Flip foldables

The flip takes a phone-shaped screen and folds it in half across the middle. Closed, it is a compact square that disappears into a jeans pocket or a small bag. Open, it is an ordinary tall phone with a crease you stop noticing after a day.

Where the book fold adds screen, the flip removes bulk. That is the entire pitch, and it works. The outer display on the closed half has grown from a notification strip to a screen that runs widgets, replies and full apps on the newer models, so many things never need the phone opened at all. Because the main cameras sit next to that outer screen, it also makes a flip the best selfie camera you can buy: you get the real lenses with a preview in front of you.

The compromises follow from the size. The battery is split across two halves and is usually smaller than in a flat flagship. The cameras are good rather than class-leading. And the hinge, while durable now, still asks you to keep grit out of it.

Pick a flip when you want a phone that is smaller to carry, not bigger to use. If the appeal is the fold itself and you want more screen when it opens, look at a book or passport fold.