While contemporary flip phones like the Motorola Razr and Galaxy Z Flip have served as my primary devices for several years, I’ve explored larger book-style foldables intermittently. The Pixel 9 Pro Fold initially piqued my interest in this form factor, while the OPPO Find N5 genuinely amazed me with its impressive design and build quality. Yet, none of them convinced me that book-style foldables were the preferred choice.
Then everything shifted with the arrival of the Galaxy Z TriFold and Motorola Razr Fold. These two devices were recently unveiled, and one is already available in select markets. To my astonishment, both phones are prompting me to reconsider book-style foldables, making me seriously contemplate switching from my loyalty to flip phones. Nevertheless, the Razr Fold and Galaxy Z TriFold attract me for distinctly different reasons.
The Razr Fold presents Motorola with an opportunity to leverage one of its core strengths. For years, Motorola has been primarily viewed as the go-to budget brand, and it still holds that image to some degree today. The company’s Moto G series continues to thrive in global markets, delivering substantial value in devices that don’t break the bank.
The same can be said for its premium models. Motorola has effectively managed to strike a balance between specifications and pricing, often underpricing its competitors. The Motorola Edge Plus 2023 exemplifies this philosophy, offering flagship specifications that compete with (and in some respects surpass) the Galaxy S23 Plus for significantly less.
I anticipate Motorola will apply this same approach to the Razr Fold. Foldable phones are already quite expensive, with Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold 7 surpassing its predecessor at a staggering $2,000. As attractive as the phone may be, that price doesn’t entice me. However, if it were a few hundred dollars less, I might reconsider.
A recent rumor suggests that Motorola will set the price of the Razr Fold at just $1,500 upon its release later this year. Although Motorola has yet to officially announce any pricing details, that would already position it below most new book-style foldables, which typically start at $1,800 in the U.S. Even with potential concerns over losing a significant U.S. carrier, that price remains appealing.
While the superb Razr Ultra 2025 is arguably slightly costlier than it ought to be, it follows years of providing compelling flip phones at parallel or lower prices than its closest rivals. Part of the allure of flip phones lies in their affordability compared to book-style foldables. The company still offers one of the most budget-friendly flip phones available in the Razr 2025, which arguably represents a better value than the Galaxy Z Flip 7 FE.
With the Razr Fold, Motorola can replicate this success, undercut its competitors, and provide something more budget-conscious.
Furthermore, Motorola arguably offers the finest overall flip phone experience, employing the cover screen in ways that others cannot or will not mimic. Who’s to say it can’t accomplish something equally distinctive with a fold? After all, Motorola is introducing an S Pen-like stylus with the Razr Fold at a time when Samsung has abandoned S Pen support for its foldable models.
The Galaxy Z TriFold does what we thought other foldables could achieve. Book-style foldables have always been regarded by some as a blend of a traditional smartphone and a tablet. They provide a unique capability to function as a typical phone while also presenting the advantage of transforming into a “tablet-like” experience with a significantly larger display. However, they generally feature a meager 8 inches and adopt a more square aspect ratio, which doesn’t precisely convey “tablet.”
That isn’t to say the larger displays on these foldables lack utility, but the overall experience still feels constrained compared to a conventional Android tablet.
To address this limitation, the Galaxy Z TriFold embraces that concept by expanding to a full 10-inch display. This size is on the lower spectrum of most tablets, which are typically 10 or 11 inches, while still offering a more tablet-like aspect ratio that isn’t found in bi-fold foldables. The outcome is a more versatile experience that should prove beneficial.
Samsung has also taken it a step further by allowing the TriFold to operate in a standalone DeX mode, meaning you won’t require an external display to utilize it, similar to its tablets. Unlike the standard One UI experience, this mode provides a more desktop-like atmosphere, enabling users to freely arrange windows and run applications side-by-side without the constraints of the usual mobile experience.
It also allows for running up to 20 apps across multiple desktop workspaces, positioning the Galaxy Z TriFold as the ultimate multitasking device. Essentially, you can view it as a hybrid between a smartphone and tablet experience, seamlessly merging the two in a manner that feels appropriate for such a device.