Here Are Some Of The Coolest Foldable Smartphones We've Seen So Far At MWC 2019

At this year's Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, 5G wasn't the only running theme. It seemed multiple companies were also trying to get their phones to fold and flex, and not in the #Bendgate kind of way. Here are some of the coolest flexible phones this year.

1. Samsung Galaxy Fold

Samsung's new flagship has to make an appearance here. Arguably the coolest of this lot, it also seems to have the most work put into it. In smartphone mode, it's narrower than the average fare, with a 4.6-inch (12:9) display. However, you can then sort of open the phone up, which reveals a larger 7.3-inch QXGA+ (4.2:3) tablet-like display inside.

When this happens, the external screen fades to black and your open apps continue to run on the internal display. The transition is pretty seamless, thanks to Samsung's custom tweaks of its UI. Additionally, the Infinity Flex display in use here doesn't even have a noticeable crease, and flips open and closed on smooth hinges with interlocking gears. The only problem is, all this sleek design will run you up about Rs 1.5 lakh.

2. Huawei Mate X

Huawei also released a foldable smartphone of their own, in the form of the Mate X. This one is an 8-inch (2480x2200) display in tablet mode, which folds outward, separating the display into two screens. The front is a 6.6-inch (2480x1148) display the rear is a 4.6-inch display.

Here's another look at the #HuaweiMateX as it folds back from tablet to phone form factor, revealing its back side and the edge which holds all the Leica camera assembly. #MateX #5GPhone #MWC2019 #MWC19 #FoldablePhone pic.twitter.com/QKYO9A7lSQ

— Indiatimes (@indiatimes) February 26, 2019

Unlike the others on this list, it also runs a Kirin 980n processor instead of the Snapdragon 855, and is likely to be priced around Rs 1,85,000.

3. Royole Flexpai

Another entry here was actually teased a little earlier, the Royole FlexPai. Instead of a rigid hinge, this smartphone bends more than folds, to close up like a wallet. In tablet form it's a 7.8-inch AMOLED display. When it folds down the middle however, it turns into a more manageable 4-inch display smartphone. This one is currently only commercially available in China for the equivalent of Rs 95,300.

4. Nubia Alpha

The Nubia Alpha here is a real wildcard. Instead of a smartphone transforming into a tablet, it's a smartphone that gets even smaller, to become a smartwatch. It's basically a flexible OLED display, just 4 inches from corner to corner. It looks much larger however because it's incredibly wide, with a 960x192 resolution (about 5:1). And when you need to carry the phone but leave your hands free, you can just bend it and strap in onto your wrist. The UI has also been designed here to be easily navigated while the device is sitting on your wrist. It's also running the Snapdragon Wear 2100 from 2016, though its memory specs are a little better.

It's not meant to be your primary smartphone, but for when you need the flexibility (pun absolutely intended) of its different use cases. The Bluetooth version is launching in April for about Rs 36,000, while the e-SIM version will come later for around Rs 44,000.