Samsung Working On Cheaper Foldable Smartphone, Report Suggests

Samsung is working on a new foldable smartphone that more people can afford, a report says.

Foldable smartphones remain expensive at the moment, but that might not be the trend for long as a new and more affordable foldable smartphone could be in the works at Samsung, a report from SamMobile has suggested. The site revealed that the tech giant has a new device in the pipeline, one with the model number SM-F415.

Samsung fans will note that the “F” in that model number stands for “foldable.” This is the trend for the company's foldable smartphones, the report noted.

The first-gen Galaxy Fold, for example, had the model number SM-F900, while the Galaxy Z Flip had the model number SM-F700. The new Galaxy Z Fold 2 has the model number SM-F916.

Aside from the model number, SamMobile also discovered a Wi-Fi certification for a device with the model number “SM-F415F/DS.”

The document reveals that the device runs on Android 10. It also showed that it features dual-band Wi-Fi b/g/n/ac and Wi-Fi Direct.

It's worth noting, however, that the device is shown to be running on a firmware version with the code M315F. This corresponds to the Galaxy M31 smartphone, SamMobile reported, emphasizing that this could simply be an error on the company's part.

As for its specs and features, not much is known about the upcoming affordable foldable at the moment.

The report said it might feature a dual-SIM card slot and come in 64GB and 128GB storage variants. It could also be sold in three colors: black, blue, and green. Other specs, features and potential pricing remain unknown.

Currently, the South Korean tech giant already has three foldable smartphones: the first-gen Galaxy Fold, the clamshell Galaxy Z Flip and the new Galaxy Z Fold 2.

But the most affordable among the three – the Galaxy Z Flip – retails for upward of $1,380, well beyond the cost of buying a non-foldable top-tier like Apple's iPhone 11 Pro or even the new Galaxy Note 20.

Creating a more affordable foldable smartphone could mean using cheaper components, resulting in midrange specs, among other possibilities. Still, Samsung may be able to draw more consumers to the foldable category with such an offering, if ever it does arrive on shelves.