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Smartphones with foldable AMOLED displays have been around for a few years, but the technology is still rare enough that foldable phones tend to cost a lot more than models with more traditional displays.
But things are starting to change… a little. Last month Motorola launched the most affordable foldable to date, with prices starting at $699. Now that phone is already on sale for $500, making it the cheapest current-gen foldable available. But it’s just one of many foldables that are on sale for discount prices during Black Friday, 2023.
The entry-level Motorola Razr has a 6.9 inch, 2460 x 1080 pixel, 144 Hz LTPO pOLED display that folds down the middle, basically making the phone into the modern version of a classic flip phone. It also has a smaller 1.5 inch cover display that’s just big enough to show notifications, and a Qualcomm Snapdragon 7 Gen 1 processor, 8GB of RAM, and at least 128GB of storage.
But if you’re looking for something with a little more horsepower, the Razr+ is also on sale for $200 off, bringing the starting price down to $700.
That model also has a 6.9 inch foldable primary display, but it has a 165 Hz refresh rate, and the phone has a faster Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 processor and a larger 3.6 inch cover display that can be used to show apps as well as notifications. This model also supports more memory and storage.
And the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 is on sale for $800. It’s another modern flip phone, in this case with a 6.7 inch primary display, a 3.4 inch cover screen, 8GB of RAM, and at least 256GB of storage.
If you’re looking for a foldable that serves double duty as a tablet and a phone, you’re still going to end up spending a lot more. While the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 is on sale for $500 off, it’s still pretty expensive at $1300.
The Google Pixel Fold, which normally sells for $1799, is on sale for $1399. That’s a deep discount, but it’s still a lot of money to spend on a smartphone.
And the OnePlus Open may normally be the cheapest of the three phones, with a $1699 list price, but it’s actually getting the smallest Black Friday discount of just $200 off, which brings the price to $1499.
So yeah… foldable flip phones are actually starting to seem less ridiculously overpriced… at least during this year’s holiday season shopping kick-off sales. Here’s hoping we see these prices stick around for a while.
And foldable smartphone/tablet hybrids? They’re still expensive enough to put them out of reach of many. But at least smartphone makers are willing to lower those prices temporarily… and hopefully that could be a sign of things to come in the next few years.
Meanwhile if you don’t have your heart set on a foldable display, there are much better options available among this year’s Black Friday smartphone sales, with discounts on budget phones like the Samsung Galaxy A54 and Google Pixel 7a, as well as flagships like the Samsung Galaxy S23, Google Pixel 8 Pro, and OnePlus 11.
Budget and mid-range
- OnePlus Nord N30 for $230 – OnePlus
- Samsung Galaxy A54 for $325 – Amazon
- Motorola Edge (2023) for $350 – Amazon
- Google Pixel 7a for $374 – Google Store (or Amazon)
- Motorola Think Phone for $400 – Amazon
- Samsung Galaxy S23 FE for $510 – Amazon
Flagships
- Google Pixel 8 for $549 – Google Store
- Nothing Phone (2) for $549 and up – Nothing
- OnePlus 11 for $550 – OnePlus
- Motorola Edge + Bose QuietComfort II earbuds for $600 – Motorola
- Samsung Galaxy S23 for $700 and up – Amazon
- Motorola Edge+ for $700 – Motorola
- Google Pixel 8 Pro for $799 – Google Store
- Samsung Galaxy S23+ for $800 and up – Amazon
- Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra for $900 and up – Amazon
Foldables
- Motorola Razr (2023) for $500 – Amazon
- Motorola Razr+ (2023) for $700 – Amazon
- Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 for $800 – Amazon
- Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 for $1300 – Amazon
- Google Pixel Fold for $1399 – Google Store
- OnePlus Open for $1500 – OnePlus
You can find more deals on laptops, tablets, mini PCs and other gadgets in Liliputing’s Black Friday 2023 Mobile Tech Deals roundup.
No I don’t want to pay over 20 cents for this eWaste stupidphone
@liliputing_ The tablet phone combo is definitely a good concept, maybe they will be priced more reasonably in a few years too and I might consider getting one at that point. Or maybe it will be all about AR glasses at that point…