Price and release window of Samsung's cheapest foldable phone outed in new leak

In May we heard rumors about a device called the Galaxy Fold Lite. Industry insiders also speculated that the phone will be named the Galaxy Fold Special Edition and will launch in July. Now, two separate Korean news outlets report that Samsung’s cheapest foldable phone might not launch this year and might not be cheap at all.

According to The Korea Herald, Samsung will launch two foldable phones — Galaxy Fold 2 and Galaxy Z Flip 5G — in the second half of 2020. Meanwhile, the “affordable” foldable model will likely come out next year, the website notes.

Another Korean media outlet (via SamMobile) says that the so-called Galaxy Fold Lite will debut next year with a price of 1,000,000 won (~$900). That’s much lower than the $1,980 Galaxy Fold and the $1,380 Galaxy Z Flip, but it’s definitely not cheap by any means.

Samsung will reportedly equip the Galaxy Fold Lite with the flagship Snapdragon 865 chipset. However, the phone is expected to cut some corners when it comes to the display and connectivity.

To keep costs at bay, the Galaxy Fold Lite is tipped to skimp out on the ultra-thin glass seen on the Galaxy Z Flip and rumored for use on the Fold 2. If that wasn’t bad enough, the cheaper Galaxy Fold is also rumored to have only 4G connectivity, even though the Snapdragon 865 is a 5G-capable processor.

Related: HUAWEI and Xiaomi’s upcoming foldable could use ultra-thin glass

Of course, these are all early rumors and a lot could change between now and next year, if that’s when Samsung plans to launch the phone.

Meanwhile, if you’re looking to buy a foldable phone right now, you might want to wait till August for Samsung to launch its new devices. HUAWEI is also expected to launch a very competitive foldable phone in a few months, so watch out for that one too.

Can’t wait? Here are the best foldable phones you can purchase right now.