuted with Android 13 and is upgradeable to Android 14 with the company’s One UI 6.1.
The design has also seen an improvement over its predecessors without adding any more bulk or weight; in fact, it is slimmer than their previous generation foldable phones. The redesigned Flex Hinge feels a lot smoother and sturdier with virtually no gap between the two halves. The phone is powered by a Qualcomm’s previous flagship, Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chip and you get 12GB RAM and a choice of internal storage between 256GB, all the way up to a TB.
Like all phones in this list, the photography department on the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold5 consists of five cameras – three at the back and one each on top of each display. At the back, you get a 50MP primary camera with PDAF and optical image stabilisation (OIS). Giving it company is a 10MP telephoto camera with OIS that provides 3X optical zoom, and there’s also a 12MP ultra-wide camera with 123-degrees FOV. The cameras do an impressive job across the board in photography and videography both.
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold5 price in India:
Rs 1,54,999 for 12GB RAM/256GB storage
Rs 1,64,999 for 512GB storage
Rs 1,84,999 for 1 TB storage
OnePlus Open
OnePlus had a few extra months since the launch of the Fold5 to polish and finetune their foldable offering, and they made good use of the time. The OnePlus Open marked a very impressive debut for the company in the foldable smartphones segment. The phone is packed to the brim with flagship features and is mighty impressive on multiple fronts. The concerns about foldable phones pertaining to their bulkiness, weight, durability and the screen crease were all addressed to a great extent.
Some smart design elements and choice of materials helped in keeping the thickness and weight down. It was slimmer and lighter than the competition (till a few weeks ago) without compromising on the build quality, and the display crease is barely visible. Speaking of displays, the inner and outer screens are brilliant for entertainment and productivity both. The outer display measures 6.31-inch with a resolution of 2484 x 1116 pixels. When opened, you get a larger 7.82-inch display with a resolution of 2440 x 2268 pixels.
Both are LTPO3 Fluid AMOLED displays with support for 10-bit colour, 120 Hz variable refresh rate, Dolby Vision compliance and flaunt a peak theoretical brightness of 2800 nits. In addition, the OnePlus Open has powerful processing hardware (Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 with 16GB RAM), ample storage (512GB) and excellent cameras that cover all the key bases.
You get a 48MP primary camera with a Sony LYTIA-T808 CMOS sensor and OIS, an OmniVision OV64B 64MP periscope telephoto camera with OIS that provides 3X optical zoom and 6X hybrid near-lossless zoom and a 48MP ultra-wide camera with Sony’s IMX581 sensor, 114-degrees FOV and autofocus that can double up as a macro camera. You get Hasselblad colour tuning as well as portrait photography tricks to enhance your experience.
Good hardware needs to be complemented by equally good software to elevate the overall experience, and OxygenOS 14 does exactly that. It adapts perfectly to the two screens and the transition is seamless. The UI smartly adjusts to the larger display when you open the phone and makes good use of the extra screen real estate in facilitating multitasking. A perfect blend of design, hardware and software makes the OnePlus Open a well-rounded device and among the best foldable phones in the country.
OnePlus Open price in India:
Rs 1,39,999 for 16GB RAM/512GB storage
Vivo X Fold3 Pro
The Vivo X Fold3 Pro is the most recent of the lot and understandably sports the most powerful processing hardware around – the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 SoC, coupled with 16GB RAM and 512GB internal storage. That’s not all, the phone is easily the slimmest around too measuring just 5.2 mm when open. Another useful and unique addition is that of ultrasonic in-display fingerprint scanners on both the inner and outer displays; something we don’t remember seeing on other foldable phones till date.
Needless to say, the Vivo X Fold3 Pro has two displays too and they both look impressive. The outer AMOLED display measures 6.53-inch and has a resolution of 2748 x 1172 pixels and is protected against scratches and cracks by a layer of Armor Glass. When opened, you get an 8-inch 10-bit LTPO AMOLED display (the largest around) with a resolution of 2480 x 2200 pixels. Both displays offer 120 Hz refresh rate, a peak brightness of 4500 nits and HDR10+ and Dolby Vision compliance. The Vivo X Fold3 Pro runs Android 14 with Funtouch 14 UI.
The rear camera department here is co-engineered with Zeiss and consists of three high quality cameras that cover all the necessary bases. You get a 50MP primary camera with OIS, a 64MP periscope telephoto camera with OIS that provides 3X optical zoom and another 50MP ultra-wide camera with autofocus that can double up as a macro camera too. In collaboration with Zeiss, this Vivo phone offers a range of focal lengths to click professional-grade portraits, supporting portrait focal lengths of 24 mm, 35 mm, 50 mm, 85 mm and 100 mm.
Vivo X Fold3 Pro price in India:
Rs 1,59,999 for 16GB RAM/512GB storage
Tecno Phantom V Fold
Tecno surprised everyone by jumping on to the foldable smartphones bandwagon with the Phantom V Fold long before some bigger brands did in the first half of 2023. It remains by far the most affordable full-sized foldable phone in India and sells for less than half the price of the other phones listed here. But don’t be fooled by its modest price tag; it is a highly competitive device that does most of the things that the other big boys do.
The Tecno Phantom V Fold has a 7.85-inch foldable display on the inside and a 6.42-inch screen on the outside. Both are 10-bit LTPO AMOLED displays with 120 Hz refresh rate and 1100 nits peak brightness. The outer screen is protected by Gorilla Glass Victus and has a resolution of 2550 x 1080 pixels, while the one on the inside has 2296 x 2000 pixels. Both displays look sharp and bright with lively colour reproduction.
The phone is powered by a reasonably powerful Mediatek Dimensity 9000+ SoC and comes with 12GB RAM and either 256GB or 512GB internal storage. It runs HiOS 13 Fold based on Android 13 with an Android 14 update expected soon. The rear photography department consists of a 50MP primary camera, a 50MP telephoto camera for 2X optical zoom and a 13MP ultrawide camera with 120 degrees FOV. All cameras have PDAF but neither have OIS. While photography may not be its strong suit, the phone offers exceptional value in all other departments.
Tecno Phantom V Fold price in India:
Rs 59,999 for 12GB RAM/256GB storage
Rs 67,999 for 12GB RAM/ 512GB storage
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