Flip phones were supposed to be the fun side of foldables – but lately, they seem to be the forgotten ones.
While technology is undoubtedly becoming more reliable, the sense of wonder I felt with the first flip-style foldables is being replaced by a nagging sense of deja vu. We see the same chassis, dimensions, and compromises year after year, and it seems the industry has found a “good enough” model and decided to stick with it.
This leaves flip phones in a state of refined stagnation, while their larger, book-style siblings continue to push the form factor forward significantly – and nowhere is this more evident than in the latest generation of foldables.
Motorola’s Razr 70 collection is new but familiar
On paper, Motorola’s Razr 70 collection seems like a solid step forward. There’s a full range this time – the Razr 70, 70 Plus, and the headline-grabbing 70 Ultra – each offering improvements in performance, battery life, and camera technology, as well as fresh colors and new material finishes.
Motorola Razr 70 Ultra. Image credit (Motorola)
The Ultra, in particular, is clearly the star. It packs a Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset, a larger 5,000mAh battery and 68W fast charging, plus a familiar 4-inch external display that now supports over-the-air updates and video wallpapers. Motorola has also improved its camera credentials with a new LOGIC 50MP main sensor that promises up to 6x better dynamic range, faster capture, and improved efficiency.
But here’s the thing: It all looks very familiar.
Physically, the Razr 70 Ultra looks almost indistinguishable from the Razr 60 Ultra – and frankly not that different from the Razr 50 Ultra before it. It’s neither noticeably thinner nor lighter – if it is, Motorola certainly isn’t advertising it – and that all-too-familiar screen crease is still there. Even the camera setup, despite the new underlying sensor technology, hasn’t evolved much in terms of layout or versatility.
Motorola Razr 60 Ultra. Image credit (trusted reviews)
I know not every generation can come up with a complete reinvention, but I feel like this trend toward refinement has gone on a little too long.
Book-style foldables are having a moment
This feeling of stagnation becomes even more evident when we look at what is happening on the other side of the foldable world.
Book-style foldables have seemingly entered a new phase defined by truly impressive hardware advancements rather than iterative updates. Foldable devices like the Oppo Find N6 and Honor Magic V5 are pushing hardware boundaries in ways that would have seemed unrealistic just a few years ago.
Oppo Find N6. Image credit (trusted reviews)
We’re talking about very thin and light models that rival traditional bar-style phones when folded, combined with large interior screens with increasingly imperceptible folds, large batteries, and increasingly powerful camera systems. The gap between high-end foldable phones and traditional flagship phones is closing much faster than expected.
What’s most confusing about all of this is that flip and book-style foldables started in the same place. The first Galaxy Z Flip and Z Fold devices followed the same pattern of small, incremental updates from year to year, but even as book-style foldables have picked up speed, clamshells seem stuck in that earlier phase.
Samsung is just as guilty
If this was just a Motorola problem, it might be easier to fix. But Samsung – the company that arguably defined the modern flip phone – isn’t doing much to move things forward either.
The Galaxy Z Flip 7 is a perfect example. It’s undoubtedly a refined device, but one that feels extremely close to its predecessor in many areas. The design is familiar, the improvements seem modest, and it lacks the kind of headline-grabbing upgrades we saw in Samsung’s book-style Z Fold 7.
Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 7. Image credit (trusted reviews)
The Z Fold 7, on the other hand, has made great strides in reducing overall thickness and weight, making it one of the thinnest and lightest foldables in its class, with a wider screen cover and a reduced crease on its interior panel.
And that trend appears to be continuing, with rumors around the next-gen Z Flip 8 pointing toward the usual cycle of performance and battery shock rather than anything transformative.
When will flip-style foldables get the same flow?
Book-style foldable phones are evolving rapidly, becoming thinner, lighter, and more convenient with each generation, but foldable phones are starting to look static in comparison.
Motorola Razr 60 Ultra. Image credit (trustworthy reviews)
What’s particularly interesting is that flip phones don’t really have a shortage of areas for improvement. The screen crease is even more noticeable than it should be on many clamshell models, they could be thinner and lighter, and battery life – while improved – still lags behind traditional flagships. There’s also the all-important durability, with most lagging behind the improved IP ratings of foldables like the IP68-rated Pixel 10 Pro Fold.
Of course, there is a practical argument to be made here; Clamshell foldables have less internal space to work with, making it harder to squeeze in bigger batteries or more advanced cooling systems — but that doesn’t entirely explain the widening gap, especially when some book-style foldables are now surprisingly compact in their own right.
So what about flip phones?
Right now, they still serve a purpose; they’re sleek, compact and, for many, more accessible than their book-style counterparts on the big screen. But the feeling of momentum just isn’t there anymore, and in a rapidly evolving category like foldables, that’s a bit of a problem.
The hope is that this is just a temporary slowdown rather than a long-term trend, because if flip foldables are to keep up, they don’t need iterative upgrades; they need their own shine.
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