At its Unpacked lawsuit past week, Samsung unveiled its caller flagship Galaxy Z Fold 4 foldable phone, which adds amended multitasking software, a slimmer plan and a much durable body. But 1 happening near unchanged is the jaw-dropping $1,800 terms tag -- which fewer consumers tin apt afford. But that exclusivity is precisely wherefore the Fold 4 exists. 

It whitethorn look perplexing to support the Z Fold 4 astatine astir doubly the terms of different premium phones when Samsung wants foldables to go much mainstream, arsenic CEO TM Roh said during Unpacked. I argued that terms cuts would beryllium the champion mode Samsung could combat Apple this vacation season. Since Samsung is holding dependable with the Z Fold 4's price, it's wide the institution is contented to support it a niche instrumentality disposable lone to deep-pocketed tech enthusiasts.

The Z Fold 4 sits atop a strata successful which it has nary existent rivals. It's fundamentally a Ferrari amid Mercedes and BMWs. Creating that level of exclusivity is wholly the point, giving Samsung an breathtaking and aspirational merchandise that generates buzz and involvement successful the full lineup. Chipping a fewer hundreds dollars disconnected its terms won't marque a difference, said IDC Research Director Nabila Popal.

Keeping the Z Fold 4 astatine $1,800 is "the close move, successful my opinion, adjacent if it won't beryllium affordable to the masses," Popal said.

This dynamic, which runs antagonistic to the thought that a little priced foldable whitethorn spur involvement successful the category, is 1 of the predicaments this full country faces. Foldables inhabit an breathtaking niche of the telephone business, which has seen an endless parade of drab metallic and solid slabs travel done for much than a decade. But the precocious terms tag keeps them from truly breaking out. 

The lone reply is to dilatory physique up the marketplace and involvement done a operation of exciting, but little attainable, options similar the Z Fold 4, and the comparatively affordable $1,000 Z Flip 4.

Samsung is hoping the Z Fold 4's dynamic plan -- which is inactive awesome successful idiosyncratic -- gives the institution a popular up of Apple's ain lawsuit adjacent period and generates excitement astir foldables successful general. 

Samsung is relying connected the Z Flip bid to merchantability the vibe of foldables, transitional phones that change their shape. And Samsung has enactment to do, due to the fact that they're inactive scarce successful the wild, with probe steadfast IDC estimating that a spot implicit 7 cardinal foldables shipped successful 2021 compared with 1.3 cardinal smartphones sold past year.

From a marketplace perspective, the tiny measurement the Z Fold 4 could get whitethorn assistance Samsung summation backmost immoderate of the planetary stock of high-end phones, arsenic Apple sells seven of each 10 $800-and-up premium phones globally. 

Screenshot by CNET

No terms cuts portion parts are costly

Though terms cuts would assistance Samsung marque its foldable phones much mainstream, the institution whitethorn person small prime but to support its prices static. Unlike genuinely mainstream products, similar Samsung's Galaxy S series, which person level displays and components utilized successful galore different smartphones, the tiny measurement of foldables sold each twelvemonth person specialty parts.

"That means the precise specialized components required ... are inactive lone produced successful tiny quantities and truthful are apt inactive precise expensive," Technalysis Research expert Bob O'Donnell said.

That leads to a chicken-and-egg occupation that impacts each specialty device: Parts can't get cheaper until they're made astatine scale, and there's nary constituent successful making them astatine standard portion consumers bargain excessively fewer of the pricey devices utilizing those parts. That's the crushed truthful fewer phone-makers are making foldables, including Apple, O'Donnell said.

"We can't truly disregard the information that the proviso concatenation is not truly acceptable for an Apple-level product, and that's portion of the crushed Apple hasn't [made a foldable] either," O'Donnell said.

Samsung is splitting the quality with the Z Flip 4, a clamshell foldable that has fractional the footprint of a "flat" smartphone erstwhile it's closed, yet unfolds to amusement an interior surface arsenic ample arsenic immoderate regular phone's display. Samsung sees the Z Flip 4 arsenic an "entry device" that turns bold buyers into foldable lifers, an on-ramp for consumers to yet upgrade to the bigger, pricier Z Fold line. 

Samsung says the Z Flip is the better-selling series, accounting for 70% of the company's foldables shipped, but some devices service antithetic demographics. The Z Flip is stylish but yet conscionable a shrinkable mentation of a emblematic 'flat' smartphone, not a inferior variation of the productivity-enhancing Z Fold devices that unfold into tablet-size screens.

More foldables are being sold each year, and IDC predicts shipments volition turn to 25 cardinal foldables successful 2025. Whether that's capable measurement to alteration cheaper foldables is pugnacious to forecast. Samsung has astatine slightest gotten originative with offering foldables with much value. 

Facebook connected the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4.

Screenshot by CNET

Cheaper foldables done trade-ins and bearer deals

The manufacture is moving to marque foldables a thing. You tin get a Galaxy Z Fold 4 for little than $1,800 done Samsung's generous trade-in values and assorted bearer deals. Samsung retains its elite terms tag, carriers get much customers signed connected to their services, and customers  get their hands connected the adjacent improvement successful phones.

Samsung's trade-in deals sound $1,000 disconnected the database terms of a Z Fold 4 if you nonstop successful your older Z Fold 3, Z Fold 2 oregon this year's Galaxy S22 Ultra. But trade-in values are inactive beauteous generous for the archetypal Z Fold oregon different flagship Samsung phones from the past fewer years. Apple's priciest phones besides get decent trade-in value, but you'll get hardly thing for phones from Google, Motorola, LG oregon OnePlus.

Carriers tin besides prevention you wealth connected the Z Fold 4, with Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile offering varying trade-in deals to little the terms by up to $1,000. Verizon besides offers $800 disconnected a 2nd Z Fold 4 aft buying a first, should your household request 2 foldables.

The different enactment is to hold for Black Friday oregon the vacation season, erstwhile Samsung whitethorn present caller deals to discount its foldables. 

Just don't clasp your enactment for Samsung to discount its astir premium mobile device. Unlike the Z Flip 3, which got a $150 terms cut erstwhile its successor was revealed this week, the Z Fold 3 has the aforesaid $1,800 terms connected Samsung's website that it had erstwhile it launched a twelvemonth ago. With precocious parts prices, years of R&D to recoup, and a deficiency of competition, there's not overmuch unit for Samsung to little its prices.

Samsung is "leading successful this abstraction astatine the infinitesimal and tin spend to complaint a premium earlier different Android players ramp up successful this space, and possibly adjacent Apple successful a mates of years," Popal said.