Flip Phones Are Making A Comeback – And Gen Z Is Leading The Charge
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The smartphone is among the most significant innovations in human history. With these pocket-sized devices, users can access or purchase nearly any song, book, movie, or television show ever created. Together with the mobile app ecosystem, which Apple helped pioneer, the smartphone has changed how people communicate, shop, travel, bank, and even date. However, the very things that make smartphones so engaging and useful are also what make them so addictive.
Today, smartphones bombard users with perpetual streams of alerts and notifications. By offering an endless well of entertainment, social media apps like Instagram and TikTok often keep users glued to their devices for hours on end — but studies have shown that extensive social media use can negatively impact one's mental health. One 2020 report published in the Journal of Technology in Behavioral Science found that social media use demonstrably increases "exposure to harm, social isolation, depressive symptoms, and bullying." Furthermore, a later 2025 report published by Pew Research Center found that 45% of adolescents believe they spend too much time using social media.
Consequently, folks in Generation Z are trading their Androids and iPhones for new minimalist flip phones that still enable them to call and text friends, but without the temptation of being hooked on their devices for countless hours. Without instant social media access, users are less likely to spend as much time scrolling through omnipresent "brain rot," which Merriam-Webster defines as "mindless digital content." It should come as no surprise, then, that many people who use flip phones as their primary device report feeling happier and less anxious compared to when they used smartphones. Consequently, the trend of Gen Zers gravitating towards flip phones has been growing over the past several years.
Nostalgia is a major driver of flip phone sales, even among youth
In every generation, technologies from decades past carry an allure that makes them easily romanticized and, therefore, coveted. This even occurs with music — nowadays, there's a niche segment of younger consumers who shun streaming and prefer listening to music on CDs and vinyl records. Even cassette tapes are making a comeback in 2026. This phenomenon of chasing older media is now playing out with cell phones, and Gen Z is actively embracing flip phones for the nostalgia factor.
The Gen Z age range commonly includes individuals born between 1997 and 2012, so the oldest members of Gen Z are likely to remember flip phones from their childhoods. For most people in the demographic, though, smartphones are the only kinds of mobile phones they've ever owned. As a result, using a less capable "dumb phone" has retro appeal. Gen Z started flocking to acquire feature phones in the early 2020s, so much so that flip phone sales among users aged 18 to 24 increased by 148% between 2021 and 2024, according to a 2024 report from the peer-reviewed Partners Universal Innovative Research Publication.
Cell phones and music aren't the only areas in which Gen Z folks are leaning into older technologies, though. Many people in that demographic are now using old point-and-shoot digital cameras and disposable cameras over modern-day smartphones for photos, especially for events. I attended a wedding just a few weeks ago where every single table featured a disposable camera — a retro gadget that pretty well everyone owned in the '80s but isn't so ubiquitous anymore — so guests could easily take retro-style photos. All told, the nostalgia factor appeals to adults hoping to enjoy childhood relics anew, but it also appeals to younger generations yearning to use devices they were too young to experience when they were first introduced.
Select flip phone models stand out among Gen Z buyers
Support for mobile data — namely 4G LTE — is one big reason why certain flip phone models gain popularity over others. The Nokia 2780 Flip and the Nokia 2660 Flip, both released in 2022, are two such options. The Telegraph even designated the latter as what they call the "Best Flip-open Clamshell Dumbphone" of 2026. You can find either phone new on eBay for anywhere between $60 and $100. Some aspiring flip phone owners also take to online marketplaces to buy bona fide vintage flip phone options, one of the most popular options being the Motorola Razr V3. That one goes for about $50 on eBay. Just note that buying used flip phones online can be risky, since there's no guarantee they will work as expected.
Naturally, newer flip phones like the Nokia 2660 Flip have more features and advantages than vintage flip phones do. Those features include better battery life, GPS functionality, a larger display, and cellular network access. If those are the kinds of features you need, avoid getting a flip phone from the pre-smartphone era. If you want some flip phone recommendations, consider heading to the r/dumbphones subreddit, an active online community where users post all about their experiences with stripped-down cell phones. Some flip phones on the market that are popular among Gen Z buyers include the two aforementioned Nokia models, the TCL Classic, and the Kyocera DuraXV Extreme+.
Even major retailers carry flip phones, most of which are brand new and unlocked. For example, Best Buy sells the Tracfone Blu Flex flip phone for just $24.99. The device ships with 4G LTE support, Bluetooth, GPS, and Android 14. It also has a rear-facing 2-megapixel camera, so it provides just about all the key mobile phone essentials — like maps, messaging, and basic photography — without any of the noisy features that would tempt you to spend endless hours scrolling on your device.