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Samsung denies rumors of cheap foldables, says 'nothing decided' about Galaxy Z FE phones
- A Samsung official has shot down rumors of cheap foldables coming from the brand.
- A recent rumor suggested there could be foldables from Samsung in the $500 range as early as next year.
- The same official also shot down the idea of an “FE” model in the Galaxy Z family, at least for now.
Last week, a rumor surfaced suggesting that Samsung could be working on a mid-range foldable phone to land as early as 2024. According to the rumor, this phone would be in the $400 to $500 range.
However, a spokesperson for Samsung Electronics shot down this information to the Korean publication Korea JoongAng Daily. “We don’t plan to manufacture foldable smartphones that are priced in the midrange,” the spokesperson said. They also added that the recent rumors are “groundless.”
This, unfortunately, likely means that we won’t see any cheap foldables from Samsung any time soon. The cheapest foldable the company makes is the clamshell-style Galaxy Z Flip, of which the latest is the Galaxy Z Flip 5. These phones start at $1,000, putting them out of reach for budget-minded shoppers.
In addition to these statements surrounding cheap foldables, the spokesperson also touched on the idea of an “FE” model in the Galaxy Z Family. Formerly known as “Fan Edition” devices, an FE phone takes the core elements of a device and cuts away at some features and hardware to bring down the price. The most recent example of this is the Galaxy S23 FE.
The spokesperson said, “There’s nothing decided on the matter,” when asked about a Galaxy Z FE phone.
In other words, you can go ahead and expect Samsung foldables to continue to be very expensive in 2024. It’s likely they’ll get cheaper over time, but the hope of getting a sub-$1,000 foldie from the company next year is no more.
Of course, that doesn’t mean other companies aren’t creating cheap foldables. The Motorola Razr (2023) starts at just $699, or the same price as a Pixel 8.
