A flip phone is a mobile phone with a clamshell design, where the device folds in half. When closed, it becomes compact, protecting the screen and making it easy to carry, and it can be “flipped” open to answer calls or access features. Popular in the late 1990s and early 2000s, phones like the Motorola Razr became iconic for their sleek, pocket-friendly design and satisfying opening and closing mechanism. While touchscreen smartphones largely replaced traditional flip phones, the design has seen a resurgence in modern foldable phones, which integrate flexible screens to bring back the flip concept with new, advanced technology.
Talking of the modern-day flip phones, the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip series is the most dominant model in the market. Capitalising on its early success, Motorola resurrected its Razr brand with the latest technology. Furthermore, Chinese companies like Honor and Xiaomi are doing very well in this space too. They have been able to cram in 4,500mAh+ batteries into their flips without sacrificing the thickness. Likewise, BlackHero, Infinix, and Tecno offer some of the cheapest flips. Meanwhile, this resurgence has revitalised traditional flip phones too inspiring countless lookalike knock-offs but with a keypad.