Whether you've already bought a foldable smartphone, or are merely thinking about it, here are just some of the unique ways it can be your helpful, flexible companion.
Foldable smartphones are more than just eye-catching, they’re also two devices in one. When closed, they look much like any other modern smartphone with a screen roughly 6.5in in size. Opening one up – much as you would with a book – reveals a second, larger screen, typically 7-8in in size depending on the model. Whether you live on your phone, or frequently switch between a separate phone and tablet, there are many useful ways in which a foldable Android can easily slide its way into your life. Here are just a few of them.
Foldable Android phones: a bigger screen for watching videos and showing off photos
One of the most obvious advantages of a foldable phone is having a big screen for watching movies and TV shows that can easily be taken anywhere, folding away into a pocket when not needed. A bigger, higher-resolution screen is especially useful for enjoying livestreams that have an associated live chat, such as those on Twitch or YouTube. With more screen resolution, you can keep tabs on what everyone is chatting about, without having to relegate the livestream itself to a small window that you have to squint at.
In a similar vein, the larger screen is great for showing off your own photos and videos to the best possible effect, whether you’re humblebragging about your latest holiday at the next family reunion or reliving last night’s escapades with your mates.
Foldable Android phones: a hands-free video stand with always visible playback controls
It’s easy to overlook that a foldable phone’s inside screen isn’t just large, you can also still use it when folded halfway. With some apps, such as YouTube, one half of the screen can show your video, while the other half is dedicated to playback controls, such as rewind, fast forward, play/pause and so on. You can then set your phone on a flat surface, such as a table, with the video screen set at a viewing angle comfortable for you, such as 45 or 90 degrees. Your video playback controls are now not only easier to access than before, but your phone is its very own hands-free stand.
Foldable Android phones: hands-free selfies, livestreaming and photography
The posable, hands-free stance mentioned in the tip above can come in handy in other ways. Expressing yourself through a perfectly framed selfie or livestream can be easier to achieve by propping up your phone on a makeshift stand. This can be anything from furniture to a tree stump or fence post, effectively turning them into a makeshift tripod.
Foldable Android phones: use two (or more) apps side-by-side simultaneously
Switching between multiple apps to get something done, whether it’s for work or leisure, can be a bit fiddly. But that all becomes so much easier on a foldable phone, as you can have two apps open onscreen side-by-side. With some foldable Android phones, such as the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7, you can have up to three apps onscreen simultaneously for even easier multitasking.
Foldable Android phones: helping others strike the perfect pose
There are only a handful of circumstances where you can use both screens of a foldable phone simultaneously. Two of them help you take even better-looking photographs.
In the first, the on-screen preview of what your phone camera can see is shown on both of your foldable’s screens. That way, the people you’re photographing see what they look like, so they can adjust their pose or look if need be. The inside screen, meanwhile, shows you your viewfinder and controls.
The second is only available on the Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold at the time of writing. This feature, which Google calls Made You Look, displays an eye-catching animation on the outside screen. The idea is that it’ll grab the attention of fidgety, easily distracted subjects (such as children or pets) so that they’ll look at the camera. This is vital as seeing someone’s eyes makes for a much more engaging photo.
Foldable Android phones: gaming
Almost all foldable Android phones have the latest processors and graphics chips in them so they can play the latest, most graphically demanding games. With their large inside screens, you get a much bigger, more detailed view of all the action than you would on a standard phone.
Foldable Android phones: reading ebooks
Bookworms are also well served by the extra screen real estate of a foldable smartphone. Some ebook reader apps, such as the official Amazon Kindle app, have page layout settings that let you make the most of all that screen resolution, with adjustable column sizes, line spacings and page margins. All this can give you a much more comfortable reading experience that’s more like a printed page rather than a generic screen.
Plus the vibrant colours of a foldable’s screen makes reading some types of ebooks, such as graphic novels and children’s books, much more enjoyable than it is on most ebook readers that have eink screens instead.
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