The best flip phone of 2024

We test each phone in real-world scenarios, focusing on its features, design, performance, cameras, battery life, and overall value. We document our findings in a preliminary review that’s updated periodically when there are new software updates, or to compare them to new phones from competitors like Apple, Samsung, Google, and OnePlus. Here’s our methodology for testing smartphones in general, which also applies to foldable phones.

Photography

Photography is a main focus for most phones, so we take photos and videos of different subjects in multiple settings and lighting scenarios. We try out any new camera modes, like the revamped Action mode on the iPhone 15 line, or the Magic Editor photo tool that launched with the Google Pixel 8 series.

Battery life

Battery testing is performed in several ways. We evaluate how long the 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 perform a video playback test, as a simple, repeatable measure of pure battery life, which is not always included in the initial review but is sometimes added later in an update.

Performance measurement

We use benchmarking apps to measure each phone’s performance, along with our own anecdotal experiences using the phone for our review. It is worth noting how the graphics and animation look. Is it smooth? Or are they late or stuttering? We also look at how quickly the phone switches between landscape and portrait orientations, and how quickly 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 the newest version of a particular phone includes enough features to make it worth upgrading from older models.

He reads more: How we test phones