All the way back in 2019, a few tech companies decided the world really needed phones with bendable screens. We didn't actually get our hands on very many of these mobile oddities, but the most notorious, Samsung's Galaxy Fold, was at least an interesting failure.
All you have to do is take one look at the Galaxy Fold to know that, as a consumer product, foldables aren't quite there yet. We've seen plenty of concepts from companies like TCL, too, but even those are far off from being in our hands. The good news is we know that a handful of foldables will come out in 2020 and some of them look pretty neat.
Motorola's hot new Razr phone
You remember the original Motorola Razr, right? Back in 2004, the ultra-thin flip-phone was the coolest thing in the world. Even if it wasn't the greatest phone of all time, anyone who had one was automatically way cooler than they would be without it. If that sounds hyperbolic, well, you just had to be there.
Late last year, Motorola pleasantly surprised us all by announcing a new version of the Razr with a slick, bendable screen. When it's open, it's basically a really long smartphone. When it's closed, you've still got a smaller screen on the outside to work with. It does all of this while still looking a lot like the old Razr, right down to a shockingly thin form factor when unfolded.
There's good news and bad news to this, however. The good news is you might be able to get your hands on it soon; even after a slight delay, the new Razr is still expected to ship in early 2020. The bad news? It's $1,500. So, get ready to save up or take out a loan if you want to revive 2004's most iconic status symbol.
Samsung's follow-up to the Galaxy Fold
After the first iteration of the Galaxy Fold proved too fragile to sell and its subsequent refresh failed to impress last year, we would understand if you were skeptical of Samsung's future foldable plans. If you wanted to be optimistic, though, you could look at it as Samsung boldly going where no one else would, which is admirable regardless of the quality of the product.
The good news is it's all but confirmed that Samsung is giving it another go in early 2020. Samsung showed off a new clamshell foldable phone design in the above video last year, and rumors out of CES claim it's called the Galaxy Bloom.
While we don't know too much about the Galaxy Bloom other than its alleged name and look, those rumors indicate it'll be out in February and could potentially cost less than $900. It's amazing how far one company can come in less than a year, but Samsung might be on track to course correct its foldable game.
Microsoft's dual-screen tablet and phone
Back in October, Microsoft announced two devices that find themselves on this list through a technicality: Neither have bendable screens, but you can physically fold them, so they still qualify. They also both look very cool, which has to count for something.
Microsoft is avenging the death of Windows Phone, its mobile operating system, with the Surface Duo, an Android-powered phone with two screens. Unlike other foldable phones, Microsoft isn't pretending like it's just one big screen: A small, but visible hinge separates the two screens. You can still run the same app across both or do two different things on each screen if you want.
Alternatively, you can check out the Surface Neo. It's kind of the same thing, except it's a big dual-screen tablet instead of a phone. It also runs on a modified version of Windows 10 instead of Android.
Both Surface devices are expected to launch this holiday season. We don't know the prices yet, but you probably shouldn't expect them to be cheap.
Lenovo's hyper-expensive PC
This one costs the prettiest penny out of every device we've covered here by far, but it sure looks fun to use. Lenovo announced at CES that its ThinkPad X1 Fold would launch in the middle of the year for $2,499.
Yes, seriously.
That price point may seem a little preposterous, but we're still in the very early days of foldable PCs. Unlike the Surface Duo, this one does have a bendable 13.3-inch screen with a crisp 2,048 x 1,536 pixel count. It can function as a tablet if you unfold it all the way, but if you fold it halfway, the top half becomes a screen and the bottom half becomes a virtual keyboard.
That's not all — it actually comes with a small, physical keyboard, in case you want to do some writing while taking advantage of the screen's fully unfolded majesty. All in all, it's a fairly neat-looking device. It might be a little much in terms of price right now, but it's easy to imagine a future where these sorts of things are more ubiquitous and cheaper.
Of course, there will be other foldable devices in 2020. We're still very early in the year and certain companies (what's up, Apple?) haven't revealed any foldable plans yet. Unless all of these devices are massive, hilarious failures, you can expect to see a lot more like them going forward in 2020.
