Recently, there’s been speculation that Samsung plans on making 2024 the year it pushes foldables hard with aggressive pricing for the mid-range market.
“Supply chain sources have also revealed that Samsung is planning to bring foldable phones to the midrange market next year, further reducing price barriers and making foldable phones more accessible to a broader range of customers,” wrote TrendForce in a report earlier this month.
One leaker went further, defining mid-range as very low indeed, suggesting a possible Foldable Fan Edition (or ‘FE’ as Samsung insists on calling them) might be in the US$400 to US$500 range.
That’s NZ$670 to NZ$838, which felt more than a little optimistic given:
A) Samsung’s cheapest foldable currently costs double that.
B) That’s about the price of the Galaxy A54 which doesn’t fold.
C) Samsung shareholders sure do like the brand’s premium pricing.
So with our collective eyebrow sceptically raised, we resisted the urge to write it up. And that was the right call: Samsung itself has poured cold water on the idea that a super-cheap foldable might be imminent.
“We don’t plan to manufacture foldable smartphones that are priced in the midrange, and the latest rumours are groundless,” a Samsung Electronics spokesperson told the Korea JoongAnd Daily.
Okay, but what about a Fan Edition? One that externally looks similar but with (slightly) cheaper components on the inside. “There’s nothing decided on the matter,” the spokesperson said.
So, back to scrolling Ebay for misspelt older models it is, then. No doubt prices will come down in the next few years, unless foldables buck the trend of nearly every other bit of consumer electronics in history, but for 2024 at least, it looks like Samsung’s foldables will be for those with deep pockets once again.
Figuratively and literally, given the size of the Galaxy Z Fold 5.
