Over the last 5 years, there has been a big push for foldable phones. These are devices that have folding touchscreens, mimicking the clamshell phones that were once in everyone’s pockets. The Motorola Razr was one of the first commercial foldable phones to hit the market, but other phone companies have followed suit with their own take on this new kind of technology.

While foldable phones are far from the mass adoption of regular smartphones, they are quickly gaining more popularity around the world. If you’ve been wondering whether this is the right time to get a hold of a foldable phone – keeping reading to find out more.

The Cost

The first thing to consider is the cost of a foldable. Due to the fact that it’s a relatively new technology and somewhat experimental, they tend to go for a high premium, usually higher than even the latest flagship devices. This is a part of the reason that they tend to be more popular among well-known YouTubers and tech testers, but adoption by the general public has yet to happen because of the higher cost. It’s something to keep in mind when – especially when we consider that buying a second-hand foldable device might not be a good idea.

Repairs

Another aspect to keep in mind is the overall repair cost of the device. If something does go wrong, it might be impossible to find a repair shot nearby, and it will mean that the device will always have to go back to the manufacturer. It’s also worth noting that despite the claims that the screen is as tough as a regular smartphone, there always exists the possibility that it might form a crease after enough usage, or that dust might become lodged in the hinge mechanism. If you happen to be close to an official repair centre and have a backup phone in case something does go wrong, a foldable might be more appealing.

Hardware Specs

The specs of the device can be dependent on what company you decide to buy it from, but it’s not usually that a foldable device typically has weaker specs for the price that it’s being offered at. The original Motorola Razr, for instance, was released with 256GB of storage and 8GB of RAM. While these specs are certainly not bad for a smartphone, they are much weaker than other devices at the same price point, but still more than enough for most usage, from messaging, watching videos, or browsing the latest Melbourne Cup odds. It’s speculated that foldable technology will begin to come down in price over the next few years as more and more people adopt it on a wider scale, but at the moment the unique foldable screen means that the price will remain extremely high.

Foldable technology is quite new, but it has the potential to revolutionise the way we use mobile devices, especially once the price becomes more palatable for the general public.