Vivo X Fold 3 Pro, Galaxy Z Fold 6, Pixel 9 Pro Fold, and more: How the foldable phone space unfolded in 2024
| Photo Credit: Haider Ali Khan
Foldable phones impressed device owners worldwide in 2024 with their refined form factor and promised durability. This fervour not only encouraged foldable majors like Samsung with the Galaxy Z Fold 6 series, but also triggered Google to take the leap and launch its first foldable phone, Pixel 9 Pro Fold, in India. Meanwhile, Motorola brought in the new clamshell Razr 50 series phones during the year while Vivo impressed with its first foldable phone, X Fold 3 Pro, in the country as well.
Adding to this line-up, 2024 saw some affordable foldable phones coming from Infinix and Tecno.
Let’s explore the top releases from the foldable arena this year, the features they offered, and their prices.
To refresh your memory, most flagship foldables started unfolding in the middle of the year.
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Vivo X Fold 3 Pro
Vivo was the first company to launch a foldable phone in 2024 in India: the Vivo X Fold 3 Pro.
It was also Vivo’s first folding phone to ship to the country. With its refined design and packaging, the foldable amazed even tech-savvy users. The Vivo X Fold 3 Pro offered a 6.53-inch cover and an 8.03-inch main display. It used the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 processor for tasks, and included a huge 5,700 mAh battery, the largest in any foldable till date, along with a 120 W fast charger. The X Fold 3 Pro featured a dual 32 MP front camera, a 50 MP main camera, a 64 MP telephoto lens and a 50 MP ultrawide lens at the rear.
Taking all these features together, Vivo asked for ₹1,59,999 for the X Fold 3 Pro.
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6
The unofficial leader of the foldable market, Samsung launched the sixth generation of the Galaxy Z Fold in two form factors: Galaxy Z Fold 6 and Galaxy Z Flip 6.
Galaxy Z Fold 6 had a 6.3-inch cover screen and a 7.6-inch screen main display. It came with Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, and a whole host of generative AI features like call recording, summarising, proofreading, PDF assistance, live call transcription, email drafting functions, and Circle to Search. The Galaxy Z Fold 6 shipped with a 50 MP main camera along with a 12 MP ultrawide sensor and a 10 MP telephoto lens. It had two front cameras: a 10 MP lens on the cover screen and a 4 MP lens on the main display.
The multi-tasking phone has a 4,400 mAh battery and was priced at ₹1,64,999.
Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 6
Samsung’s Z Flip 6 used the same processor and generative AI features as the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 to draw in buyers. However, it offered a 4,000 mAh battery. The Galaxy Z Flip 6 had a 3.4-inch cover display and a 6.7-inch main screen. It offered a 50 MP main camera and a 12 MP ultrawide lens, while the front camera stood at 10 MP.
The Galaxy Z Flip 6 was launched at ₹1,09,999.
Motorola Razr 50 Ultra
Motorola enjoyed itself in 2024 with not one but two flip phone launches: Razr 50 and Razr 50 Ultra. The Razr 50 Ultra had the largest cover display in its segment at four inches while the main screen was a 6.9-inch panel. The phone used Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 chipset and a 4,000 mAh battery. Motorola packed it with a 50 MP main camera and a 50 MP telephoto lens. Selfie lovers had a 32 MP option.
With Generative AI features, Motorola sold the Razr 50 Ultra for ₹99,999.
Motorola Razr 50
The cheaper variant of the Razr 50 Ultra had a 6.9-inch main panel and a 3.63-inch cover screen. Motorola used the MediaTek Dimensity 7300X SoC processor in the Razr 50 and a 4,200 mAh cell. The flip phone had a 50 MP main sensor and a 13 MP ultrawide sensor. The selfie camera equals the one on the 50 Ultra.
Motorola charged ₹64,999 for the flipable Razr 50.
Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold
The first foldable from Google to launch in India was the Pixel 9 Pro Fold this year. The phone used Google’s own Tensor G4 chip and offered a slew of native and new Generative AI features. The Pixel 9 Pro Fold had a 6.3-inch cover and an 8-inch main display. Google packed it with a 48 MP main camera, a 10.5 MP ultrawide lens, and a 10.8 MP telephoto lens. There were two 10 MP lenses for selfie users. With a 4,650 mAh battery, the Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold came in at ₹1,72,999.
Infinix and Tecno
Chinese smartphone vendor Infinix launched its first ever flip phone in India, Infinix Zero Flip, with a 3.64-inch cover display and 50 MP selfie camera at ₹44,999.
Similarly, its sister-concern brand, Tecno, launched a foldable phone, Phantom V Fold 2, at ₹79,999, and a flip phone, Phantom V Flip 2, at ₹34,999.
Published – December 16, 2024 03:50 pm IST