Updated on Nov. 1, 2023

Written by Lisa Eadicicco

Our expert, award-winning staff selects the products we cover and rigorously researches and tests our top picks. If you buy through our links, we may get a commission.Reviews ethics statement

Lisa Eadicicco Senior Editor

Lisa Eadicicco is a senior editor for CNET covering mobile devices. She has been writing about technology for almost a decade. Prior to joining CNET, Lisa served as a senior tech correspondent at Insider covering Apple and the broader consumer tech industry. She was also previously a tech columnist for Time Magazine and got her start as a staff writer for Laptop Mag and Tom’s Guide.

Expertise Apple, Samsung, Google, smartphones, smartwatches, wearables, fitness trackers

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Flip phones ruled the early 2000s, and now companies like Samsung, Motorola and Oppo have been bringing them back. But with a modern twist.

Flip phones with bendable screens have been around for the last several years, but they took a leap forward in 2023. The Galaxy Z Flip 5 and Motorola Razr Plus gained larger screens than their predecessors, making them more useful when closed. Oppo’s recently announced Find N3 Flip has an additional camera among other improvements.

While expensive and generally more fragile than standard phones, flip phones provide some benefits you can’t get with regular devices. They fit more easily in your pocket and are more manageable to use with one hand when closed. You can also prop them up by folding them halfway, which makes it possible to take a photo or view the screen without having to hold the device. They also have a distinct design that makes them stand out from other smartphones.

However, if you don’t care about those factors, you should consider one of the cheaper, nonfoldable devices listed in our best phones guide. If you’re considering buying a flip phone in 2023, here are your best options.

What is the best flip phone for most people?

The Galaxy Z Flip 5 is CNET’s top flip phone pick for 2023. It was a close call between Samsung’s new flip phone and the similarly priced Motorola Razr Plus. But Samsung’s design feels more sturdy, the camera takes more colorful photos and the company provides Android version updates for a longer period of time compared to Motorola, making it our favorite choice. Samsung also has a history of rolling out new features to its phones over time through updates to its One UI software, giving it another advantage.

Best flip phones of 2023

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$1,000 at Motorola

Best compact flip phone

Motorola Razr Plus

The Motorola Razr Plus raised the bar for what a flip phone should be in 2023. Its 3.6-inch cover screen allows you to use almost any app without opening the phone, plus battery life is long enough to get you through a busy day. It’s also thinner than the Galaxy Z Flip 5, which could make it the ideal choice for those who prioritize portability in a phone.

While I recommend the Galaxy Z Flip 5 as the best flip phone overall, the Razr Plus is worth considering if you prefer a thinner design and want to use more apps on the phone’s front screen without much extra fuss. The Razr Plus felt more fragile than the Z Flip 5 during my testing, but it’s certainly thinner, making it a great choice for those who care about compactness above all else. Read our Motorola Razr Plus review.

Pros:

Large, useful cover screen
Crease is barely visible
Thin design
Good battery life
Fun photography features like photo previews

Cons:

Not as many Android updates as Samsung
Flex View feels limited
Front screen gathers fingerprint smudges easily
$1,000 is still expensive

Lisa Eadicicco/CNET

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$1,022 at Oppo

Best flip phone with a telephoto camera

Oppo Find N3 Flip

Oppo’s Find N3 Flip phone is unique for two reasons: It has a telephoto camera and a vertical cover screen, unlike the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 and Motorola Razr Plus. That could make the Find N3 Flip an ideal choice for those who want closer zoom shots, although this phone also shines for its fast performance, stylish design and speedy charging. The crease on the interior screen is also impressively subtle. That said, there are some downsides to be aware of. The Find N3 Flip lacks wireless charging, and you’ll only be able to buy it in certain markets, which doesn’t include the US. Read our review of the Find N3 Flip.

Pros:

Cover screen supports Google Calendar, Gmail and other third-party apps
Addition of a telephoto lens
Improved durability IPX4 rating

Cons:

Obvious branding
Raised edges of cover screen
No wireless charging

Patrick Holland/CNET

Photo Gallery 1/1

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$700 at Motorola

Best foldable for budget buyers

Motorola Razr 2023

The Motorola Razr 2023 is the most affordable, widely released foldable phone with a $700 price tag, notably below the $1,000 prices of clamshell foldables like the Razr Plus and Samsung Galaxy Flip 5. Motorola made some obvious compromises for affordability, like losing its competitors’ full-front screen for a small 1.5-inch thumbnail-size external display.

