Flip phones were massively popular in the 2000s and did well until smartphones were developed. Even now, companies like Samsung are creating foldable smartphones. Companies like Human Mobile Devices and Mattel are planning to bring them back, stylishly, of course.
Upcoming Barbie Flip Phones
Human Mobile Devices (HMD), the leading smartphone manufacturer in Europe, is partnering with toymaker Mattel to create a phone that will appeal to your inner Barbie and will be released in the summer of 2024.
Human Mobile Devices Chief Marketing Officer, Lars Silberbauer stated that they are "thrilled to partner with Mattel, a company that shares our commitment to meaningful innovation and societal change," as mentioned in the HMD blog post.
The upcoming release is framed as a way for users to undergo a digital detox, stating that 38% of 16 to 24-year-olds worry that they spend too much time on smartphones. Since the product will only be a feature phone, it won't have access to addictive social media sites.
"[I]t's not just a generational shift, it's a cultural movement," says the company, with the belief that feature phones will make a comeback as Gen Z and millennials are opting to limit their screen time for the sake of their mental health.
An advocate for the said movement, Arne Mathiasen, expressed that he has encouraged more than 1500 university students to switch away from smartphones, and as a result, the participants "noticeably chatted more with each other, reported better sleep and also said their anxiety levels dropped."
Head of Consumer Products, Ruth Henriquez mentioned that the Barbie x Mattel collaboration "promises to be an exciting moment for Barbie fans of all ages," and that the product will be unveiled at the Mobile World Congress.
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Smart Flip Phones
If you don't intend to give up social media or internet connection just yet, you can still purchase smart flip phones. There are models that Samsung has to offer such as the Galaxy Z Flip, and even cheaper options like the ZTE Libero Flip from Japan.
The latter can be bought for $420, even cheaper at $265 if you preorder the item. It uses a Qualcomm Snapdragon 7-series chip and has a 6.9-inch OLED screen. It also has a 466 x 466-pixel round screen at the front that shows a display when the phone is folded.
It can be used as a selfie cam, as it features a 50-megapixel main camera, a 2-megapixel depth camera, and a 16-megapixel selfie camera at the front, as reported by The Verge. Of course, with a cheaper price, the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip is a higher-end phone.
The Samsung model has a 3.4-inch screen that can be viewed when the device is folded as well. It is equipped with an Octa-Core chip, a 12.0 MP + 12.0-megapixel rear camera that can zoom up to 10x, and a 10-megapixel front camera.
Similar to the ZTE Libero Flip, the Galaxy Z Flip can also be used for selfies even when the device is folded, and the image will appear on the smaller screen. What's more, is that the folding feature can also function as a stand for a hands-free selfie.
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