Samsung’s Cheaper Galaxy Foldable to Cost a Lot Less and Use Cameras From Existing Models: Report

Samsung’s affordable foldable according to industry sources will borrow a lot from the existing foldables.

Written by Sheldon Pinto, Edited by Siddharth Suvarna | Updated: 19 March 2024 15:26 IST

Samsung’s Cheaper Galaxy Foldable to Cost a Lot Less and Use Cameras From Existing Models: Report

Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold 5 did not pack in many upgrades over its predecessor

Highlights

Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold 6 series is expected to have an affordable option
This cheaper foldable is said to have watered-down specifications
The cameras are said to be similar to the Galaxy Z Fold 5

Samsung's upcoming foldable Unpacked event (whenever Samsung decides on a schedule) will be an interesting one. While foldables are starting to get popular in the premium segment Samsung's now facing competition from brands like Huawei, Oppo, and OnePlus in the global market. As per recent leaks, Samsung may be well-prepared this year by adding another tier to its book-style foldables lineup. The Korean manufacturer is said to be preparing the launch of two foldables, one of which will also include an ‘Ultra' moniker this year. On the other hand, there's also news of an affordable foldable, but little is known about it, apart from the rumours that Samsung is working on such a lower-priced model. Now, there's more information about this cheaper book-style foldable model, and it allegedly comes from industry sources and the supply chain.

According to a Korean publication called Sisa Journal, Samsung is expected to launch its affordable foldable in 2024 itself. This is keeping in mind that an earlier report hinted that Samsung could push the launch of its affordable foldable to a later date and only launch the standard Galaxy Z Fold 6 along with the expected Galaxy Z Fold 6 Ultra model at its usual mid-year Unpacked event.

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Furthermore, the report states that Samsung will have to lower the specifications of this affordable foldable with a watered-down applications processor, display and battery. However, the source citing supply chain and industry sources claims that the cheaper foldable's camera specifications will remain similar to existing foldable models, which currently includes just the Galaxy Z Fold 5. In short, Samsung's cheaper foldable will cut down on raw performance, but still pack a bunch of capable (or premium) cameras.

The new affordable model is expected to have a dual camera module, parts of which will be borrowed from existing foldables devices. The report also claims that the supply chain will also remain intact (or as before) for Samsung's 6th generation of foldable devices. However, the industry expects the volumes of production to be increased given that the affordable model is expected to sell in higher numbers than the premium models.

As for its price, industry sources claim that the phone will cost around $800 (roughly Rs. 66,000 before taxes), which is a lot lower than what most of us expected a budget book-style foldable to cost in 2024. This is less than half of what the cheapest Galaxy Fold 5 variant is priced at in India.

The push for an affordable foldable indeed makes plenty of sense given that Huawei too has recently launched several models designed to compete with Samsung's Galaxy Z Fold 5, which is still a lot chubbier in comparison to newer devices like the OnePlus Open that was launched in global markets like India late last year.

Is the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 the best foldable phone you can buy in India right now? We discuss the company's new clamshell-style foldable handset on the latest episode of Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast. Orbital is available on Spotify, Gaana, JioSaavn, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.

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Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5

REVIEW
KEY SPECS
NEWS

Design
Display
Software
Performance
Battery Life
Camera
Value for Money

Good
Very good build quality, IPX8 rated
Well-optimised software
Very good system and gaming performance
All-day battery life
Reliable cameras

Bad
Expensive
Still feels bulky

Read detailed Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 review

Display (Primary) 7.60-inch

Processor Snapdragon 8 Gen 2

Front Camera 10-megapixel + 4-megapixel

Rear Camera 50-megapixel + 12-megapixel + 10-megapixel

RAM 12GB

Storage 256GB, 512GB, 1TB

Battery Capacity 4400mAh

OS Android 13

Resolution 2176x1812 pixels

More Samsung mobiles Samsung mobiles price in India

OnePlus Open

REVIEW
KEY SPECS
NEWS

Design
Display
Software
Performance
Battery Life
Camera
Value for Money

Good
Slim and light foldable design
Excellent displays
Plenty of raw performance
Good for gaming
Speedy wired charging
Well-rounded cameras
Excellent battery life

Bad
No wireless charging
Basic IP rating

Read detailed OnePlus Open review

Display (Primary) 7.82-inch

Processor Snapdragon 8 Gen 2

Front Camera 20-megapixel + 32-megapixel

Rear Camera 48-megapixel + 64-megapixel + 48-megapixel

RAM 16GB

Storage 512GB, 1TB

Battery Capacity 4800mAh

OS Android 13

Resolution 2,440x2,268 pixels

More OnePlus mobiles OnePlus mobiles price in India

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Further reading: Samsung, Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6, Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 Series, Affordable Galaxy Z Fold 6, Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 Specifications

Sheldon Pinto

Email Sheldon Pinto

Sheldon Pinto is based in Mumbai, and has several years of experience in reviewing smartphones and gadgets. As a Senior Reviewer at Gadgets 360, you will always find him deeply immersed in his reviews, switching from one phone to another. When the battery dies out, Sheldon is always browsing the web for a good sci-fi movie or reading up on cars and bikes. He also loves creating lists of interesting places to eat and travel. Sheldon is available on Twitter at @shellshocd, and you can mail him at ...More