What the flip, Apple?

Mat Gallagher isn't seeing too many new folding phones coming to market, but he hasn't lost hope in the technology yet

- Mat Gallagher

I've just returned from the Mobile World Congress (MWC) show in Barcelona, where there's been a lot of new phones released and I got to have a play with most of them. Despite the recent trend of folding phones, the majority of these handsets featured a single screen. From the Xiaomi 15 Ultra and Honor Magic 7 Pro flagships to the mid-range Samsung A56 and Nothing (3a) Pro, aside from some impressive cameras and AI functionality, the one thing these phone have in common is a lack of fold.

So has the folding screen bubble burst? Not entirely. There were a few more advanced folding screen solutions at the show, including the Huawei Mate XT - the first tri-folding phone. While this may sound excessive, using two hinges to provide a z-fold design means you can create a wider display. One of the criticisms of folding phones is that the screen ratio is rather square, so not ideal for video.