Given the complete fiasco that was Samsung’s original Galaxy Fold launch just last year, you have to commend the company for its upgrading, refinement, and expansion efforts of the foldable portfolio in 2020.
Granted, the Galaxy Z Flip was far from perfect, leaving us totally unimpressed with its value for money and fragile screen six months or so ago. But then the Z Flip 5G came along to… modestly improve the quality/price ratio of its 4G LTE-only predecessor, and shortly thereafter, the Galaxy Z Fold 2 5G knocked our socks off with a surprisingly polished design, excellent overall performance, and a stunning 120Hz foldable display.
Of course, all that comes at a sky-high price, severely limiting the mass appeal of an otherwise paradigm-shifting device. Knowing Samsung, it was easy to guess the company had larger plans for its foldable lineup right off the bat, and unsurprisingly, the first Galaxy Fold Lite rumors emerged months before the Z Fold 2 even saw daylight. Unfortunately for cash-strapped fans of trend-setting gadgets, that particular product may not materialize anytime soon, but on the bright side, a different budget-friendly foldable is reportedly in the works now.
How low could a Galaxy Z Flip Lite go?
That, our friends, is a million-dollar question we obviously can’t answer just yet. That’s because today is the very first time we’re hearing about a prospective Z Flip Lite model, and apart from this mysterious device potentially adopting UTG technology, Ross Young isn’t ready to share any information on pricing, availability, or specifications with his Twitter followers.
Young doesn’t even explicitly say the Galaxy Z Flip Lite is in development, although the analyst does tend to “hear” reliable things about unreleased products. Interestingly, it sounds like this device could come in lieu of the aforementioned Galaxy Fold Lite (or Z Fold Lite), even though it’s probably wise not to rule out an announcement of the latter phone further down the line as well.
In case you’re wondering, UTG stands for Ultra Thin Glass, which is the proprietary technology used by Samsung to strengthen and protect the displays of the Galaxy Z Flip, Z Flip 5G, and Z Fold 2 5G after the OG Fold debacle.
While it’s certainly not surprising to hear the Galaxy Z Flip Lite could have this key detail in common with its costlier forerunners, it’s definitely nice to know that Samsung doesn’t plan on cutting too many corners for affordability’s sake. At the same time, you may want to keep your expectations in check regarding the potential starting price of this device. We’re absolutely not talking about a low-cost handset by traditional standards, but rather something likely to rival the $1,000 LG Wing 5G.
What about the Galaxy Z Flip 2?
In short, we know nothing about a true sequel to the recently released Z Flip 5G. According to the same display industry analyst a while back, we might have to wait until the third quarter of 2021 to see that unveiled, which explains the complete silence on the Galaxy Z Flip 2 speculation front.
But that doesn’t mean Samsung will keep us waiting eight or nine more months for its next foldable device, and the Z Flip Lite might not be next in line in its category for an official announcement either.
Instead, the world’s largest smartphone vendor was at one point rumored to be prepping not one and not two but three new Galaxy Z Fold variants for 2021 rollouts. If the Z Fold Lite is indeed delayed or altogether cancelled, that still leaves a potentially exorbitant Galaxy Z Fold 3 with S Pen support and a mysterious Galaxy Z Fold S capable of both inward and outward-folding operation on the table for sometime next year.
Hopefully, analysts like Ross Young and leakers like Evan Blass, Max Weinbach, and Steve Hemmerstoffer will start to clear the confusion soon as far as Samsung’s foldable plans are concerned, as we honestly don’t know whether or not to get excited about all these devices that may or may not see daylight in the near future.
Source: Phonearena
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