Samsung already has its FE lineup of phones and tablets. The tablets have a lot of cost-cutting, but the phones maintain a fair balance of specs and features. They’re cheaper than the more expensive counterparts but keep everything needed at a lower price tag.
The S21 FE and S20 FE are excellent phones overall. The S23 FE with the 8 Gen 1 is also a great deal. However, they don’t yet have a mid-range line for their Flip and Fold series. The Z Fold 5 and Z Flip 5 are still expensive phones and are out of reach for many people.
According to a Korean blog, The Elec, Samsung is considering making a cheaper model of the Z Fold 6. Launching a more affordable Foldable model can help differentiate Samsung from other competitors.
In China, Samsung has a minuscule market share of under 1%. However, their foldable phone market share was consistently above 10%. With Huawei launching highly competitive offerings, Samsung is considering launching a cheaper Foldable phone.
Samsung is focusing on a cheaper Fold, not a Flip since both target audiences are different. The Fold is for people who want multitasking and a more professional experience. The Flip is playful and more of a design-focused phone with little focus on practicality.
If Samsung goes through with this idea, we’ll get a Z Fold 6 FE (Samsung might call it that), the Z Fold 6, and the Z Flip 6 at the next Galaxy Unpacked event.
However, since there’s a lot of uncertainty in the market right now about hardware sales, this might not happen if Samsung decides it won’t meet the sales requirement. If the demand for smartphones declines, most sales will continue to make reasonable profits only in the flagship segment and not the mid-range segment. Samsung launching a mid-range foldable phone might act counterproductively to their profit margins.
If the state of the economy continues to remain dry, then people with money are the ones who will consider upgrading their phones. Those struggling to make ends meet won’t. The people with a lot of money will focus more on the premium offers. As a result, the launch of the cheaper Z Fold 6 is still uncertain.
