Foldable smartphones belong to the high-end category, or at least, that has been the case so far. Even the most affordable foldable smartphone from one of the largest smartphone makers Huawei, the Pocket S costs around Rs 68,000. Now, it looks like Huawei wants to change that and bring an even more affordable foldable smartphone to the market, as per a new leak. The smartphone in the works, will rival Samsung’s Galaxy Z FE, which is again, a rumoured device and expected to be an affordable variant of the company’s foldable smartphones.
Tipster Revegnus has revealed some details about Huawei’s new entry-level foldable smartphone in a post on X. The details about Samsung’s possible FE variant of Galaxy Z Fold or Z Flip were also shared by Revegnus on X, but in a previous post in August. We take a look at what to expect:
Huawei Working On Entry-Level Foldable Smartphone
According to the post, Huawei’s entry-level smartphone will be a version of its flip-style P Pocket series foldable smartphone. To give a perspective, the Huawei Pocket S, which was launched in November 2022 in China, is among the most affordable foldable smartphones on the market with a starting price of CNY 5988, which converts to around Rs 68,000.
The latest information claims that the entry-level smartphone by Huawei will be priced at $735 (around Rs 61,000) or less. If we go by the leak, then the price difference wouldn’t be significant or entry-level, but of course, definitely less than the current most affordable offering in the category. It is unclear, whether the price is for the Chinese market or the global market.
As for the launch timeline, Revegnus hints it could be the first half of next year. This means the Huawei entry-level foldable smartphone could be made official sometime in the first half of 2024.
Samsung Also Working On the FE Version Of the Galaxy Z Flip
Since Samsung launched the first FE (Fan Edition) smartphone for the Galaxy S20 series in 2020, it has been a common practice for the brand to launch the same for its flagships. For those unaware, FE or Fan Edition devices are generally watered-down, more affordable variants of flagships that Samsung launches. In the past, we have seen Samsung launch FE devices for smartphones as well as tablets.
Now, as per Revegnus’ post, Samsung is also working on a FE variant of either Galaxy Z Flip or Z Fold smartphones. In a nutshell, the South Korean giant could also be working on an affordable foldable smartphone.
However, the device is not expected anytime soon as the tipster suggests a launch after the Galaxy Z Fold 6 and Flip 6 go official. The flagship foldables from, Samsung are not expected to be released until the second half of 2024, This could put the launch of Samsung’s foldable SE variant smartphone after Huawei’s affordable foldable device, which is said to make its debut in the first half of the year, according to Revegnus.
Growth In Foldable Smartphones
The foldable smartphone market is still in its infancy, given the first such device was launched a little over four years back. It was with Samsung’s Galaxy Fold in 2019 that foldable devices became more mainstream.
Even though the smartphone had to face its fair share of issues, Samsung has since then refined the technology and has launched some excellent foldable devices such as the Galaxy Z Fold 5. Global research firm Counterpoint pointed out in a report that Samsung’s Flip 5 outsold its counterpart by nearly twice as much in Q3 2023 worldwide.
In the past year, we have seen companies like Oppo, Google, Huawei, Vivo, and Xiaomi jumping on the foldable smartphone bandwagon, with the latest one being OnePlus. However, so far the smartphones that are available on the market cost a fortune. It looks like we will have to wait till next year to see companies working on making them more affordable.
