Although foldable phones are now a hot topic in the smartphone industry, they are hardly the hottest-selling products in the market. There’s still significant pushback on buying these form-changing phones, partly because of durability concerns but mostly due to the price tags attached to them. There are more affordable foldable phones from brands like OPPO, Vivo, and OnePlus, but most people still look to Samsung as the golden standard for these devices, warranted or not. The Galaxy Z Flip clamshell style foldable almost fits the bill, costing almost as much as a high-end smartphone, but it also doesn’t embody the potential of foldable phones. For years now, there has been a lot of talk about Samsung launching a more affordable version of the Galaxy Z Fold, but nothing has come to pass yet. If industry rumors are correct this time, however, that cheaper Samsung foldable might finally hit the market really soon.

Designer: Samsung (via The Elec)

What makes a foldable phone more expensive than regular smartphones? Branding and R&D costs aside, the biggest cost in making these phones comes from the specialized hinges and, more importantly, the flexible displays. The latter alone can make up a huge chunk of the phone’s so-called build cost because of their low yield rates per production run, expensive materials, and expensive equipment used to put them all together. Finding a cheaper way to make these foldable screens without drastically downgrading their quality and durability could help drive down the prices of the final product.

According to sources in the industry, Samsung is close to achieving this objective by switching to a different method to produce the flexible display panels it uses for making its foldable phones. Without going too deep into the technical details, the insider tip claims that Samsung has found a more affordable process to make the bezels that will hide the circuitry of these foldable panels, which is apparently one of the reasons why these screens are expensive. This is the same process Samsung Display uses for iPhone screens, so there’s little concern about the quality, at least for regular rigid screens.

Making the flexible panel less costly will have a rippling effect that could help make it possible to save off some digits from the retail price as well. It’s not a done deal, though, especially if the cheaper displays turn out to also be less reliable. Furthermore, Samsung could also use the opportunity to add more features and upgrades to the foldable phone, offsetting the cost savings and keeping the product’s premium price tag in the end.

That said, it would definitely be in Samsung’s best interest to offer a more accessible foldable phone, especially the “regular” book-type Galaxy Z Fold. Its competitors have almost caught up to it with more affordable designs, and Samsung’s only advantage now is the weight of its brand in a very small number of exclusive features. When it comes to the foldable experience, however, some might even say that Samsung is the one trying to catch up, so any advantage, especially when it comes to price, will help it regain its lead.

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Foldable phones are getting more common these days, but that doesn’t mean they don’t have room for improvement. Whether it’s the larger book-type foldable or the stylish clamshell flip phone, there are still lingering concerns in terms of design and durability. Admittedly, there have been quite a few major improvements over the years thanks to increased competition in this market segment. Although it was a pioneer, it almost seemed that Samsung had been stagnating instead, sticking too close to safe designs. That changed with the Galaxy Z Flip 5 this year and it will keep changing for next year’s generation that are expected to introduce new screens that address some of those complaints.

Designer: Samsung (via Ross Young)

It’s not really that puzzling that Samsung decided to focus on improving the durability and reliability of its foldable phones over fancy features. After all, those are the biggest concerns buyers have when trying to sink their teeth into such an expensive investment. But four years after it first launched the Galaxy Fold, the basic design of this foldable phone hasn’t changed. In fact, one of the biggest complaints is how the external Cover Screen is too narrow, making it awkward and even difficult to use the phone as a regular phone when folded close.

According to industry sources, the Galaxy Z Fold 6 will have a wider Cover Screen to resolve this issue. An exact figure wasn’t given, but any additional width would be an improvement to the current design and put it on the same page as its rivals. Of course, this would translate to a change in the aspect ratio of the internal main display, which might end up looking more squarish than before.

The Galaxy Z Flip 6 is also getting a bigger Cover Screen, one that spans 3.9 inches diagonally versus the current 3.4 inches. This is being compared to the 4.0-inch iPhone 5s and iPhone SE (2016), which are the last small iPhones that Apple made. In theory, that means there will be more space for content, which opens the door for more apps as well.

Of course, that isn’t always the case in practice, because the screen aspect ratio and shape won’t be the same as an iPhone. And just like the Galaxy Z Flip 5 now, the kinds of apps that you can use on that external screen are very limited. There are no signs that Samsung will open up its Cover Screen to more apps the way the Motorola Razr does, so the impact of this change could be very minimal in the end.

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