Upcoming Foldable Phones That Should Hit The Market In 2023
Foldable phones are getting really impressive. The early reliability worries of these new devices are slowly going disappearing as more foldable phones hit the market. While Samsung has held the lead since the format was introduced, other phone makers are coming for the crown. There are more foldable phones set to come out in 2023 than ever before, and many of them are offering new features, lower prices, and exciting software features to enhance the foldable experience.
Announcements, teasers, and leaks for foldable phones this year have been abundant throughout 2023. A few key smartphone companies are expected to debut their foldable phones, while a few others are revising devices that have already arrived. You won't have to settle for just one form factor, either. There are new clamshell foldables under development, as well as book-style foldables if that's more your style.
Here are all the upcoming foldable phones that should be hitting the market in 2023.
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5
You can't discuss foldable phones without mentioning Samsung's flagship, the Galaxy Z Fold. This series is on an annual refresh, with the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 expected to arrive in August 2023. The Galaxy Z Fold 4 was released at the Samsung Galaxy Unpacked event in August 2022, and we anticipate the same for the Galaxy Z Fold 5.
The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 will likely stick with the winning formula of Samsung's Fold design but with a few minor cues taken from the S23 Ultra. Rumors have claimed that the Z Fold 5 will have a cover screen measuring 6.2 inches and a 7.6-inch inner folding display. We can expect both screens to be high-brightness LTPO AMOLED displays. On the camera side of things, leaks have hinted that you can expect the same setup to be carried over, so we may not see a 200-megapixel camera like the one on the Galaxy S23 Ultra.
The major changes expected this year involve the hinge and the crease of the folding display. We hope to see a waterdrop-type display and hinge assembly this time around, which comes with a much-reduced display crease. On the performance side of things, we can expect Samsung to pack this one with a Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chip, which should make it one of the best Android phones available.
Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5
The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip is the less-known Samsung foldable, but it is the one with the bigger appeal. The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 has some tough competition, but Samsung is likely to keep up with the pace. We expect the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 to launch alongside the Galaxy Z Fold 5 in August 2023.
The Oppo Find N2 Flip popularized a larger cover screen on a flip phone, and the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 is expected to follow. Multiple sources have confirmed that the Z Flip 5 will have a 3.4-inch cover display, a step up from the 1.9-inch cover screen on the Galaxy Z Flip 4. Samsung's foldable software is much more advanced than most of its competitors, so this bigger cover display is likely to come with software features that will make the Galaxy Z Flip 5 more usable when folded.
The inner display will also likely get the same improvements as the Galaxy Z Fold 5, with a reduced crease and a new hinge design. Likewise, it looks like Samsung will pack the Galaxy Z Flip 5 will come with a Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset. Benchmark leaks, however, suggest that it may come with a performance bump over the Galaxy S23. Further leaks have suggested the camera setup on the Galaxy Z Flip 5 will be similar to the Galaxy Z Flip 4, with two 12-megapixel cameras, but the sensors will be larger.
OnePlus Foldable
Samsung may have the lead on foldables, but the other big players are close behind. OnePlus has produced several great phones over the years, and its next big one is going to be a foldable phone. At the Mobile World Congress 2023, OnePlus confirmed it will launch its first foldable smartphone is coming in Q3 2023. The company hasn't officially announced what kind of foldable this would be, so it could be a clamshell flip phone or a book-type foldable. OnePlus may follow in the footsteps of parent company Oppo by launching a book-type foldable phone first, followed by a flip phone. It's also possible that we get to see both of these phones launch together.
A leak from earlier this year did give us the possible names of these new foldable phones by revealing copyright filings hinting that they could be named the OnePlus V Fold and the OnePlus V Flip. There isn't any concrete information yet about the hardware, but OnePlus could base these devices on the formula Oppo established. That might mean a 5.5-inch outer display and a 7.1-inch main display on the OnePlus V Fold, like on the Oppo Find N2. Alternatively, OnePlus could go with whatever dimensions end up appearing on the upcoming Oppo Find N3.
The OnePlus V Flip will also probably take cues from the Oppo Find N2 Flip. We can expect flagship-tier hardware here, with the V Fold likely shipping with a Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chip. The OnePlus V Flip will likely get the same chip unless OnePlus decides to go with the MediaTek Dimensity 9000 route.
Vivo X Fold2
The recently announced Vivo X Fold2 is also expected to hit the market in 2023. Vivo is also affiliated with Oppo and OnePlus, as they all fall under the BBK Electronics umbrella, but Vivo seems to have a different strategy. The Vivo X Fold2 is a much larger book-type foldable and quite different from the Oppo Find N2.
The Vivo X Fold2 has an impressive spec sheet. The X Fold2 comes with a 6.53-inch external display with a 2520×1080 resolution. The phone unfolds into a massive 8.03-inch main display with a 2160×1916 resolution, making it one of the largest foldable phones out there. It weighs a whopping 279 grams, making it one of the heavier foldable phones as well.
Inside we'll be getting a Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset, UFS 4.0 storage, and a 4800mAh battery. 120W fast charging will also be present. On the camera side of things, you can expect the optical goodness we've come to see from Vivo's flagships. There's a triple camera setup, with a 50-megapixel primary camera with f/1.8 aperture, a 108-degree FoV 12-megapixel f/2.0 ultrawide camera, and a 12-megapixel portrait camera with 47mm focal length.
