The Galaxy Z Fold FE and Z Flip FE might ditch the Snapdragon 8 for something inferior

We're all ears when it comes to Samsung's upcoming phones that can bend, fold, flip, tuck in, turn over and flex – the Galaxy Z Fold 6 and the Galaxy Z Flip 6.

However, this year, Samsung is rumored to release a "budget-friendly" foldable phone ("budget-friendly" for a foldable, keep that in mind) – something called the Galaxy Z Fold 6 FE.

This 'Fan Edition' book style foldable could come around October 2024, well after the flagship Galaxy Z Fold 6 and Z Flip 6 are introduced (hopefully) in July. The Z Fold 6 FE should come at a lower price than its premium sibling and could probably start at $799. Exactly a thousand bucks less than what the Galaxy Z Fold 5's and the Galaxy Z Fold 4's starting price was at launch: $1799.

Given that book style foldable phones are pricey (after all, you get a proper outer screen and an absolute behemoth for an inner one), the Z Fold 6 FE could attract more potential buyers. We'll see.

Something new

Now, however, it seems that there's another 'Fan Edition' foldable from Samsung, but this time, a clamshell: the alleged Galaxy Z Flip 6 FE.

SamMobile reports their recent findings – two X/Twitter photos that are about the two upcoming FE foldables from Samsung.

These alleged handsets are called "Galaxy Z Fold FE" and "Galaxy Z Flip FE". The Flip FE appears to have 8GB of RAM, 256GB of storage, and possibly a Snapdragon 7-series chip.

If that turns out to be true, it would be a surprise, given that many expect an 8-series chipset, at least the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2.

Could it be that these upcoming phones (if they come to life) would utilize Qualcomm’s new Snapdragon 7+ Gen 3 chipset – the one that promises exceptional on-device AI capabilities? Specs-wise, the Snapdragon 7+ Gen 3 packs one Prime Cortex-X4 (up to 2.8 GHz), four Performance (2.6GHz), and three Efficiency (1.9GHz) cores. In addition, the chipset features the Snapdragon X63 5G Modem with 3GPP Release 17 support, and the Spectra 18-bit Triple Cognitive ISP (up to 200MP).

The alleged Galaxy Z Fold FE is a bit of a red flag, the report states. If you look closely, the blurred-out screenshot indicates that the phone has a secondary chipset option that starts with "Exynos 23…" – that's neither the Exynos 2200 nor Exynos 2400 chip, but probably the Exynos 2300 – a mysterious chip that was reportedly canceled in 2023.

Nothing is confirmed, everything is a mystery – but cheaper foldables from Samsung are a must and there's no way around it. Stay tuned for more!