Samsung said to release a second Galaxy Z Fold in September or October،
Following the release of its flagship Galaxy S24 series and the mid-range Galaxy A55 5G and Galaxy A35 5G, Samsung's next big announcement will be its next generation of foldable phones.
The most expensive 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 famous Galaxy Z Flip 6. This year, however, Samsung is rumored to have prepared one a third foldable phone for its customers.
Specifically, we're 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 will launch around iPhone 16 announcement
Whether it's intentional or not (and usually these things tend to be), Samsung plans to launch its new affordable Galaxy Z Fold phone in September or October, reports The Elect (a popular media outlet in South Korea that focuses on electronics). If true, when Samsung plans to launch its affordable Galaxy Z Fold, it will enter a fairly full phase, with Apple's iPhone 16 series expected in September. , and Google's Pixel 9 series expected in October.
Samsung is most likely hoping to lure some buyers away from the shiny and expensive new flagship ranges of its two biggest competitors, hence the announced release date.
This could prove to be a power move by Samsung, especially if the more affordable Galaxy Z Fold is cheaper than what Apple or Google charges for their flagships. In fact, other reports have mentioned a price of $800 for the cheapest. Galaxy Z-fold 6. For context, the starting price of Galaxy Z fold 5 as of 2023 was $1,800. In other words, that would be a $1,000 price difference!
Now, of course, there will almost certainly be some major shortcuts to bring the price down that much (if it turns out to be that low), but you'll still benefit from a larger, tablet-like screen , which can fold it in half and put it in your pocket.
Here's what we know about the budget Galaxy Z Fold 6
Elec mentions in its report that, unlike the bonus Galaxy Z-fold 6, the budget variant will not come with a built-in S Pen. We can view this as a disadvantage, but we can also view it as a positive aspect. Without needing to house an S Pen inside its body, the new affordable Z Fold can get lighter and thinner, which is a win in many people's books.
Other than that, everything else is just speculation at this point. It's pretty safe to assume that we'll likely see a less powerful processor, whether it's a mid-range processor or an older flagship SoC. Cameras are another obvious area where costs can be reduced, and we expect to see fewer of them, both in terms of numbers and capabilities.
Other areas Samsung might need to cut back on are display quality, for example using hardware that doesn't have the same peak brightness levels. That said, we're still talking Samsung here, so the cover and interior displays should, at the very least, have superb contrast and color accuracy.
And, speaking of screens, if you're wondering if the cover screen won't be a thing with the cheaper model, we'd hazard a guess that it's very unlikely. After all, having an outdoor and indoor display is an important part of owning a book-like object. foldable phoneso we don't expect a nasty surprise here.
