The world’s first flip phone turns 30 in 2026—here’s what new foldables could learn from it

In 1996, mobile phones were not very interesting. My dad had one provided by his employer, and it was this big walkie-talkie thing that charged upright in a chunky charging base. So you could understand that flipping open a magazine and seeing a photo of the Motorola StarTAC felt like someone selling a communicator from Star Trek to the public.