Galaxy Z Fold 3 and Flip 3 to be cheaper indeed, great trade-in offers and 'luxury version' await
We've already heard that Samsung will be slashing prices of its 2021 foldable phone gang significantly to increase uptake, and on account of successful component cost-cutting measures.
Tucked into a phone rumor thread at Korea's popular web forum Naver, SamMobile found the next confirmation that "the price will be lower than the previous generation." So far, we've heard 20% lower, which would put the Galaxy Z Fold 3 price at $1599, and the Z Flip 3 at $1159, even though we heard just yesterday that the clamshell may start from $1249.
A sub-$1000 version may also be in the works, though the reports are conflicting on whether what is dubbed Z Flip 3 Lite will appear at the August 11 Unpacked event, or later in the year with LTE connectivity only.
Always bet on the higher price heard is our motto, and you won't be disappointed, but the Korean tipster adds some heretofore unknown details like the fact that there will be generous initial trade-in offers to lower the Z Fold 3 and Flip 3 prices even further, as well as a mysterious "luxury version" that will participate in a separate pre-order event.
While Samsung's trade-in offers are notorious for their generosity indeed, and it's not hard to imagine that they will be in sync with all of the company's preorder deals so far, the "luxury version" is what piqued our interest.
Does it mean there will indeed be a separate Galaxy Z Fold 3 S Pen Edition? Well, there's nothing luxurious in the S Pen, and Samsung could've simply made Z Fold 3 models with and without a digitizer if it wants to differentiate them by price yet nothing like this has been heard so far.
Alternatively, the "luxury version" tidbit could refer to something Korea-specific, or the Z Flip 3, rather than the Z Fold 3, and that one we can imagine available in a bedazzled model easier. Well, the source does say that "the release time is the same as the previous rumors," so we could reasonably expect all our questions answered in a few week's time anyway.
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