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Book-style foldable smartphones have come a long way since their beginnings. These days, they’re reliable pieces of technology, as the tech has evolved. They’ve come from extremely senstive and kind of gimmicky devices to very useful gadgets that allow you to do more than regular smartphones. There are still many skeptics out there, though, which is understandable. Foldables are also not for everyone, which is also understandable. Foldables are far from perfect, and there are still some pain points to consider. Still, there are some considerable advantages that foldable phones, which is what we’ll talk about here. In fact, we’ll talk about the advantages of book-style foldables (yes, we’re focusing on those), as well as their disadvantages, and… well, former disadvantages, kind of. Let’s get to it!
5 advantages of using book-style foldables
There are quite a few advantages of using book-style foldables, but we’ll focus on 5 of them here. These ones I’ve decided to highlight after spending years using book-style foldables as my main devices. Just to be clear, flip phones are not considered here as, quite frankly, they do not really offer a single advantage from this list. They do have their own pluses, of course, but in my opinion, they’re far less useful and have completely other use cases. I’ve always imagined foldables as being regular phones that transform into tablets. Well, they kind of are these days, at least some of them. A book-style foldable needs to be both thin and light enough, and there are only a couple of devices that meet those demands in the market at the moment. Devices like the OPPO Find N5 and HONOR Magic V3. We’ll talk more about that later on.
A superior typing experience
This is something that always come to mind when people ask me why I use a foldable. It’s simply more comfortable to type on. I’m using a split keyboard when typing on the main display, and it’s a great experience. With Gboard, for example, you can fine-tune the size and everything else, and thus get your ideal typing experience. If you like huge keys, no problem. If you like smaller ones, that’s not an issue either. Once you get the hang of it, typing on the main screen will be something you prefer. I use it to send tons of emails and messages on a daily basis, on top of doing notes and various other stuff. It can really be a great experience.
Desktop-level browsing
Browsing the internet feels just right on foldable devices. That is especially true if you’re using a browser that has a tablet layout, and most of the popular choices do. So, for example, I use Brave as my browser of choice, and browsing the Internet on it feels outstanding. You’re getting a similar experience on Chrome, by the way. You get best of both worlds, as you can type the square tab icons to get all your tabs listed in blocks all over the display. The main view, however, offers you tabs at the top, like they’d be the web layout. That way you can organize those tabs into tab groups, if you’re into heavy organization, like I am, for example. Most of the time I use a browser on the phone, I use it on the main display, and it’s not even close. It’s just a better experience overall. Not only do you get a better UI, but you do have more space to enjoy websites.
Proper multitasking
Multitasking is on a whole other level when it comes to foldables, especially the right foldables. OnePlus and OPPO foldables are the only ones that offer a feature called Open Canvas (OnePlus) / Boundless View (OPPO). It’s the same feature, but it’s called differently based on the device you use it on. That feature allows you to run three apps on the screen at the same time. Think of it as split screen, but with three apps. You can see two of them on the screen at the same time, while the third one is tucked on the side of the screen, but still kind of visible. Depending on the app layout, it will either sit on the side vertically or horizontally. Whenever you need to use it, you just tap that part of the display, and the layout shifts. Using three apps this way was a game-changer for me, and it still is. I wish more companies would copy this feature, as it really allows you to get your multitasking juices running. I kind of wish we could use 4 apps at the same time, if not more.
If you don’t need three apps running on the screen at the same time, there’s always an option to do two. A regular split-screen feature is an option on pretty much every foldable smartphone these days. Simply pop two apps on the screen, side-by-side, and do what you need to do. It’s great for note-taking, for example, as that’s what I use it for very often. I also use it to calculate my monthly expenses, for example, divide links to my team, compile some work emails, and more. There are a lot of options here. There’s also the floating window options, it’s called that on OPPO devices, but it’s available on many other foldables and phones in general. You can basically get an app to run in a small window on the screen and thus enable another level of multitasking. This is a multitasking feature that I, personally, use the least.
More useful apps… most of the time
Using apps on the main display on foldable devices can be a great experience, but it can also be a frustrating one. Luckily, these days, quite a few apps adapt nicely to large displays. In the beginning, it was a very frustrating experience. For example, YouTube, is a great example. You can watch the video, and also read the comments at the same time, without skipping a beat on the video itself. That app is simply a joy to use, as it has a special design for large devices. The same goes for Chrome, for example, and many other apps out there. You simply get a proper layout for large devices.
