Are Foldable Phones Worth It? A Buyer's Guide vs Traditional Smartphones

If you're asking whether foldable phones are worth it, here's the direct answer: for most people buying their next phone on a normal budget, a traditional flat smartphone is still the safer choice. For a specific type of buyer — someone who wants a genuinely bigger screen for multitasking, or a genuinely smaller phone in their pocket — a foldable is worth it, and the case has gotten stronger as prices have come down from launch pricing.

Foldables aren't new anymore. Samsung, Google, Honor and a few Chinese brands have spent seven years refining hinges, creases and battery life, and current models are a clear step up from the first generation. What hasn't changed much is the price gap versus a normal phone. So this guide sticks to the practical question: is a foldable phone worth it for how you actually use your phone, not how impressive it looks in a demo video.

We'll go through what you gain, what you give up, and where the two current Samsung foldables — the compact Z Flip 7 and the wide Z Fold 7 — land once you look past the marketing.

What Is a Foldable Phone, Exactly?

There are two shapes on the market today. Wide foldables ("book-style") open outward like a small book — a normal-sized cover screen on the outside, and a tablet-sized display of around 8 inches on the inside. Compact foldables ("flip" phones) fold top-to-bottom, shrinking a regular phone screen down into a small square that fits a shirt pocket.

Both run standard Android, with software adapted to the fold. Multiple apps can sit side by side on a wide foldable's inner screen, and a flip phone's cover display can handle notifications, replies and a camera viewfinder without opening the phone. On current models like the Z Fold 7 and Z Flip 7, this is core to how the phone is meant to be used, not a bolted-on extra.

Foldable Phones vs Traditional Smartphones: The Real Differences

Weighing foldable phones worth buying vs traditional smartphones comes down to a handful of concrete differences. A few of these are general tendencies rather than fixed rules for every model, so treat the table as a starting point.

Category	Foldable Phone	Traditional Smartphone
Starting price	Higher — commonly €900 to €1,900+ RRP	Lower — flagships from around €700
Durability	Flexible inner display, hinge is a mechanical wear part	Rigid glass, no moving parts; many current flagships carry IP68
Screen size	Tablet-sized (fold) or standard phone size when unfolded (flip)	Fixed, typically 6.1–6.9 inches
Pocketability	Flip: smaller folded footprint than any flat phone. Fold: thicker and heavier than a flat phone	Consistent, predictable thickness and weight
Battery life	Hinge and folding panel take up space, so capacity is often a step behind flat flagships at a similar price	More usable volume for battery in the same body size
Camera hardware	Frequently a tier below the same brand's flat flagship, though this varies by model	Usually gets the brand's best sensors first
Repair cost	Higher — inner displays and hinges are specialist, costlier repairs	Lower — screen replacement is a routine, widely available repair
Resale value	Tends to drop faster — smaller second-hand market, some buyer hesitation over hinge wear	Generally holds value better, particularly iPhones

None of these differences is a dealbreaker on its own. Together, they describe a trade: more money and more compromise, in exchange for a form factor that does something a flat phone can't.

What a Foldable Does Better Than a Flat Phone

A foldable earns its price only when the shape changes how you use it. A wide fold gives you a larger workspace for tasks that feel cramped on a normal phone: reading long articles, comparing two apps side by side, replying to messages while checking maps, or reviewing documents without constantly zooming in and out.

A flip phone solves a different problem. It gives you a normal-sized display when open, but takes up far less room in a pocket or small bag when folded. That's not essential for everyone, but it's a daily convenience if compactness is the reason you're considering one.

Both styles can also be useful for hands-free video calls, timed photos and watching video at an angle when the hinge supports a partially folded position. These are useful extras rather than reasons to buy on their own.

The Trade-Offs: What You Give Up

This is the part manufacturer marketing pages tend to skip, so we won't.

• The crease is real. Every folding OLED has a visible line where the display bends. It's much less pronounced on current-generation hinges than on the earliest foldables, but it hasn't disappeared entirely.
• Water and dust resistance can lag behind flat flagships. Some foldables carry a lower IP rating than a typical flat flagship, meaning less protection against dust reaching the hinge over time. Check the exact rating for the model you're buying, since it varies.
• The inner screen is softer than glass. Folding displays use a thin flexible layer rather than rigid glass, so they scratch more easily — a screen protector is worth treating as standard rather than optional.
• Battery life often trails flat flagships at a similar price. The hinge and folding panel take up space a battery would otherwise use.
• Repairs cost more. A cracked inner display or a failing hinge is a costlier, more specialist repair than a cracked screen on a flat phone, and fewer independent shops handle it.

