GoKawiilWhile the iPhone Fold is expected to launch later this year, foldable phones appear to be finding their place well before Apple releases its first. It's been a long road to get here since the 2019 release of Samsung's Galaxy Fold, but the maturity of the foldable phone couldn't be coming at a better time. While the early phones in this category were thicker, expensive and had a very noticeable crease, many of these issues are on their way out.
Samsung's Galaxy Z Fold 7, for instance, is thin enough to feel like a standard slab phone while folded. The new Honor Magic V6 has a larger battery capacity than the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra. Huawei's Mate X7 has a 50-megapixel main camera with a 10-stop variable aperture -- a feature previously limited to top-of-the-line camera phones. And Oppo finally fixed the crease issue with its Find N6 foldable phone, making an almost flat inner screen in the process. These are all quality-of-life upgrades that led me to shift from my iPhone 17 Pro Max full-time. I love the foldable phones for their productivity-focused use, and they no longer hold back on design, battery life or (to an extent) cameras.
These improvements appear to be reflected in sales numbers. The global foldable phone shipments were expected to grow 10% in 2025 compared with 2024, according to a December report from market research firm IDC. This number is expected to continue growing in 2026, with an expected 30% year-on-year jump.
This uptake shows that the foldable category is ready for wider audiences, and these features that we're seeing right now are the reasons why they are ready to shine.
Creaseless folding screens are now a reality
The Oppo Find N6 has almost eliminated the crease, as compared to the Galaxy Z Fold 7. Prakhar Khanna/CNET
For the longest time, foldable phones have had a deep bump (crease) running through the middle of their inner screens. While Chinese phone manufacturers minimized it with a water-drop hinge design, the crease has been very much present. That's why seeing the creaseless concept screen from Samsung Display at CES 2026 was one of my highlights of the tradeshow.
However, the mobile vertical, Samsung Mobile, has yet to use it on a consumer product. While the Korean company surprised me with its thin and light Galaxy Z Fold 7, its crease wasn't impressively less. In fact, it has only deepened with use over time. I put it next to the new Oppo Find N6, and the difference was night and day.
The crease on Oppo's Find N6 is barely visible, even under direct light. Andrew Lanxon/CNET
The Find N6 has set a new standard for book-style foldables. Oppo used 3D-printed liquid photopolymer droplets in the gap between the hinge and the inner screen. These droplets filled the imperfections inherent to each hinge mechanism in a bid to reduce the height variance from the industry standard of 0.2mm to just 0.05mm, as per the company.
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