What most in the tech industry previously saw as just a gimmick that was bound to eventually fail, ended up being considered as innovative by consumers. In fact, foldable handsets such as the Royole FlexPai, Mate X, and Galaxy Fold pushed smartphone design and functionality forward. However, despite its unique features and fancy presentation, the devices had one notable caveat – price. Not many could afford the premium costs it ships with but Samsung might soon change that.

During its most recent Unpacked hardware event, the South Korean electronics titan unveiled the Galaxy Z Fold2 -- a follow-up model to its controversial 2019 handset. Unlike the Galaxy Note 20 series that is due to release in global markets soon. The second-generation Fold will be fully unveiled on Sept. 1, 2020, but it seems insiders claim that another phone could be revealed along with it.

Majority of sources speculate it might be the one with the model number SM-F415 which is currently under development, as published by SamMobile. This led analysts to believe that it would be another foldable type given that devices under Samsung's Z lineup all have model numbers that start with "F." Almost every foldable smartphone available in the market right now are priced above $1,000. Even Motorola's clamshell foldable with mid-range specifications sold at $1,500 upon launch.

Knowing that the technology is still fairly new and adoption from other manufacturers is still not as widespread, manufacturing costs will remain high. Thus, it remains to be seen how Samsung would be able to bring the price down and encourage consumers to embrace foldable technology. So far, supply chain sources have only indicated that the SM-F415 will ship in black, blue, and green. Internal storage, on the other hand, will purportedly be 64 GB and 128 GB.

Samsung
The pandemic is wreaking havoc across the global economy and Samsung had operations suspended at 11 overseas assembly lines as of Tuesday Photo: AFP / Jung Yeon-je

The new foldable smartphone will likely be a clamshell foldable, which sports a smaller flexible display panel. Moreover, to further cut costs down, Samsung is expected to give it mid-tier specifications. The manufacturer must have already learned from its past mistakes which saw more than half of its Galaxy Fold review units quickly stopped working due to damages sustained from debris ingress and even normal usage.