Less obvious are more painful shortfalls: three years of Android OS updates and 128GB of nonexpandable storage (you’ll have to rely on cloud storage if you go over). If you can stomach those compromises, the Razr 2023 is a great phone with a svelte design, large 6.9-inch internal display and sharp 64-megapixel main camera (the less said about its other ultrawide lens, the better). It’s a phone that suits a specific niche: Folks who want to try out foldables for a few years, but don’t want to shell out a lot of money if they’re still iffy on whether this «flexible display» thing will take off.

Pros:

Solid and svelte build quality
Great main camera
Fun foldable functionality
Good price

Cons:

128GB onboard storage is limited
Outer screen is very small
3 years of OS updates is less than competitors

James Martin/CNET

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How to buy a new phone

Know what you care about most: Is it screen size? Camera quality? Battery life? This will help narrow down your choices. If you’re interested in a foldable phone, design and screen size should be more important to you than camera quality

Don’t discount the midrange: Features of last year’s flagships always trickle down to this year’s midrange handsets.You can get a great phone that does almost everything that a premium phone can do for a fraction of the price. Google’s Pixel 7 Pro packs a great zoom camera, but the base Pixel 7 has most of the same key specs and comes at a more reasonable price. But if you’re trying to save a few bucks, you shouldn’t be considering a flip phone. Devices like the Galaxy Z Flip 5 and Motorola Razr Plus are priced like high-end premium phones, although Motorola plans to release a cheaper Razr this year.

Shop the sales: Look for deep discounts and promo deals around major holidays, especially Amazon’s Prime Day and Black Friday. And find out what your grace period is in case you need a quick return or exchange.

Last year’s phones: They can often be a great deal, too. Wait for this year’s launch to get last year’s phone for less, when stores and carriers may be trying to offload their existing stock. However, keep in mind you’ll miss out on the spacious cover screens found on the Galaxy Z Flip 5 and Razr Plus by going for last year’s models.

Hold the phone in hand at a store first: You may love or hate the way it looks and feels in person. This is especially important for flip phones and other foldable devices, particularly if it’s your first time using one.

Check if you’re already invested: Have you already bought a lot of iPhone apps and iTunes movies? Stick with an iPhone if you still want access to them. Likewise, if you’ve invested in loads of Android apps, you’ll want to stay on that side of the fence. Otherwise, it’s simple enough to switch platforms. However, those interested in flip phones only have Android devices to choose from for now.

Buy a case and screen protector: You’ll protect your phone from costly damage, and will increase the phone’s resale or trade-in value for when you’re ready to move on.

How we test phones

We test every phone in real-world scenarios, focusing on its features, design, performance, cameras, battery life and overall value. We document our findings in an initial review that is periodically updated when there are new software updates, or to compare it against new phones from competitors such as Apple, Samsung, Google and OnePlus. Below is our methodology for testing smartphones in general, which also applies to flip phones.

Photography

Photography is a major focus for most phones these days, so we take pictures and videos of various subjects in a variety of settings and lighting scenarios. We try out any new camera modes, such as Action mode that debuted with the iPhone 14 line, or the Unblur photo tool that launched with the Google Pixel 7 series.

Battery life

Battery testing is conducted in a variety of ways. We assess how long a phone lasts during a typical day of use and note how it performs during more focused sessions of video calls, media streaming and gaming. We also conduct a video playback test, as a simple, replicable measure of pure battery life, which isn’t always included in the initial review but sometimes added later in an update.

Performance measuring

We use benchmarking apps to measure each phone’s performance, alongside our own anecdotal experiences using the phone for our review. Of note are how graphics and animations look. Are they smooth? Or do they lag or stutter? We also look at how quickly the phone switches between horizontal and vertical orientations, and how fast the camera app opens and is ready to take a photo.

We perform processor-heavy tasks like editing photos, exporting videos and playing games. We evaluate whether a newer version of a particular phone includes enough features to make it worth upgrading from older models.

