Foldable phones still have overheating issues

The Motorola Razr Ultra (2026) it has a lot to offer, with a good-sized 5000 mAh silicon-carbon battery, fast charging, and the best-in-the-business overlay software. However, at $1,500, the phone is pretty expensive, especially when you consider that it runs the latest generation processorstill the usual overheated and forced shutdown.

While the phone didn’t noticeably heat up during everyday tasks or even more demanding workloads, it’s another example of how modern smartphones, especially foldables, falter when pushing maximum performance for any serious period of time. I can’t help but wonder if the temperature, not just the price, is at least one reason not to move to this year’s level. Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5although it’s still strange that last year’s Razr Ultra passed the stress tests well.

It wouldn’t be surprising if we’ve seen the 8 Elite Gen 5 heat up to 49.5°C on some of the flagship smartphones we’ve tested. Squeezed into a restrictive, foldable form factor, extreme performance can lead to higher temperatures. Increasingly, if you want to maintain peak flagship performance for any length of time, you need a large battery and a solid cooling solution.

For foldables, it doesn’t matter if you’re rocking current or last-gen silicon; temperature under stress can cause anxiety.

Just take a look at the latest foldable tests that complement the increasingly modest 3DMark Wild Life stress tests. Samsung foldable devices and last year’s Razr Ultra hover around 40°C (104°F) well before the end of the test. The exception to the rule is Motorola itself Razr Foldit ramps up at a more comfortable 35°C (95°F) and degrades performance more gradually than its competitors.

Let’s take a closer look at the Razr Fold, which is a bit more economical than the Elite-level silicon, but by no means a budget-buster. Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 5. While not as compact as the Razr or Samsung’s Flip, the test shows it to be The Z Fold runs cooler than the 7 and provides higher sustained performanceand by extension, also rotatable folding ones. It’s not hard to imagine that this chip will help the Ultra stay cool enough to complete our stress test, while still providing very comparable performance to the last generation.

I feel like a broken recordbut phones don’t need to ship with the fastest chip possible to offer solid everyday and even gaming performance. Chips like the 8 Gen 5 won’t struggle to hit 60fps or higher in most Android games and emulators, though that’s not quite a benchmark. In fact, sometimes it’s better not to go for the fastest (and hottest) chips on the market and instead settle for something that’s easier on battery drain and thermal performance, especially in this form factor.

While the Razr Ultra may have raised eyebrows for failing our silicone stress tests last year, I’m equally concerned that the upcoming Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 8 will be a Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chip in the US — perhaps a slightly higher-clocked “For Galaxy” variant. Based on historical data, it’s highly unlikely that the Flip’s Elite chip will be able to maintain its top performance for long. While it won’t overheat or close apps as heat builds up, there is a possibility of quick thermal regulation and it can keep the phone warm enough if you decide to pause some games.

Unfortunately, it appears so Samsung’s Exynos 2600 chip isn’t exactly a good customer on both the Galaxy S26 and S26 Plus. The chip proved to be slightly hotter than the Snapdragon alternatives we tested, and heats up faster. Samsung may choose the cooler of the two options by putting Snapdragon in the next Flip in some markets, though neither chip will unlock its full potential when packed into an extra compact foldable form factor.

Now, you could argue that few clamshell customers buy devices like the Razr Plus and Z Flip for extreme performance use cases, so why worry about heat from extreme stress testing? A fair point, but it begs the question of why they’re pushing expensive, top-of-the-line silicon in the first place? Keeping up the good looks is important to some degree, but customers would be just as happy if a more economical chip meant their batteries lasted longer – especially when foldable phone batteries are smaller to begin with.

While folding booklets are built for multitasking, flaps are more conservative. We’re already happily trading battery size and advanced camera hardware for a more pocket-friendly form factor. Brands need to consider how often we reach for a cable when combining the warmth of our palms and the latest trendy foldable innovations with the latest and greatest processors.