Cheaper Samsung foldable may land as the Fold A-series rather than Fold FE،
Samsung could position the affordable member of the Galaxy Fold line as a member of its A series of mid-range phones, only in the foldable space. According to a credible leaker RolandThere are several new internal numbers for upcoming Samsung devices.
He managed to discover a model number SM-F956 which should be the Fold 6, and which is codenamed Q6, as well as the number SM-F741 belonging to the upcoming Flip 6 (or B6). There's also an SM-X828 expected to materialize this summer as the Galaxy Tab S10+, but the most intriguing new internal code is Q6A, belonging to a mysterious member of the Fold family.
Samsung reportedly intended to launch a cheaper model in the Galaxy Fold line that would be positioned well below handsets like the Z Fold 6 in terms of price. With this, Samsung would like to counter Chinese foldables that are flooding the market at lower prices, with thinner designs and, above all, much better camera specifications.
In our Z Fold 5 vs OnePlus Open comparison, for example, Samsung's foldable seemed downright bulky and lacking in camera prowess, and the same goes for foldable phones from Oppo, Huawei, Honor, or Xiaomi . Given that Samsung intends to reach a 50% share of foldables in its product mix over the next few years, it has identified several points of change that it needs to make. Last August, when Samsung launched the Fold 5, its vice president of marketing, Drew Blackard, was quoted as saying:
The price of foldables will eventually drop. This year we've really focused on fixing the issues we've seen for our current foldable user base. With Fold, a lot of it was about making it thinner, making it lighter, and getting powerful processing. And on Flip, that was driven through the Flex Window and that cover screen experience. So we strive to continue refining the experience. Of course, over time, as technology evolves, we will continue to see innovation and hopefully reduce its price in the future.
Samsung has already managed to make the Z Fold 6 thinner and has developed a cheaper foldable to accompany it. It was initially rumored to be called the Galaxy Z Fold FE, but the Q6A rating could now put it in the A-series camp, albeit rather speculatively.
While rumor has it that Samsung would try to position the price of the Z Fold FE or Z Fold A near the $1,200 mark, it is also said that, unfortunately, Samsung has given up on releasing it this year, so as not to cannibalize the Z. Fold 6 sales.
Apparently the company has also started applying some of the manufacturing cost-cutting methods it learned while developing its cheaper foldable to the Fold 6, so hopefully that one will also be offered at a lower price when it is announced this summer.