Are Wide Foldables Worth the High Price Tag?

This is really the question behind the price tag, and the honest answer depends on whether you're looking at launch pricing or current pricing. At full RRP, a wide fold like the Z Fold 7 costs close to €1,900 — nearly €1,000 above a strong traditional flagship, a hard gap to justify unless you know you'll use the multitasking screen regularly.

Buy either foldable later in its life cycle, though, and the maths changes. Both current Samsung foldables are sitting well below RRP at HandySwap right now:

At €845, a compact foldable moves into the same territory as several mid-range flat flagships, which makes it a much easier case to justify. At €1,329, the wide fold is still the more expensive option, but the gap to a top flat flagship narrows to a few hundred euros rather than close to a thousand. You can check current stock and colours on the Galaxy Z series page at HandySwap before deciding.

Flip vs Fold: Which Foldable Actually Fits You?

"Foldable phone" isn't one product. The compact flip and the wide fold solve different problems, and mixing them up is the most common buying mistake.

Feature	Galaxy Z Flip 7	Galaxy Z Fold 7
Price at HandySwap	from €845	from €1,329
Fold style	Top-to-bottom (clamshell)	Side-to-side (book)
Main display	6.9", 120 Hz	8", 120 Hz LTPO
Cover display	4.1", edge-to-edge	6.5"
Rear cameras	50 MP main + 12 MP ultra-wide	200 MP main + 12 MP ultra-wide + 10 MP telephoto
Battery	4,300 mAh	4,400 mAh
Charging	25 W wired, 10 W wireless	25 W wired, wireless supported
Folded footprint	Fits a shirt pocket	Thicker and heavier than a flat phone
Best for	Compact size, one-handed use	Multitasking, reading, replacing a small tablet

If the appeal is a compact, pocketable phone, the Z Flip 7 gets you there for roughly €480 less than the Fold. If it's the tablet-sized screen and multitasking you're after, the extra size and cost of the Z Fold 7 is the point — a Flip won't cover that use case.

Who Should Buy a Foldable Phone?

• You regularly multitask, read, or want to retire a small tablet — the Z Fold 7 is built for this.
• You want the smallest folded footprint possible without giving up a full-size screen when open — the Z Flip 7 fits.
• You're buying below RRP rather than at launch price, which meaningfully improves the value case either way.
• You're happy to use a case and screen protector consistently, and treat that as part of owning a foldable rather than an optional extra.

Who Should Skip a Foldable Phone?

• Battery life through a long day matters more to you than form factor — foldables are improving but still tend to trail flat phones at a similar price.
• You're rough on phones or want the simplest possible repair if something breaks. A cracked flat screen is a routine, affordable fix; a foldable's inner display and hinge are not.
• Budget is the deciding factor above everything else, or you want the best camera your money can buy without a form-factor trade-off.

Final Verdict

Foldable phones are worth it for a real, specific group of buyers now, not just early adopters with money to spare. The technology has matured past being a compromise for its own sake, and post-launch pricing has closed a meaningful part of the gap that used to make foldables an easy pass.

They're still not the default recommendation if you want the best phone for your money with the fewest trade-offs — that's still a traditional flagship. But if you already know the form factor solves a problem for you, buying below RRP is where the value is: from €845 for the Z Flip 7 or €1,329 for the Z Fold 7 at HandySwap.

FAQs

Are foldable phones worth buying?

For buyers who want a tablet-sized screen in a pocketable body, or the smallest possible phone footprint, yes. The hinge, crease and battery compromises that made early foldables a harder sell have improved, and current pricing below RRP narrows the gap to traditional flagships.

Is a foldable phone worth the extra money?

At full RRP, a wide fold can cost close to €1,900 — a large premium over a flat flagship. Bought below RRP, such as from €1,329, the gap narrows enough that the extra screen becomes easier to justify if you'll actually use the multitasking day to day.

Are foldable phones durable?

The inner display uses a flexible, more scratch-prone layer than rigid glass, and the hinge is a mechanical part that can wear over years of folding. Used with a case and screen protector, current foldables hold up reasonably well, but they're generally less forgiving of drops and grit than a flat phone.

Can you feel the crease on a foldable phone?

It's visible at certain angles and under some lighting, and can be felt faintly by touch. Current-generation hinges have reduced it noticeably compared with early foldables, though it hasn't been eliminated.

Should I buy the Galaxy Z Flip 7 or Galaxy Z Fold 7?

The Z Flip 7 is the easier starting point: it's closer to a normal phone experience when open, costs several hundred euros less, and the compact folded size is immediately useful. The Z Fold 7 needs a bigger budget and a genuine use case for the larger screen to make sense.