Over the last three months, smartphone manufacturers like Samsung, Oppo, Xiaomi, and Honor have released over 13 new foldable phones, higher than the number of foldables in the first half of 2023. This indicates that manufacturers are paying more attention to the untapped foldable markets, as conventional smartphone sales have been declining consistently.
Samsung Could Release Affordable Foldables Next Year
According to a TrendForce report, Samsung is working to bring relatively affordable mid-range foldable phones to the market next year. This will enable a broader spectrum of customers to purchase foldables, especially since the current-generation folding phones are more expensive than regular flagships.
How Much Do The Latest Foldables From Samsung Cost?
For instance, the official website shows that Samsung’s Galaxy Z Flip 5 currently costs Rs. 99,999. The phone offers 8GB of RAM, 256GB of storage, and runs on Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 SoC. Apart from the main screen that folds, the phone also has a 3.4-inch cover screen. Similarly, the latest Galaxy Z Fold 5 costs Rs. 1,54,999 for the model with 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage.
While we expected that Samsung would lower the price of Galaxy Z Flip 4 and Galaxy Z Fold 4 this year, the former is available for Rs. 79,999 (8/128GB), while the latter costs Rs. 1,39,999 (12/256GB). To put things in perspective, Samsung’s 2022 foldables are priced as high as Apple’s 2023 iPhone, i.e., the iPhone 15 (128GB). Samsung’s 2023 flagship, the Galaxy S23 (8/256GB), also costs Rs. 79,999.
What’s The Problem With Foldable Phones’ Prices?
This leaves buyers in a dilemma about putting their money into a tested and proven form factor that has been around for over two decades or getting something that isn’t mainstream and might cost more to repair. Since the smartphone market isn’t moving at the pace it used to a couple of years ago, people are buying few phones as they aren’t getting enough reasons to upgrade every single year. This is the pattern manufacturers like Samsung aim to break with affordable foldables.
Is Any Company Focussing On Affordable Foldables?
Most recently, the Lenovo-owned smartphone brand Motorola released an affordable foldable nationwide. The Motorola Razr 40 (8/256GB) came out in June 2023, as a mid-range flip style foldable. Currently, the phone is available for Rs. 49,999 on Amazon. Amid declining smartphone sales, companies should focus more on bringing cheaper foldables to the market with next-to-flagship specifications.
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