9to5Google Weekender: The summer of foldables starts this week

Ben Schoon | May 28 2023 - 9:00 am PT

Foldables are finally hitting their stride, with a summer full of foldable smartphones just about to begin.

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First up on the docket on June 1 is the Motorola Razr. The company has confirmed a launch event for next Thursday where two foldables are expected. The “Razr Ultra” will surely be the highlight of the show, with a more affordable Razr also coming. The difference between the two phones is largely expected to boil down to the cover display, with the “Ultra” having an expansive screen that can be used for full apps and more. Meanwhile, the more affordable model would have a very small display that just shows a few widgets.

After that, we’ll see the Google Pixel Fold start shipping around June 27. The first Pixel foldable was announced back at I/O earlier this month, and looks fairly promising. The design and price have been criticized by some, but the software, cameras, and overall package are so far quite attractive, and it’s also the first book-style foldable to be sold in the US outside of Samsung’s lineup.

Samsung is also coming up quick, with the company set to unveil Galaxy Z Fold 5 and Galaxy Z Flip 5 on July 26 according to recent rumors. The Fold 5 is largely expected to be unchanged from the Fold 4, aside from a new hinge design that will lessen the crease and result in a much thinner device.

The Galaxy Z Flip 5, on the other hand, will also get that new hinge alongside a much bigger outer display. That should be a game-changer for the flip phone.

Finally, we also know that OnePlus is set to unveil its first foldable this year, which is largely expected to be sometime in August. We still don’t have a ton of specifics around the device just yet, but it may end up being based on a design from Oppo, which is great news given how good the Oppo Find N2 series has been.

Of course, these aren’t the only foldables in the pipeline, but they are the ones we know the most about thus far. We also saw quite a few foldables hit the global market over the first few months of this year, including the Huawei Mate X3 and Honor Magic Vs. Vivo also launched a flip phone, and Oppo brought the Find N2 Flip to the global market.

Foldables are happening folks, and it’s getting exciting.

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