Beyond the Galaxy Fold and Mate X: All the foldable devices you missed at MWC

[invis]

It’s official, smartphone aficionados: The next big thing in mobile is the foldable phone — well, that, and 5G, of course. The first foldable phone launched months ago, but the foldables you might actually want were unveiled at and around MWC 2019. First, Samsung with its Galaxy Fold, and then Huawei with the Mate X, showed us the future.

Foldable phones might not be ready for mass consumption yet, and they’ll be a premium product for years to come, but it’s really the only way to further extend the screen of the handset and offer users more screen retail estate on a device intended to fit in your pocket. But the Galaxy Fold and Mate X are hardly the only foldable phones in town, and MWC showed us a few other models that we’ve yet to talk about, as well as a couple of strange contraptions to tide you over until you pick up your first foldable device.

Samsung

Of all the companies making smartphones, only a few of them have the luxury of running a display manufacturer as well. Even fewer happen to manufacture many of the other components that go in phones. That’s why Samsung is likely to be a leader when it comes to foldable handsets no matter what Huawei does.

The Galaxy Fold is the first model of many, the result of years of research, and a device that should feature the latest version of Android. The Fold will sell for $1,980, and will be available in limited supply at launch. Sadly, we weren’t able to try it, even though it’s set to launch to the public in a couple of months.

Huawei

The Mate X is the best looking foldable so far, the best device of MWC 2019 according to the GSMA, and the first 5G foldable ever made. The phone will be even more expensive than the Galaxy Fold, but if you’re looking to be at the forefront of this technology, it might be worth the price of admission. That’s not to say the Mate X is perfect, and there’s still much we don’t know about it. You’ll have to touch one to become a convert.

Xiaomi

Remember that great concept that Xiaomi unveiled a few weeks ago, well before Samsung and Huawei dazzled us with actual phones? Well, it turns out the Chinese smartphone maker has no plans of actually manufacturing foldables at this time, VentureBeat reports. When they do, eventually, the first Xiaomi tablets might be a lot cheaper than the others. But Xiaomi won’t be competing with its biggest Android rivals quite yet.

Oppo

Oppo is also making a foldable phone similar to  the Mate X, so we’re looking at a wraparound screen placed on the outside of the handset. The device was teased on Weibo during MWC, but wasn’t part of any announcements.

Motorola

We’ve heard for a while now that Motorola has been studying foldables, with a plan to revive the Razr brand that was so popular in the middle ages of the mobile industry, well before the iPhone and Android brought about a new world order. And Motorola confirmed at MWC that a foldable handset could arrive as early as the first half of the year, without divulging any details about it. Motorola did hint that the screen won’t be on the outside like the Mate X, which is an indication that those Razr foldable patents might show what the foldable phone will look like.