Read more: How we test phones

Flip phone FAQs

Technologies

Tinder Users Must Start Logging In With Their Faces, Starting Nationwide

The social app now has new US requirements including face identification to help quell longstanding problems with catfishing and more.

US Tinder users will find a new feature when they open up the dating app starting Wednesday: A mandatory Face Check on their phones will be required before they can log into their profiles.

The Face Check step will begin with a new request to record a video of your face, a more casual version of setting up Apple’s Face ID login. Tinder will then run checks comparing your face data to your current profile pics and automatically create a small face badge for your profile. We already know how it works, because Tinder has already launched the feature in Canada and California before the full US rollout.

The technology, powered by FaceTec, will keep biometric data of the user’s face in encrypted form but discard the scanning video for privacy. Tinder will be able to use the face data to detect duplicate accounts, in an effort to cut down on fake profiles and identity theft.

Don’t miss any of our unbiased tech content and lab-based reviews. Add CNET as a preferred Google source.

Tinder’s facial recognition rollout is also made to prevent catfishing, or people pretending to be someone else on Tinder to scam or blackmail them. But that also points to a deeper problem on the rise in dating apps — a growing number of bots, many controlled by AI, are designed to glean personal information or fool users into scammy subscriptions, among other problems.

Tinder’s working against these bots on several fronts, including this Face Check push as well as ID Check, which requires a government-issued ID and other types of photo verification.

The dating app also recently released a feature in June to enable double-dating with your friends, which Tinder reports is especially popular with Gen Z users. If you’re worried about the latest hazards on Tinder, we have guide to safety practices.

A representative for Tinder did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Mini Crossword Answers for Thursday, Oct. 23

Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for Oct. 23.

Looking for the most recent Mini Crossword answer? Click here for today’s Mini Crossword hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Wordle, Strands, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

Need some help with today’s Mini Crossword? Read on. And if you could use some hints and guidance for daily solving, check out our Mini Crossword tips.

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: Tips and Tricks for Solving The New York Times Mini Crossword

Let’s get to those Mini Crossword clues and answers.

Mini across clues and answers

1A clue: Like some weather, memories and I.P.A.s
Answer: HAZY

5A clue: Statement that’s self-evidently true
Answer: AXIOM

7A clue: Civic automaker
Answer: HONDA

8A clue: What fear leads to, as Yoda told a young Anakin
Answer: ANGER

9A clue: Foxlike
Answer: SLY

Mini down clues and answers

1D clue: Verbal «lol»
Answer: HAHA

2D clue: Brain signal transmitter
Answer: AXON

3D clue: Hits with a witty comeback
Answer: ZINGS

4D clue: Sing at the top of a mountain, maybe
Answer: YODEL

6D clue: Name of the famous «Queen of Scots»
Answer: MARY

Technologies

Today’s NYT Strands Hints, Answers and Help for Oct. 23 #599

Here are hints and answers for the NYT Strands puzzle for Oct. 23, No. 599.

Looking for the most recent Strands answer? Click here for our daily Strands hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

Today’s NYT Strands puzzle might be Halloween-themed, as the answers are all rather dangerous. Some of them are a bit tough to unscramble, so if you need hints and answers, read on.

I go into depth about the rules for Strands in this story.

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections and Mini Crossword answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: NYT Connections Turns 1: These Are the 5 Toughest Puzzles So Far

Hint for today’s Strands puzzle

Today’s Strands theme is: Please don’t eat me!

If that doesn’t help you, here’s a clue: Remember Mr. Yuk?

Clue words to unlock in-game hints

Your goal is to find hidden words that fit the puzzle’s theme. If you’re stuck, find any words you can. Every time you find three words of four letters or more, Strands will reveal one of the theme words. These are the words I used to get those hints but any words of four or more letters that you find will work:

POND, NOON, NODE, BALE, SOCK, LOVE, LOCK, MOCK, LEER, REEL, GLOVE, DAIS, LEAN, LEAD, REEL

Answers for today’s Strands puzzle

These are the answers that tie into the theme. The goal of the puzzle is to find them all, including the spangram, a theme word that reaches from one side of the puzzle to the other. When you have all of them (I originally thought there were always eight but learned that the number can vary), every letter on the board will be used. Here are the nonspangram answers: