This summer, Samsung is set to unveil its latest foldable devices, the Galaxy Z Fold 6 and Z Flip 6, at the Galaxy Unpacked event However, while previous rumors suggested that there would be both a mainline and an improved Ultra version of the Galaxy Z Fold 6, new leaks suggest the opposite: instead of the Galaxy Z Fold 6 Ultra, Samsung is reportedly preparing a more affordable version, possibly the Galaxy Z Fold 6 FE and will likely be named the Galaxy Z Fold 6 FE

This is according to ET News, which initially speculated that the Z Fold 6 would release a cheaper model in February Its latest report this week doubled down on the idea that the Korean company plans to bring the Fun Edition (or FE) moniker to its line of foldable smartphones To cut costs, it has been suggested that the Galaxy Z Fold 6 FE (or whatever Samsung eventually calls it) will remove the digitizer, which is the display layer needed to track the stylus position, and thus lose S Pen support

It remains to be seen what other cost-cutting measures Samsung may implement However, the Galaxy A series and Galaxy S23 FE have reduced the overall price by cutting certain hardware and using cheaper materials In the case of the Galaxy Z Fold 6 FE, Samsung may opt to return the camera and RAM to previous generation hardware or reduce storage options to cut costs

Given the high price of folding phones, a cheaper FE variant could tempt more customers to see what all the buzz is about It could put one of the most cutting-edge cell phone technologies into the hands of more people and would allow Samsung to capture more markets

It is not yet clear how much Samsung intends to charge customers for either model of the Galaxy Z Fold 6 However, preliminary estimates for the base model are between $1,699 and $1,799, and the lower-priced version would need to be significantly cheaper to remain competitive We expect Samsung to release the Galaxy Z Fold 6 and Galaxy Z Flip 6 in August 2024 Nevertheless, there are rumors that Samsung may try to beat the Olympics by releasing both models in July