The biggest question that remains is where the Vivo X Fold2 will be available, as it currently seems unlikely to see wide distribution in the US. Vivo has also announced the Vivo X Flip, which shares some similarities with the Oppo Find N2 Flip.
Huawei Mate X3
Huawei may have gotten banned in America, but that isn't deterring its foldable plans. Despite not having access to Google services anymore, Huawei has still been putting out some stellar phones. The Huawei Mate X3 is the latest foldable phone from the company. It launched in China in March 2023, and Huawei is all set to launch it globally later this year. A teaser from Huawei highlights a Huawei P60 global launch event set for May 9, 2023, and the Mate X3 will likely be launched alongside or soon after.
We know the hardware specifications of the Huawei Mate X3 already, and it looks like a pretty solid phone. You get a 6.4-inch cover display with a resolution of 2504x1080 pixels. The main display is a 7.85-inch screen with a 2496x2224 pixels resolution. The phone is powered by a Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1 chipset, so you're not getting the latest chip here, but it's good enough. A surprising inclusion is the nano memory card slot which uses up one of the two SIM slots. This is a smaller version of the microSD card slot that has gone the way of the headphone jack and has been missing from most Android phones for a while now.
Huawei has always had some of the best cameras you can find on a smartphone, and the Mate X3 delivers a 50-megapixel main camera, an 8-megapixel periscope telephoto, and a 13-megapixel ultrawide camera. This is all packed in an elegant frame that's considerably thinner than the Huawei Mate X2 but still packs in a 4,800mAh battery.
Motorola Razr 2023
The iconic Moto Razr was reborn as a flip-style foldable smartphone, and we should get the third iteration sometime in 2023. Lenovo's CEO told CNBC in March 2023 that a new Razr is coming "very soon," with some rumors pointing to a June release.
Motorola has pursued a different strategy for the Razr with every iteration, and this appears to be the case with the 2023 Razr as well. There have been a few leaks about the 2023 Razr, and it looks like there will be two models for the Razr this year. However, unlike most foldable phone makers, these two models will be both clamshell models, with no book-style foldable in sight. The two models have had multiple rumored names at this point with some claiming that the more affordable model will be called either the Razr 2023 or Razr Lite and the costlier model will be called the Razr Plus 2023 or the Razr 40 Ultra.
The regular Razr 2023 (Razr Lite) will come with a smaller cover display, and the cover area will also see two cameras and an LED flash next to the smaller cover screen. The Razr 40 Ultra is expected to have a much larger cover screen, engulfing the dual cameras and a large portion of the shut cover area. Other leaks have indicated that it will run on a Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 chipset and at least 8GB of RAM.
Google Pixel Fold
Google is set to enter the foldable phone market with the Google Pixel Fold. Leaks have indicated that Google will debut the Pixel Fold at Google I/O 2023 on May 10 and the device will become available on June 27.
There are quite a few details about the Pixel Fold out there, some coming from leaks and others being calculated guesses. The first one is that a Google Tensor chip will power it. However, it's not completely clear whether Google will go with the existing G2 or debut a new Tensor chip — perhaps the G3. Renders show a device that is shorter than the Galaxy Z Fold 4, but also wider. The rumor pointed at a 5.8-inch cover display and a 7.6-inch main display. The Pixel camera visor is staying, although the renders showed it as a floating island on the back, disconnected from the side of the phone.
Coming to the cameras, the phone will have a triple-camera setup on the back, which could be the exact same setup as the Pixel 8 Pro. A CNBC report has also claimed that the Pixel Fold will feature "the most durable hinge on a foldable" and come in at a hefty price upward of $1,700. However, other leaks have indicated a lower price and claimed that it may be called Pixel Notepad, which may mean a stylus may be on the cards.
Xiaomi Mi Mix Fold 3
Xiaomi makes some excellent phones, and its foldable line has also been great so far, being a part of its innovative Mi Mix series, with the Mi Mix Fold 3 expected to launch in 2023. The original Mi Mix Fold launched in April 2021, and the Mi Mix Fold 2 was released on August 2022, which positions the Mi Mix Fold 3 for a 2023 launch unless Xiaomi decides to switch it up.
In regard to the specifications, we have next to no details yet. We can expect it to be a book-style foldable and come with a large 8-inch main display. It's likely to be powered by the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chip. Other specifications may remain iterative over the Mi Mix Fold 2, but we're likely to see some new goodies. The 1-inch camera sensor Xiaomi has been deploying lately may be an unlikely inclusion unless Xiaomi decides to make the Fold 3 much thicker.
Oppo Find N3
The Oppo family of devices gets another entry on this list, but this one is also likely to debut much later in the year. Oppo has debuted Find N models in December twice in a row, and the third time is expected to follow in December 2023. There aren't too many leaks about this phone yet, but we do have some details courtesy of recent leaks.
Potential specifications include three 50-megapixel cameras like the Find X6 Pro, but rumors indicate all three will be Sony IMX890, unlike the X6 Pro which has one IMX989 for the 1-inch primary camera. The battery capacity should get a bump to 4,800mAh, in addition to the battery and overall form factor. The Oppo Find N3 is expected to be powered by the SnapDragon 8 Gen 2 chipset, bringing it up to speed with the current generation of smartphones. This phone could also be the blueprint for the OnePlus Fold.