The pricier model will, of course, be the Galaxy Z Fold 6, the successor to the Galaxy Z Fold 5 from 2023. The other foldable will be the well-known Galaxy Z Flip 6. This year, however, Samsung is rumored to have prepared a third foldable phone for its customers.
More specifically, we are talking about a budget variant of the company’s most premium foldable (and phone in general), the Galaxy Z Fold 6.
Cheaper Galaxy Z Fold 6 to launch around the iPhone 16 announcement
Be it intentional or not (and usually these things tend to be), Samsung is said to be planning to launch its new affordable Galaxy Z Fold phone in September or October, reports The Elec (a popular media outlet in South Korea that focuses on electronics).If this is true, when Samsung is planning to launch its affordable Galaxy Z Fold, it will be entering quite the full stage, with Apple’s iPhone 16 series expected to come in September, and Google’s Pixel 9 series expected sometime in October.
Samsung is most likely hoping to divert some buyers from new, shiny, and expensive flagship lineups of its two largest competitors, hence the rumored release date.
This could turn out to be a power move on Samsung’s end, though, especially if the more affordable Galaxy Z Fold is less expensive than what Apple or Google ask for their flagships. In fact, other reports have mentioned a $800 price tag for the cheaper Galaxy Z Fold 6. For context, the starting price for the Galaxy Z Fold 5 from 2023 was $1,800. So, in other words, that would be a $1000 price difference!
Now, of course, there will almost certainly be a few major corners cut to bring the price down by that much (if it turns out to be so low), but you would still have the benefit of a larger tablet-like display that can fold in two and fit inside your pocket.
Here’s is what we know about the budget Galaxy Z Fold 6
The Elec mentions in its report that, unlike the premium Galaxy Z Fold 6, the budget variant won’t come with a built-in S Pen. Now, we can look at that as a downside, but we can also look at it as a positive aspect. Without the need to house an S Pen inside its body, the new affordable Z Fold can become lighter and thinner, which is a win in many people’s books.
Apart from that, everything else is speculation at this point. It is pretty safe to assume that we will probably see a less powerful processor, be it a mid-range one or an older flagship-level SoC. The cameras are another obvious area where cost can be reduced, and we expect to see less of them, both in terms of how many they are and what they are capable of.
Other areas Samsung might have to trim down are the display quality, using hardware that does not have the same peak brightness levels, for example. That said, we are still talking about Samsung here, so the cover and inner displays should, at the very least, have superb contrast and color accuracy.
And, speaking of displays, if you are wondering whether the cover screen will not be a thing with the cheaper model, we would venture to guess that is highly unlikely. After all, having a display on the outside and the inside is a big part of owning a book-like foldable phone, so we don’t expect an unpleasant surprise here.