On the flip side, some apps are really frustrating, and I always take Reddit as an example. Using that application on the main display without changing its aspect ratio is a frustrating experience. It simply looks horrible and is not adapted to large devices (horizontal view) at all. I hope that Reddit will come to its senses soon and change that. It should have been done a long time ago, in my opinion. That’s only one example, of course.
2-in-1
Using a larger touchscreen feels less restrictive in general. That’s simple logic, but it’s something that you’ll always be aware of when you start using a book-style foldable smartphone. You’ll balance your use cases between the two displays, that’s for sure. Some tasks, like one-handed use while you’re in transit and scrolling TikTok, are meant for the smaller display. Watching videos on YouTube, typing emails, and researching your next trip, well, the main display is the way to go. I’m only sharing some examples from my personal use, of course. The point is, many tasks that you usually do on your non-foldable smartphone will feel much better to do on the main display of a foldable. You’ll get a lot more screen real estate, which is the whole point.
3 (former) disadvantages of using book-style foldable
Here we’re talking about some former disadvantages of using a book-style foldable… well, former, kind of. These are former disadvantages for a few smartphones only, like the OPPO Find N5, mainly due to hardware reasons. OPPO managed to do something really great with this smartphone, and the vast majority of devices out there still face these issues. In order not to spoil everything ahead of time, let’s jump right to it.
Thickness
The OPPO Find N5 is the thinnest book-style foldable out there, and the HONOR Magic V3 is not far behind. Both of these smartphones feel like regular smartphones when they’re folded, which is the whole point of a book-style foldable, in my opinion. When they’re closed, they feel like regular phones, mainly because of how thin they are. Let’s take the OPPO FInd N5 as an example. That device is 8.9mm thick when folded. That actually makes it thinner than the Vivo X100 Ultra, which is a regular smartphone. It also makes it only 0.6mm thicker than the iPhone 16 Pro Max, which is also a regular smartphone. You really have to try using it to see how far foldables have come, and how comfortable it feels when folded. It would be easy to trick people that it’s a regular smartphone.
Heft
Many would say that book-style foldables are still too heavy. For some of them, that’s absolutely true. The thing is, some, are actually now as light as regular smartphones. The OPPO Find N5 and HONOR Magic V3 are once again great examples. Those two phones weigh 229 and 226/230 grams, respectively. The iPhone 16 Pro Max, a regular flagship phone, weighs 227 grams. The Galaxy Z Fold 6 weighs 239 grams, the Galaxy S25 Ultra 218 grams, and so on. The point is, the heft is no longer an issue, at least when it comes to some book-style foldables, hence the ‘former’ disadvantages shoutout.
Water threat
Water has been a concern for foldable phones for a long time. Well, that is no longer the case, at least not as much. The OPPO Find N5, in specific, comes with IPX6, IPX8, and IPX9 water resistance ratings and is industry-leading in that regard too. The HONOR Magic V3 is IPX8 certified, while the Galaxy Z Fold 6 is IP48 dust and water resistant. In other words, all of those phones can be caught in the rain, no problem. The OPPO Find N5 can withstand even water jets, while Samsung’s latest foldable can even handle some dust. Some of these phones can even handle drops just fine, as long as the display isn’t hit directly.
2 current concerns
There are still some concerns related to book-style foldables and foldables in general, actually. I’ve decided to highlight the two that come to mind the most and the ones that I warn people most frequently about. They regard dust and the sensitivity of the main (foldable) display on these devices.
The dust factor
Other than the Galaxy Z Fold 6, no other mainstream book-style foldables come with a dust resistance rating. So, general use won’t be an issue, but I definitely do not recommend carrying your foldable phone on the beach or anything like that.
Sensitive main display
No matter how you look at it, the main (foldable) display on foldable smartphones is sensitive. It no longer feels like a plasticky mess, as it did when foldables first came to the scene, but… it’s still sensitive. it does feel great to use, in all honesty, but you have to be far more careful with it. For example, if you have longer nails, pressing on the display strongly enough will leave a mark, which cannot happen on regular display, or on cover displays of foldable phones. So… be careful.