5 Things I DON'T Like About Folding Phones
As a folding phone fanatic since 2020, I've been riding the wave of this exciting technology from the very beginning. But as we move deeper into 2025, it's time for a reality check. While I still love the potential of folding phones, there are some persistent issues that are starting to grate on me. In my recent video, I broke down my top five pet peeves with the current state of folding phones, and I wanted to share those frustrations with you here.
The Astronomical Price Tag & Questionable Durability
Let's be honest, these things are expensive. We're talking well over $1,500, and some models, like the rumored Galaxy Z Fold 7 should be hitting $1,899. And for that kind of money, I expect something that can withstand my normal daily use. I've personally had multiple Pixel Fold devices fail on me. Sure, the warranty/insurance covered the replacements, but the fact that they kept breaking is a major red flag. And it's not just me; there are reports of breakages across different brands. It's just not acceptable for devices in this price bracket.
Speaker Systems That Sound Like an Afterthought
This is a big one for me. Too often, the pursuit of thinness in folding phones has resulted in truly awful speaker systems. Take my Oppo Find N5, for example. It's sleek, but the speakers are weak, lacking both loudness and any semblance of bass. And the placement! Why are both speakers crammed onto one side of the device? This creates a terrible, unbalanced audio experience, especially when unfolded. It's essentially a left-channel-only situation. Google got it right with the Pixel Fold, placing speakers on opposite sides for true stereo sound in both phone and tablet modes. Why can't everyone else figure this out?
App Optimization: Still a Mess in 2025
One of the biggest advantages of a folding phone is that glorious, larger inner display. But far too often, developers just don't bother to take advantage of it. We're seeing a few apps starting to adopt tablet-style layouts, but many still just stretch the phone interface, wasting valuable screen real estate. I see it all the time on my Oppo Find N5 with apps like Google Tasks and Google Keep. The dual-panel layouts on my Pixel Fold show what's possible. Even something as simple as the Wyze app becomes less usable when stretched across the larger screen. It's 2025! Why aren't tablet-optimized layouts the norm on Android folding phones? And why are some of the best implementations locked to specific devices?
Cameras That Don't Live Up to the Price Tag
This is a tough one, because I love taking photos, but let's be real, the camera hardware on many folding phones (I'm looking at you, Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6, Pixel 9 Pro Fold, and Oppo Find N5) is often, to put it bluntly, lackluster. I get it, thinness is a priority, but it shouldn't come at the expense of image quality. These phones can take "fine pictures," but when you're dropping $1500-$1900, "fine" isn't good enough. You should expect top-tier performance. Other OEMs, like Vivo, are proving it's possible to include exceptional camera hardware in folding devices. I even had an experience where the video quality on my Oppo Find N5 wasn't cutting it, forcing me to switch to a traditional slab phone to get the results I needed.
The Abandonment of the Dual-Screen Dream
This one hits me in the feels. I'm talking about the complete abandonment of the dual-screen form factor, best exemplified by the Microsoft Surface Duo. I was a huge fan of this design. For multitasking, having two separate, dedicated screens is unmatched. The seamless way you could open links on the secondary screen without interrupting your primary app was pure genius. Yeah, my Surface Duo 2 had some battery issues, but I still miss that form factor dearly. I wish Microsoft had stuck with it.
So, there you have it. My top five folding phone frustrations in 2025. Don't get me wrong, I still believe in the potential of this technology. But these are some serious issues that need to be addressed if folding phones are ever going to truly go mainstream. What are your biggest pet peeves with folding phones? Let me know in the comments!