In 2020, Samsung unveiled its flip phone, the Z Flip. In 2023, Google has unveiled its answer to the flip phone – the Pixel Fold. The flow on effect has seen many tech companies launch their own solution to the updated flip phone.

Showing no signs of slowing down, just this week, Google announced that the Pixel Fold was being integrated into its flagship phone lineup. Where these brands have started, more will surely follow. This Y2K-inspired format is making it's way into new and mainstream tech, meaning your next phone might very well be one that flips.

We've come full circle and I'm not mad about it.

The new Pixel 9 Fold

In mid-August, Google announced it's new Pixel phone lineup. While many of the formats were as expected; the small but zippy Pixel 9, its powered up sister, the Pixel 9 Pro, and for the size enthusiasts, the Pixel 9 Pro XL. But there was a surprise addition to the Pixel 9 suite. Previously just the Pixel Fold, now Google's flippable phone was being given pride of place in the brand's flagship phone lineup – newly updated and named the Pixel 9 Pro Fold.

The Pixel 9 Pro Fold comes with a sleek, 8-inch display that folds at the snap of your fingers. Once in half, there is a front display the size of a traditional smart phone. It allows users to have the big screen they want for consuming content on the go, but also the compact size you need for something to fit comfortably in your handbag or pocket. With a display made from highly durable Gorilla Glass Victus 2, it harks back to the days where phones were seeming unsmashable – even if one of your friends threw it across the school oval.

Y2K reigns supreme

You'd have to be living under a rock to have missed the resurgence of the Y2K aesthetic. It has permeated everything from the fashion we wear, the movies being remade and the celebrities at the forefront of the zeitgeist. There's also been an undeniable influence on tech. Some have even been ditching their big screen smart phone in favour of 2000s-era flip phone. Driven by popularisation of retro tech, but also a desire to be less absorbed by screens, the adoption of these older style phones has been swift. As we saw, when Nokia rereleased its famous 2660, it was a near immediate sellout.

But of course, a return to analogue is not going to be for everyone. Smart phones still prevail as the most popular choice when upgrading to a new phone. With the Y2K aesthetic showing no signs of dying out, the new era of flip phones (a la Z Flip and Pixel Fold) seem to meet the brief for everyone. You only have to run a search through Google Trends to see the increase in search popularity for this type of device.

Who's next to launch a flip phone?

Motorola has the Razr Plus, Oppo has the N2 Flip, OnePlus has the Open, Huawei has the P50 Pocket, Nubia has the Flip 5g. With so many brands already in this space, the big question is when will Apple join the party?

Speculation has been rife for month. You only have to Google "Apple Flip Phone" to see just how many rumours are already swirling. Unconfirmed claims of "code names" and release dates are bubbling away in a cauldron of conjecture. Apple is notoriously secretive, with its launches being some of the most eagerly anticipated tech announcements across the whole world. If anything, the only thing I'm certain of at the moment is that we'll only know the details of a potential Apple flip phone if and when the company wants to share them.

Of course, if you had to guess, the eventual introduction of an Apple iteration of a flip seems more and more like a certainty each day.

So, be ready for your next phone to flip – and for extra authenticity points, accessorise it with a janky phone charm.