For all the improvements Samsung made with the Galaxy Z Fold 5 and its sibling, the Galaxy Z Flip 5, they still come with a rather hefty price tag. As details leak about a potential Galaxy S23 FE phone, we can’t help but wonder if the Fold or Flip line will ever get a “fan edition” model. According to a new interview, it’s not looking likely.
In an interview with Tom’s Guide editor Kate Kozuck, Vice President of Mobile Product Marketing at Samsung, Drew Blackard, spoke about his company’s recently launched foldables. The interview touches on topics like the design of the hinge, growing competition, obstacles to adoption, and so on. However, the highlight of the interview is when to two begin discussing a potential FE model for the Fold or Flip.
Samsung’s FE line are products that are based on their flagship counterparts and contain certain flagship features, but in a low-cost Android device. Although Blackard avoids mentioning anything about an FE model for the Fold or Flip, he does say that he thinks prices will go down eventually. But adds that his company is more focused on refinement rather than affordability.
Foldables eventually will come down in price. This year, we really focused on resolving the pain points that we saw for our current foldable user base. With Fold, a lot of that had to do with making it slimmer, making it lighter weight, powerful processing. And on Flip, that was driven through the Flex Window and that cover screen experience. So we are focused on continuing to refine the experience. Of course, over time, as the technology evolves, we’ll continue to see innovation and hopefully bring it down in price point at a future time.
According to Blackard, refinement is Samsung’s priority at the moment as it sees this as being the best path toward making its foldables mainstream. However, once the experience is perfected, Blackard says Samsung will start thinking about broadening its portfolio.
So if you were holding out hope for a cheaper Fold FE or Flip FE phone, it looks like you’ll be out of luck. However, as the technology becomes cheaper, prices should fall in return.