Samsung’s 2024 lineup was recently speculated to include budget foldable smartphones. The first affordable foldable from the South Korean tech giant was said to cost around $400 to $500 (roughly Rs. 33,000 to Rs. 41,000), similar to a mid-range Galaxy A series smartphone. The company has now reportedly denied rumours of a mid-range Samsung foldable phone. Samsung was said to release Fan Edition versions of the foldable phone after the launch of the Galaxy Z Fold 6 and Galaxy Z Flip 6 next year.
As per a report by Korea JoongAng Daily, a Samsung spokesperson confirmed that the company doesn’t have plans for a “mid-range” foldable. “We don’t plan to manufacture foldable smartphones that are priced in the midrange, and the latest rumours are groundless,” the report quotes the spokesperson as saying.
Samsung was also rumoured to launch a cheaper Galaxy Z foldable phone called the Galaxy Z FE (Fan Edition) after the launch of Galaxy Z Fold 6 and Galaxy Z Flip 6 and the spokesperson rejected the rumour saying, “there’s nothing decided on the matter”.
Recent rumours said that Samsung was developing a lower-cost foldable set to arrive in 2024. A report by market research firm TrendForce claimed that Samsung will introduce more competitively priced foldable phones to the mid-range market next year to help reduce price barriers and make foldable phones more accessible. Further, a tipster opined that the foldable could be priced as low as $400 to $500.
The South Korean brand has released five iterations of the Galaxy Z foldable flagships. The Galaxy Z Flip 5 and Galaxy Z Fold 5 were launched just a few months ago. The price of the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 starts at $999(roughly Rs. 82,000), while the Galaxy Z Fold 5 has an initial price tag of $1,799 (roughly Rs. 1,47,000).
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 price in India starts at Rs. 1,54,999 for the base 12GB RAM + 256GB storage configuration and Galaxy Z Flip 5 starts at Rs. 99,999 for the 8GB RAM + 256GB storage model.
Both the Galaxy Z Fold 5 and Galaxy Z Flip 5 are powered by Qualcomm’s custom Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 Mobile Platform for Galaxy and feature a new Flex Hinge. They ship with One UI 5.1.1 based on Android 13 and have an IPX8 rated build for water resistance.