Everyone has been expecting Samsung to launch an affordable alternative to the Galaxy Z Fold series and this seems to be coming true this year. Recent leaks suggest that Samsung is planning to release a cheaper Galaxy Z Fold 6 without S Pen support.
Samsung usually launches two foldable devices every year—Galaxy Z Fold and Galaxy Z Flip. The Galaxy Z Flip is a clamshell foldable that starts at $999. Although it is more affordable than the Galaxy Z Fold, it is not very desirable among productivity-oriented users.
The Galaxy Z Fold, on the other hand, costs $1800, which again is a little too expensive for many users. Samsung has been working on a less expensive foldable for a long time now and the Galaxy Z Fold 6 FE (Fan Edition) could be the first iteration.
As per WinFuture, Samsung Galaxy Fold and Flip series have three devices this year, with the codenames— B6, Q6, and Q6A. These codenames were spotted earlier in November 2023.
Last year, Samsung launched the Galaxy Z Flip 5 and the Galaxy Z Fold 5 under the codenames B5 and Q5. Therefore, it is clear that the codenames B6 and Q6 belong to the Galaxy Z Flip 6 and the Galaxy Z Fold 6, respectively.
However, there was no Q5A last year. Rumors suggest that the codename Q6A belongs to the upcoming Galaxy Z Fold 6 FE, which will be in the book-style foldable format, an affordable version of the Galaxy Z Fold 6.
Some rumors suggest that the foldable could launch under the A series moniker, Galaxy A Fold. However, this doesn’t seem to be happening since the codename “Q6A” belongs to the Z Fold series and not the A series.
Samsung to cut-down features on the Galaxy Z Fold 6 FE
To make the Galaxy Z Fold 6 FE affordable, Samsung will be removing the S Pen support. Providing S Pen support requires a digitizer, which is expensive to deploy on a flexible folding display. This could save Samsung a lot of money, which will help them make the device affordable.
Moreover, Samsung could cut down on some other features as well like the SoC, cameras, battery, and even the build quality. We can also expect Samsung to give a selfie-camera cutout instead of an in-display selfie.
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All of that aside, finally, we expect Samsung to alter the aspect ratio of both the Galaxy Z Fold 6 and the more affordable Z Fold 6 FE. Samsung has been heavily criticized for having a tall outer display, especially after the launch of competition devices like the OnePlus Open and Google Pixel Fold.
It looks like Samsung is finally changing the aspect ratio of the Galaxy Z Fold to something similar to a regular slab phone. We are also expecting a design refresh since the past three generations of the Z Fold looked practically the same. What are your thoughts on the Galaxy Z Fold 6 FE? Let us know in the comments below.
