I love book-style foldables, and they’ve ruined slab phones for me

Ever since I used the Galaxy Z Fold 3 in 2021, I have seen the benefits of having a book-style foldable — better productivity, flexible usability, and more. The form factor has only become more and more polished over the years, thanks to better app optimization and thinner designs. In this time, I have used book-style foldables from Samsung, Google, HONOR, OnePlus, vivo, HUAWEI, Tecno, and more.

While Samsung delivered its most improved folding phone with the Galaxy Z Fold 7 this year, vivo and HONOR retained their lead with better cameras and battery life. It’s 2025, and cost still remains a problem, but here’s why I’ve shifted to book-style foldables full-time and won’t go back any time soon.

I realized I love multitasking on foldables when I first used the OnePlus Open. It offered an all-new way (Open Canvas) to run and interact with three apps simultaneously on the big screen. As someone whose work involves a lot of research, pitching, and writing, Open Canvas gave me a refreshing new way to run Gmail, Chrome, and Google Docs together, without needing to switch apps.

This year, Vivo took multitasking to the next level with an Apple Stage Manager-like feature called Workbench. Unlike dual-window, Workbench allows me to reference my search material with a quick tap and continue writing in the Doc file. You can utilize the full screen without struggling to see what you’re typing, which is an issue in the dual-window mode of most foldables. I used Workbench more in a month than I triggered multiwindow on Samsung foldables in the last four years.

No slab phone can offer a multitasking experience on par with a 2025 book-style folding phone. Using foldables has only enhanced my productivity, and I wish OnePlus hadn’t announced that it won’t launch a folding phone in 2025..

A hinge is what allows the phone to fold in half, but there’s more to it than just its primary responsibilities. A good hinge allows the device to be propped up at any angle you want, enabling a slew of more functionalities. It is a major reason why I’ve loved Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold 5 and Fold 6, despite their iterative updates.

Most book-style foldables open flat if you move past a certain angle (roughly 115 degrees), whereas Samsung phones offer a wider range (roughly 135–140 degrees). This lets me watch videos without needing to prop up the phone on an external support. Unlike slab phones, I can just keep a folding phone on a table, prop it up at an angle, and enjoy watching my favorite creators without needing a kickstand or placing it against a jug.

The hinge also allows me to use the rear cameras for selfies. This is especially useful because most foldables don’t have good-quality front cameras. Now, you can always turn around a slab phone and use its back cameras to snap a selfie, but with foldables, you get a viewfinder on the cover screen. So, you can frame your shots better instead of second-guessing and going by rough calculations to place yourself in the frame. I use this feature a lot as a solo traveler.

Plus, the hinge makes it easier to use several camera modes that might ideally require a tripod. For instance, I can prop my Honor Magic V5 by itself and shoot time-lapses without needing a tripod. It keeps things stable and offers new perspectives that might not be possible on a regular phone.

I have tried and failed to get used to e-readers. In the past, I’ve given Amazon Kindle and Boox tablets a shot, but I couldn’t get used to them for two reasons.

First, they are limited by nature, whether it be by their OS or E-Ink displays. I love reading on the web and online stories from publications I’m subscribed to, but it is hard to browse on a Kindle. It is easier to browse on Boox tablets, but the experience isn’t as smooth as smartphones, due to the E-Ink screens. Many prefer their e-reader to be a single-task-focused device, but not me, because I am a frequent traveler. And this brings me to my second reason: I don’t want to carry an extra gadget on my travels.

A book-style foldable solves both of these issues for me. The best foldable phones in 2025 feature an 8-inch AMOLED folding display, which is great for reading. From Kindle ebooks to browsing on Chrome and reading my favorite publications on the go, I can do so without needing to carry a separate device.

Some might argue that reading on a phone might not be as effective as an E-Ink-equipped reader due to all the OS-level distractions, notifications, and colorful screen. That’s when features like Focus mode and monotone reading mode come in. For example, the Honor Magic V5 comes with an ebook mode, which turns the screen into a black-and-white display to mimic an E-Ink screen. I also tend to turn on DND while reading, so I’m not distracted by notifications.

This form factor has existed for years, and I absolutely love it for all the extras it brings. However, it still lacks optimization for several apps.

Like, running Instagram isn’t the same in full-screen mode as it is on a slab phone, and the layout in several apps is yet to be optimized for big screens. I’m often frustrated when I open an app and it stops working, or I am forced to run it in a 9:16 aspect ratio for a better experience.

I believe this form factor is ready for prime time but requires more support from developers. That said, I am not keeping down my HONOR Magic V5 or vivo X Fold 5 as I wait for more developers to optimize their apps for book-style foldables. And neither am I going back to slab phones any time soon.