Galaxy Z FE looking like a reality after pricing and release timeframe leaks for the cheap foldable
Foldable phones are here to stay but to make the category mainstream, we need affordable models that an average consumer can buy. After years of on and off again rumors, it looks like Samsung is finally ready to launch a bendable phone for the masses.
Two days back, leaker @Tech_Reve shared a link to a TrendForce article on X, which is in line with their earlier posts that said Samsung would launch a reasonably priced foldable in 2024.
Per the article, Samsung, as well as Huawei, are expected to launch competitively priced foldable smartphones next year. With foldable phones being the only category that is growing while the rest of the market is in perpetual decline, cheap bendable handsets might be just what the industry needs to revive itself.
With 13 new foldable phones released in the last three months alone, competition is moving at a breakneck speed, and Samsung can't rely on the rumored Galaxy Z Fold 6 and Flip 6 alone to meet its target of selling 20 million foldable phones in 2024.
@Tech_Reve has heard that the rumored cheaper foldable, which might be called the Galaxy Z FE, will be released after its flagship foldable phones. They also say that the South Korean giant has settled on a price range of between $400 to $500 for its mid-tier foldable.
This would make it a lot more affordable than the Flip 5, which starts at $999.99, and the Fold 5, which starts at $1,799.99.
It's not abundantly clear whether it's going to be a book-style foldable or a flip phone, but looking at the rumored price, it's safe to assume that it will be a clamshell phone.
Samsung will probably position it as a competitor to the Razr 2023, which costs $699 and is the cheapest foldable phone you can buy right now.
Nothing is known about the specs of the phone right now, but given that it's going to be a Fan Edition model, it will likely be a stripped-down version of Samsung's foldable phones so we can expect decent specs.
Today's leak doesn't exactly align with what a Samsung exec hinted at when asked about a cheap foldable phone. His words indicated that a mid-range foldable phone was very far off in the future.
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