Samsung's foldable phone could end up costing over $2,500

Let's be frank here, we all knew this was coming. Foldable display tech, arguably the biggest smartphone revolution in years finally reaching end-user viable market status was bound to demand a premium. Especially in its first iteration and from a top dog, name-brand the likes of Samsung. Even so, $1925 - $2565 is beyond eye-watering. It is exuberant to say the least.

Wtf 🤑#samsung #galaxy #flex #foldable pic.twitter.com/LgRHWCgeKO

— 📱 🖥️ ⚙️ 🔍 🇮🇩 (@bang_gogo_) November 24, 2018

It is clear that the Samsung Galaxy F/Flex or whatever naming the Korean giant lands on will be a concept device, not really meant for the general consumer. Much like the Note Edge was back in the day when curved was the futuristic trend. That's probably for the better too, since there were plenty of issues with that device and we can only imagine foldable panel implementations will be an order of magnitudes harder to perfect and really make viable. But, we digress.

Back to the mentioned figures. These come from a fairly reputable source. However, little extra info is offered. The biggest question in our mind is why the two price tags are so far apart. The only thing that springs to mind is at least a couple of models and storage tiers. Potentially size difference, although the foldable design could turn that concept on its head altogether. Apple's current lineup has the entry-level 64GB iPhone XS at $999 and the top-tier XS Max at a $500 premium, so the variance is not unheard of.

We also can't help but wonder why the quoted figures are so precise. Dare we even consider the possibility that these are actual production and parts cost calculations and not retail prices? We probably won't get any sort of additional info prior to the first Flex Display actually hitting the market in at least some shape or form, which is said to happen some time in March 2019. The source of that particular release time frame also mentioned a price of about $1,770 (KRW 2 million in its homeland), while another carrier leak has also previously mentioned a GBP 2,000 figure for the top end model. In any case, no matter which source you decide to trust, you are still looking at prohibitively expensive price points.

Another interesting side of the whole flexible panel story to consider is that Samsung is definitely not alone in the ongoing endeavour to bring the tech to consumers. At the very least, we have heard that both Huawei and LG have some involvement in the matter. What will pricing be outside camp Samsung then? Will the tech even be the same? So many questions.

Source