The first Samsung Galaxy Z Fold launched back in 2019, and at the time it felt more like a concept than a product. The hinge was fragile, the crease was distracting, the price was absurd, and it felt like something you’d buy to show off rather than actually use. A lot has changed since then. Seven years of engineering iteration have produced foldable phones that are genuinely mature devices — but they still aren’t for everyone, and the decision to buy one deserves honest scrutiny.
As a repair shop, we have a particularly clear view of how foldables hold up in real life. We see what goes wrong, we know what repairs cost, and we can tell you honestly whether these phones are ready for mainstream use. Here’s our verdict in 2026.
What’s Actually Gotten Better
The improvements over early-generation foldables are real and significant.
The crease is much less noticeable. The flexible display on a book-style foldable (like the Galaxy Z Fold series or Pixel 10 Pro Fold) still has a crease where the screen folds, but manufacturers have refined the hinge mechanism and the ultra-thin glass to the point where you stop noticing it within days of use. It’s visible if you tilt the phone in direct light, but during normal use it simply fades into the background.
Hinge reliability has genuinely improved. Early foldables had hinge mechanisms that could feel loose or gritty after a year of use. Current generation hinges are far more engineered — they have defined stopping positions, consistent resistance, and much better dust and debris management. The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold and Flip series now carry robust IP ratings for water and dust resistance, which removes one of the biggest practical concerns for everyday use.
The Google Pixel 10 Pro Fold is a milestone in this regard — it’s the first foldable with full IP68 dust and water resistance, bringing it in line with conventional flagship phones. That’s a significant step forward for peace of mind.
Software has caught up. Both Android and iOS (in the case of potential future foldables) have adapted to take advantage of larger folded screens. Split-screen multitasking, app continuity when opening and closing the fold, and tablet-optimised apps have all improved dramatically. Using a book-style foldable for productivity — documents, spreadsheets, video calls — now makes genuine sense.
Flip-style foldables have matured into excellent daily drivers. Phones like the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 7 and the Motorola Razr 50 have found a real market. The compact, pocket-friendly closed form combined with a full-size screen when open is a legitimately appealing proposition, and these devices have become reliable enough for everyday use.
What’s Still Not Great
Honest foldable coverage has to include the trade-offs, and there are still real ones.
The price is still a barrier. Book-style foldables like the Z Fold 7 start at over £1,500. The Pixel 10 Pro Fold is similarly priced. Even flip-style foldables like the Z Flip 7 are typically £800-1,000. These are premium prices for what are still, in some ways, premium experiments.
They’re thicker than conventional phones. Especially book-style foldables — even folded, they’re noticeably thicker than a standard flagship. Flip foldables are more pocket-friendly when closed but still add bulk when open. If ultra-slim pocketability is important to you, a foldable isn’t the answer.
The inner screen is still more fragile than a conventional display. The flexible OLED panel used inside a foldable is, by its nature, more delicate than a rigid glass display. It’s more susceptible to damage from sharp objects, fingernails in the wrong place, and debris caught in the hinge area. Manufacturers include protective guidelines — don’t use a stylus on the inner screen, keep it away from sand and grit — and these warnings exist for good reason.
Repairability: This Is Where It Gets Complicated
As a repair shop, this section matters a lot to us, and we want to be completely straight with you.
Foldable screen repairs are significantly more complex and expensive than conventional phone repairs. The inner flexible display is not a standard component — it’s a highly specialised part that costs several hundred pounds to replace, and many repair shops don’t carry stock of it or are set up to do the work. This is partly because the demand is still relatively low and partly because the repair requires specific tooling and experience.
Even cracking the outer cover screen (the smaller display on the outside of a flip or fold) is a more involved repair than a conventional screen replacement, because the way foldables are assembled makes access more complex.
Hinge mechanisms are durable, but they do wear over time, particularly on flip-style phones that are opened and closed dozens of times a day. A worn or damaged hinge is a specialised repair that not every shop can handle.
Battery replacement is also more involved on foldables than on conventional phones, due to the way the device is constructed to accommodate the folding mechanism.
The bottom line from our perspective: if you own a foldable and something goes wrong out of warranty, expect repair costs to be meaningfully higher than for a conventional phone. This is worth factoring into your total cost of ownership when deciding whether to buy one.
Who Should Actually Buy a Foldable Phone?
Despite the caveats, there are real use cases where a foldable makes genuine sense.
Power users who need a large screen but don’t want to carry a tablet will find the book-style foldable compelling. Working from a foldable in a coffee shop — reviewing documents, managing emails across multiple windows, video calling — is a genuinely productive experience that a conventional phone can’t match.
People who watch a lot of video will love the expanded screen real estate. Streaming on a Z Fold in horizontal orientation is closer to a tablet experience than a phone experience, and it’s brilliant for long flights or commutes.
Creatives and note-takers benefit from the ability to use the inner screen as a sketch pad or reference while working on another app. Some foldables support stylus input on the inner screen, which opens up even more possibilities.
Those who love gadgets and early technology — if part of the joy of a phone is the experience of using something genuinely different, foldables deliver that. They’re fun, they get conversations started, and they make everyday tasks feel a bit more interesting.
Who Should Avoid Foldables (For Now)
If you regularly drop your phone, a foldable is probably not a wise investment at this point. The risk profile is higher — more ways for things to go wrong, more expensive when they do. Get a conventional phone with a good case and a tempered glass screen protector, and you’ll save yourself stress and money.
If you’re budget-conscious, the premium over a comparable conventional flagship is still significant and hard to justify unless you genuinely need the form factor.
If you’re hard on your devices, work outdoors, or regularly expose your phone to dusty or grimy environments — even with IP ratings, foldables have more gaps and seams than conventional phones, and that means more potential entry points for debris.
Our Honest Advice at GenioTech
Foldables are no longer a gimmick. For the right person, they’re an excellent choice. But they’re still a specialist product for a specific kind of user — not a mainstream recommendation for everyone.
If you’re considering a foldable and want a straight-talking view on whether it makes sense for your lifestyle, come in for a chat. And if you already have a foldable that needs attention — whether it’s a crease that’s worsening, a hinge that’s feeling loose, or a screen that’s been damaged — bring it in for a free assessment. We’ll take a look and give you an honest view of what the repair involves and what it’ll cost.