Following last month's glamorous Galaxy Z Fold 6 and Z Flip 6 launch, Samsung is gearing up to announce the Galaxy Fold FE and S24 FE with just as much glitz at some point this fall. That's what I wish I could report right now without fearing that time will inevitably prove me wrong.
This may sound odd to some of you, but the global leader of foldable sales has a bit of a problem in just that market segment, which could soon become a much bigger problem. After crushing all of its rivals with an 80 percent share of the world's foldable device shipments in 2022, Samsung dipped to a 66 percent slice of the pie last year, which still seems like a very impressive result.
But then all of a sudden Huawei eclipsed the industry's former champion in Q1 2024 foldable smartphone sales, and while Samsung should still be able to come out on top when the full-year results come in, the battle for supremacy is, well, finally a battle with more than one participant.
The Z Fold 6 is not very slim, but that's not the only problem with it. | Image Credit -- PhoneArena
With brands like Honor, Motorola, Oppo, and Vivo also boosting their global numbers at rates not seen since... Samsung made foldables mainstream in the first place, it's obvious that something is not working. And that something is the Galaxy Z Fold line. Don't listen to me, listen to the analysts that ranked the Galaxy Z Flip 5 as the world's top-selling foldable model in Q4 2023 while putting the Z Fold 5 in a disappointing fourth place.
Do you think the Z Fold 6 is performing much better now... with an almost unchanged spec sheet and an even more obscene price point than its predecessor? Guess we'll have to wait and see the end-of-the-year third-party sales reports, but I highly doubt it. Which is why I commend Samsung for (purportedly) preparing another addition to the Galaxy Z Fold family in 2024.
But the Galaxy Z Fold 6 Slim, Z Fold 6 Ultra, Z Fold 6 Super Duper, or however the company might be thinking of calling its top-of-the-line foldable device ain't it, chief. With or without a built-in stylus, extra-robust titanium body, and wasp waist, this is not what the masses want. Not today and not anytime soon. Not at $2,000 and not at more than $2,000, which is how much we can realistically expect such an incredibly sophisticated product to cost when the "normal" Z Fold 6 starts at $1,900.
Let the FE program flourish!
Does anyone here remember the Galaxy S20 FE? By no means a perfect phone, Samsung's first (non-explosive) "budget flagship" managed to absolutely set the industry on fire (figuratively speaking) back in 2020, breathing some much-needed fresh air into a Galaxy S portfolio that had become a little predictable and boring for many people.
While subsequent Fan Editions of Samsung's main high-end handsets couldn't replicate the massive success of the S20 FE for... various reasons, the Galaxy Buds FE are just the latest proof that the program needs to continue growing and expanding.
That's where a Galaxy Fold FE should come in ASAP to try to stave off the incredible growth of China-based foldable makers like Honor or Vivo. Do I believe Samsung is capable of designing something so visually alluring, technically advanced, and competitively priced as the Honor Magic V3 or Vivo X Fold 3 Pro right now? Absolutely not.
The Z Fold 4 design is not perfect, but it would be perfectly acceptable for an affordable Fold FE. | Image Credit -- PhoneArena
But instead of pouring time and money into making the Z Fold 6 Slim just a little bit stronger, thinner, and even costlier than the "regular" Z Fold 6 only to end up selling a few thousand units in China and South Korea, the company may want to focus on cutting just the right corners for a Fold FE variant that could easily become a monster hit around the world. Yes, I said it, I believe it, and will stand by it until the day I die PhoneArena fires me - there's nothing wrong with cutting corners for affordability's sake.
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Let's picture something like this, for instance:
7.6-inch primary display with 120Hz refresh rate technology;
6.2-inch cover screen with 120Hz support;
Armor aluminum frame;
Gorilla Glass Victus back;
IPX8 water resistance;
Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 processor;
12GB RAM;
256GB storage;
12 + 12 + 12MP triple rear-facing camera system;
4,400mAh battery;
25W charging capabilities;
7 years of software updates;
$1,000 starting price.
Is all of that doable? I certainly think so. And the main reason for that is most of those specs belong to the three-year-old Galaxy Z Fold 3. Samsung could even rehash the design of the Z Fold 3 or Z Fold 4, and I personally wouldn't mind as long as the price point sat close to the $1,000 mark. This is the only way to stay competitive in the book-style foldable segment, at least until the Galaxy Z Fold 7 comes out next year at a starting price of $1,200 or a massive asteroid destroys all forms of human life, both scenarios of which are just as likely.
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Adrian, a mobile technology enthusiast since the Nokia 3310 era, has been a dynamic presence in the tech journalism field, contributing to Android Authority, Digital Trends, and Pocketnow before joining PhoneArena in 2018. His expertise spans across various platforms, with a particular fondness for the diversity of the Android ecosystem. Despite the challenges of balancing full-time parenthood with his work, Adrian's passion for tech trends, running, and movies keeps him energized. His commitment to mid-range smartphones has led to an eclectic collection of devices, saved from personal bankruptcy by his preference for 'adequate' over 'overpriced'.
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