Samsung cuts foldable phone prices to expand market reach with Z Fold3, Z Flip3

Samsung made its move on Wednesday to bring foldable phones within reach of more people. The company unveiled two new devices—the Galaxy Z Fold3 5G and Galaxy Z Flip3 5G—and priced them lower than the year before, a deliberate strategy to expand the market beyond early adopters willing to spend premium prices on experimental hardware. The Z Fold3 would retail for $1,799.99, while the Z Flip3 would cost $999.99, representing meaningful reductions that Samsung framed as democratizing access to what it called a "unique foldable experience."

The announcement came at Samsung's Galaxy Unpacked event, where the company also introduced new smartwatches and earbuds alongside the phones. TM Roh, Samsung Electronics President and Head of Mobile Communications Business, positioned the new devices as proof of the company's commitment to innovation in a category it had pioneered. "With Galaxy Z Fold3 and Z Flip3, Samsung is once again redefining the possibilities with foldable smartphones that empower users with the flexibility and versatility needed for today's fast-paced world," Roh said. The statement reflected Samsung's confidence that foldables were no longer a niche experiment but a genuine product category worth scaling.

The Z Fold3 featured a 7.6-inch Infinity Flex display and, for the first time on a foldable device, support for Samsung's S Pen stylus—a feature that suggested the company was positioning the device as a productivity tool, not merely a novelty. Pre-orders began August 11, with retail availability starting August 27 in select markets including the United States, Europe, and Korea. Indian consumers would have to wait longer; sources indicated the devices were expected to arrive in India by mid-September.

Beyond phones, Samsung's wearable strategy showed how seriously the company was taking health and wellness as a driver of consumer interest. The new Galaxy Watch4 and Galaxy Watch4 Classic were the first smartwatches to run Wear OS, the operating system Samsung had built jointly with Google. The watches featured a redesigned interface called One UI Watch and, most significantly, a new 3-in-1 BioActive Sensor that could monitor blood pressure, detect irregular heartbeats, measure blood oxygen levels, and calculate body composition—all from a single chip. The Galaxy Watch4 would start at $249.99 for Bluetooth versions and $299.99 for LTE models, available in 40mm and 44mm sizes. Roh acknowledged that consumer interest in wearables had grown substantially as people discovered the health benefits, and Samsung had built its new watches to reflect the reality that wellness meant different things to different people.

The Galaxy Buds2 would retail for $149.99, completing Samsung's ecosystem play with a device designed to offer immersive sound and all-day comfort. Meanwhile, WhatsApp announced a feature that would allow users to migrate their entire chat history—including voice notes, photos, and conversations—when switching between Android and iOS. The feature would roll out first on Android, beginning with Samsung's newest Galaxy phones, before expanding to iOS users. It was a small but significant move toward breaking down the walls between mobile ecosystems, allowing people to change operating systems without losing their message history.

Under the hood, Qualcomm's Snapdragon 888 5G Mobile Platform powered both the Z Fold3 and Z Flip3 globally, delivering what the chipmaker described as industry-leading innovations in connectivity, artificial intelligence, gaming, and photography. Samsung's price cuts and expanded product lineup suggested the company was betting that foldables had moved past the phase where they were luxury items for tech enthusiasts. By lowering prices, adding practical features like S Pen support, and surrounding the phones with a full ecosystem of compatible devices, Samsung was signaling that it believed foldables could become mainstream—if the price was right.