In the slow turning of the tech calendar, a single anonymous voice on social media has suggested that Samsung's next folding phone may ask a little less of its buyers than its predecessor did. The rumor arrives at a moment when the foldable category, long a niche of experiments and expensive curiosities, is finally attracting real rivals, and a commentator at Tom's Guide reads the whisper as a sign that competition is beginning to reshape what these devices cost. Whether the claim proves true will be settled in July, when the company gathers the world's attention for its next launch; until the
Samsung's Galaxy Z Fold 5 May Cost Less, and Google's Pixel Fold Is Why
Few makers could challenge the Fold, so Samsung didn't need to cut its price
Mark
So the headline is that the Fold 5 might be cheaper. Where does that come from?
Mimi
One Twitter leaker, Revegnus, who says it will see a slight reduction from the Fold 4's $1,799 launch price.
Luke
And that's the whole foundation. One account, no confirmation from Samsung. The leaker even calls it an initial plan that could change.
Mark
Why would Samsung cut at all?
Mimi
The author argues competition. Google's Pixel Fold is arriving, and OnePlus has promised a foldable in the second half of the year.
Luke
Worth noting that's the author's interpretation. Nothing in the reporting shows Samsung is responding to Google or OnePlus.
Mark
What's the precedent?
Mimi
The Flip. It started at $1,380, fell to $999 with the Flip 3, and sales rose noticeably.
Luke
Fair, but the Fold has only dropped $200 from $1,999 in all that time. The Flip pattern doesn't guarantee the Fold follows.
Mark
And the Pixel Fold's price?
Mimi
$1,799, same as the Fold 4. The author expected Google to undercut rivals as it does with the Pixel 7 Pro, and was disappointed.
Luke
The size of any Fold 5 cut is also unknown. The $100 to $200 range is the author's hypothetical, not the leaker's figure.
Der Puls
- A Twitter leaker says the Galaxy Z Fold 5 will cost slightly less than the $1,799 Fold 4, but the claim is unconfirmed and described as an initial plan that could shift.
- Rivals are closing in fast: Google's Pixel Fold matches the Fold 4's $1,799 price and OnePlus has promised its own foldable in the second half of the year.
- Samsung has long kept foldable prices high, cutting the Fold by only $200 across generations while its Flip line dropped sharply and sold far better.
- The Fold 5 offers modest upgrades like a new hinge and Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, leaving a price cut as the main lever to generate excitement.
- All eyes now turn to Galaxy Unpacked in July, where the rumored price either lands or quietly vanishes.
In the slow turning of the tech calendar, a single anonymous voice on social media has suggested that Samsung's next folding phone may ask a little less of its buyers than its predecessor did. The rumor arrives at a moment when the foldable category, long a niche of experiments and expensive curiosities, is finally attracting real rivals, and a commentator at Tom's Guide reads the whisper as a sign that competition is beginning to reshape what these devices cost. Whether the claim proves true will be settled in July, when the company gathers the world's attention for its next launch; until then, it stands as an early hint of a market learning to bend.
A Twitter leaker known as Revegnus claims Samsung's next book-style foldable, the Galaxy Z Fold 5, will cost a little less than the Fold 4 did when it launched a year ago at $1,799. The phone is still about a month away, and the claim is unconfirmed. The leaker himself calls the pricing an initial plan, one that could change before Samsung's event in July.
The Tom's Guide writer treats the rumor with caution, but sees logic in it. Samsung's Galaxy Z Flip dropped from $1,380 to $999 with the Flip 3 and sold far better for it. The Fold, by contrast, has fallen only $200 since it debuted at $1,999, despite years of promises to make foldables mainstream. The writer's explanation is that Samsung never had to cut, because few rivals could challenge the Fold. That is now changing, with Google's Pixel Fold arriving soon and OnePlus planning its own device later this year.
Google's pricing gives Samsung an opening. The Pixel Fold matches the Fold 4 at $1,799, which the writer finds disappointing given how Google usually undercuts its rivals. For Samsung, the pitch could be simple: pay full price for a first-generation foldable, or pay less for a fifth-generation model that has worked out more of the kinks. Whether that happens will be clear in July.
A Twitter leaker going by Revegnus says Samsung's next book-style foldable will cost a little less than the one it replaces. According to the claim, the Galaxy Z Fold 5 will see a slight price reduction compared with the Galaxy Z Fold 4, which launched a year ago at $1,799. The phone isn't expected for roughly another month, and the rumor is unconfirmed.
The author of this Tom's Guide opinion piece treats the claim with caution. Taking a single Twitter account at its word is risky, he writes, especially these days. The leaker himself describes the pricing as an initial plan, one that could change before Samsung's Galaxy Unpacked 2023 event, which the company is tentatively planning for July. Even a cut of $100 to $200, the author notes, would make one of the best foldables easier to afford.
The argument rests on Samsung's own history. The Galaxy Z Flip first arrived at a starting price of $1,380. That fell to $999 with the Galaxy Z Flip 3, the first foldable to dip below the $1,000 mark, and Samsung saw a big jump in sales of that cheaper model. The Fold has moved far less. It started at $1,999 and has come down by only $200 over the generations since, even though Samsung executives have repeatedly promised, across more than four years of foldables, to make the category mainstream.
The author's explanation is that Samsung simply didn't have to cut. Few makers were producing foldables that could challenge the Fold, and those that could were mostly confined to China. That is changing this year. Google has shown off the Pixel Fold and expects to launch it this month. OnePlus has said it will release its own foldable in the second half of the year, and rumors suggest the OnePlus V Fold could be a serious rival to the Fold 5.
Meanwhile, the Fold 5 itself is rumored to bring only modest upgrades. A new hinge design could make the crease in the inner display less visible and also make the phone lighter and easier to carry. It is also in line to get the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset, which delivered large performance and battery gains in the Galaxy S23 lineup. The author calls these welcome but not earth-shattering, especially with next year's Fold rumored to bring more significant design changes. His reasoning is that when an update is a small step forward, lowering the price is one way to build excitement.
Google's pricing gives Samsung an opening. The Pixel Fold costs $1,799, identical to the Fold 4. The author finds that a little disappointing, since Google's other flagships tend to undercut rivals: the Pixel 7 Pro costs $100 less than the comparable Galaxy S23 Plus and $200 less than the iPhone 14 Pro Max. He says he came away underwhelmed from his first look at the Pixel Fold, though others with more hands-on time were more encouraged.
Samsung's pitch, as the author imagines it, would be simple: pay $1,799 for the first version of a foldable, or pay less for a phone in its fifth generation that has worked out more of the kinks of a folding screen.
Whether any of that happens will become clear at Unpacked in July. If the lower price does materialize, the author's view is that Google, OnePlus and other rivals deserve some of the credit.
Bemerkenswerte Zitate
The Galaxy Z Fold 5 will see a slight reduction in price compared with the Fold 4.— Revegnus, Twitter leaker (unconfirmed)
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