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Samsung's bendy clamshell to be half the RAZR price, but it won't be the high-end Fold 2

By Daniel Petrov

Updated: Jan 07, 2020, 9:09 AM

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UPDATE: A new leak claims that Samsung's Unpacked event clamshell will sport a Snapdragon 855 chipset and 10 MP selfie camera in the Premium Hole Infinity Display at the front. The fact that it won't have Snapdragon 865 like the Fold 2 in August pours more water in the midrange specs and cheap price rumor mill for whatever Samsung names its direct Motorola RAZR competitor.

Exclusive for @mysmartprice: Samsung's new Galaxy Fold clamshell phone, the SM-F700F will feature Snadragon 855, NOT 865. It will also have a 10MP front camera. Galaxy A51, A71, S20 4G, S20+ 4G Production has also started in India. #Samsung
Link: https://t.co/QY1cuXLjfU pic.twitter.com/Q5gD19qt0n
— Ishan Agarwal (@ishanagarwal24) January 7, 2020

All eyes may be on the Galaxy S11 (S20) series for Samsung's February 11 Unpacked event, but what the company means by tipping "innovative devices that will shape the next decade of mobile experiences," won't be just the S-line phones about to be unveiled then.

It will also be announcing its first clamshell phone with bendable display, the purported Fold 2 that Korean media tips today will be called something else while the real Fold 2 will be arriving in August as a true successor of the OG Fold, together with an eventual Note 11 (Note 20).

The Fold 2 will be with all the bells and whistles that one would expect from a 2020 flagship, but the spring chicken flip phone, whatever it gets named, won't have 5G or things like wireless charging, claim the insiders, to keep costs down.

Samsung's bendy screen clamshell won't be the Fold 2, but it may be the cheapest foldable phone

By how much? Well, just as we heard being claimed in another Korean report not long ago, today's leak tips a price of about $857 in local currency, which is a Benjamin shy of half-the-RAZR-price.

Motorola asks $1500 for its clamshell foldable with mid-range specs and Samsung will be significantly undercutting this, it seems, establishing a spring/fall release pattern for its foldable phones going forward.

Apparently, the spring chickens will be gunning for the mass market and quicker proliferating of the foldable phone concept, while the Fold-branded ones in the second half of the year will be aiming at early adopters of the latest and greatest the mobile industry has to offer going forward.

Besides the lack of 5G, wireless charging, or other modern accouterments, Samsung's spring clamshell won't be using the rumored ultrathin glass cover, but the good ol' polyimide film that the OG Fold uses, but with increased durability, again to keep costs in check .

It will, however, feature dual rear cameras, and a 6.7" display that folds in half for a one very, very compact to carry phone that will also be the cheapest bendy handset you can buy in the spring. Take that, RAZR and any other Chinese maker that may have been eyeing foldable glory!

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Daniel, a devoted tech writer at PhoneArena since 2010, has been engrossed in mobile technology since the Windows Mobile era. His expertise spans mobile hardware, software, and carrier networks, and he's keenly interested in the future of digital health, car connectivity, and 5G. Beyond his professional pursuits, Daniel finds balance in travel, reading, and exploring new tech innovations, while contemplating the ethical and privacy implications of our digital future.