Samsung may build a cheaper folding phone as Apple enters the game

Samsung may be working on a cheaper folding phone. A leak on the Korean network Naver says the company is testing two new models alongside the Galaxy Z Fold 9: a Galaxy Z Fold 9 Plus and a lower-priced Galaxy Z Fold 9 FE. FE stands for Fan Edition, Samsung's label for trimmed-down, lower-cost versions.

What the leak says

Both models would share the wider, passport-shaped design of the Galaxy Z Fold 8. Nothing is confirmed. There is no price, no release date and no list of features. Tom's Guide, which reported on the leak, says it is unsure how a Fold 9 Plus would fit between the Fold 9 and the Fold 9 Ultra. The FE idea, it argues, makes more sense.

Why the timing matters

Phones keep getting pricier. The Galaxy S26 series saw price hikes at launch, and Samsung raised prices again in early October. The Z Fold 8 Ultra costs noticeably more than the Z Fold 7, which cost more than the Z Fold 6. One reason is a sharp rise in the cost of memory and storage chips, tied to the AI boom. Samsung, Apple and Google have all raised prices.

Now Apple has entered the folding market. The iPhone Duo starts at $2,000, second only to the Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra in price. The writer expects it to bring more attention to foldables, and to give Samsung its first serious competition in the category.

The gap in Samsung's lineup

There is also a rumor that Samsung could drop the Galaxy Z Flip 9. One recent rumor says otherwise, but the claim has kept coming up. The Flip line has long been the cheaper way into foldables. Without it, the writer says, the cheapest Galaxy foldable would cost whatever the Fold 9 does. The writer would bet on at least $1,900, which is $100 more than the Fold 8.

The catch

A cheaper phone only helps if it is still a good phone. Last year's Galaxy Z Flip 7 FE is the warning. It started at $899, just $200 less than the regular Flip 7, and was stripped down in ways the writer found disappointing. For a Fold 9 FE to work, the price cut has to be big enough to justify what gets removed.

What is not known yet

• Whether Samsung will actually release a Fold 9 FE or a Fold 9 Plus
• What either phone would cost
• Which features would be cut to lower the price
• Whether the Galaxy Z Flip 9 will be released