Samsung's foldable phones are not cheap, but the company has managed to ask less money for its foldable devices than some of its rivals. Samsung is trying to make foldables more accessible, and rumors suggest that the company is working on a mid-range folding phone for next year.
There's not a lot of evidence to support these rumors, but market analyst firm TrendForce, citing supply chain sources, says the device is planned for a 2024 release.
This device will supposedly help democratize foldable phone technology. But for that to happen, it needs a low enough price. So, how much will Samsung's mid-range foldable phone cost?
According to another new rumor via @Tech_Reve, this mysterious mid-range Galaxy foldable device would go on sale for $400-$500.
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Needless to say, $400-$500 for a foldable phone sounds hard to achieve. The Galaxy A54 was released for $450 and has no folding parts or a hinge.
The Galaxy S23 FE debuted for $600, which probably means that the mid-range foldable phone would need lesser specs than the S23 FE's to meet the $400-$500 price range.
Can this Galaxy device exist?
Judging by Samsung's current Galaxy phone lineup, this rumored foldable device would have to make great sacrifices to achieve its foldable form factor and sub-$500 price. As far as foldable phones go, this device would likely be closer to the “low-end” market segment than the “mid-range” one. And “low-end Galaxy foldable” sounds oxymoronic.
In essence, this phone would have to make sacrifices across the board, from internal hardware to cameras and build quality, only to offer a foldable display at a relatively affordable price. Either that, or Samsung would have to take a loss on every unit sold.
Some industry watchers believe Samsung's low-cost/mid-range Galaxy phone will be released next year.
Editor's Note: Samsung is a different kind of device manufacturer nowadays. It has a reputation to uphold and rarely does things on a whim. It can't do one-off experiments like smaller OEMs can (and like it used to many years ago). When Samsung commits to an idea, it has to be proven correct.
With that in mind, a low-cost foldable phone for $400-$500 might be too tricky to achieve next year. If this device has too many compromises across the board, it can't stay true to Samsung's current design philosophy. But perhaps Samsung may be willing to underprice a device and let go of some revenue to create a decent low-cost package, only to help democratize foldable phones. Time will tell.
