Blackview Hero 10 will be the world's cheapest foldable when it launches next month

The nubia Flip was announced in February as the world's cheapest foldable smartphone, as it starts at just $499. It looks like its reign will be very short-lived, however, for Blackview is set to release the Hero 10 in May, and this one will cost just €399, which at the current exchange rate translates into $425. Of course pricing might differ in various regions, but it seems pretty clear that the Blackview Hero 10 will indeed be cheaper than the nubia Flip, and it's also a flip-style foldable.

So it looks like we're finally reaching a place where affordable foldables are more than just a pipe dream. Of course, for this price, the specs won't be flagship-level. And yet, they're definitely not bad if you can ignore a few compromises here and there.

The Blackview Hero 10 has a 6.9-inch main flexible AMOLED display with 1080x2560 resolution and a 60 Hz refresh rate, and Blackview specifically mentions that going with this refresh rate helps keep the price down. When unfolded, the device is 8.8mm thin, and it weighs 198g.

The main rear camera has 108 MP resolution, and there's an 8 MP ultrawide too. For selfies you get a 32 MP snapper. The phone is powered by MediaTek's Helio G99 SoC, which doesn't support 5G, so you're limited to 4G networks only. The Hero 10 has 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage.

Unfortunately, the device will run Android 13, which might be unacceptable for many in mid-2024, considering that Android 14 launched last fall. It does however have 45W fast wired charging, though Blackview is keeping the battery capacity a mystery, which seems like some kind of foreshadowing - we're assuming it's not a very big cell.

For some more cash, the nubia Flip ups the refresh rate to 120 Hz, uses the more capable Snapdragon 7 Gen 1 SoC which also supports 5G, but has a lower-res main camera and half the RAM and storage. So a choice between these two will depend on which specs you personally value more. For what it's worth, the nubia Flip also runs Android 13, so that's not a deciding factor between them.