Samsung's foldable phones are among its most expensive phones – the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 costs even more than the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra – but with this year's models we could see prices drop.
This is according to a report in The Elec (via Phandroid), which claims that Samsung Display is considering using inkjet printing to make the bezels for this year's foldable phones, presumably referring to the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 and to the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 6.
The company currently uses a 'micro dry process decoration' (or MDD) to manufacture the bezels of its foldable OLED panels, and although this change in process does not appear to affect the quality of the screen or the size of the bezels. , would apparently reduce production costs and those savings could potentially be passed on to buyers.
A cheaper process
Of course, Samsung could simply pocket the savings, but we think it would be interested in lowering the prices of its foldable phones to give them a better chance of becoming truly popular.
It's unclear exactly how much cheaper inkjet printing would be, but for reference, the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 starts at $1,799.99 / £1,749 / AU$2,599, and even the relatively affordable Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 starts at $999.99 / £1049 / AU$1649. so any price reduction would be desirable.
Of course, the upcoming models will still be expensive phones, but we previously heard that Samsung could also be working on a Galaxy Z Fold FE for release this year. This would be a mid-range model with a potentially much lower price, and if Samsung switches to inkjet printing, then this phone would likely benefit from those cost savings as well.
However, we don't expect to see any new foldable phones from Samsung until at least the end of July, so it will be a while before we see potentially cheaper options.
