We often write about smartphones and how they change our lives. We also often write about foldable smartphones, which can change the entire industry, but so far they are not doing very well. All due to the fact that they are too expensive. Sooner or later, everything will change and the price of such devices will drop significantly. Until recently, the question was when this would happen. Now the manufacturer of such phones answered this question. It turns out that there is not long to wait. Soon, we will all be able to flex big screens in our hands, and manufacturers will learn to make even more interesting foldable phones. But when exactly will this happen?
Foldable smartphones are interesting, but still very expensive.
How much do foldable phones cost?
There was only one problem to solve for the smartphone to be foldable. But this problem was very significant. It was necessary to make a screen that would bend, but not break. As a result, manufacturers have been struggling with this throughout the past decade, and maybe even more. At least during this time, we saw concepts that worked but were far from the mass market.
Due to the amount of time it took to develop, the work was very expensive. Plus, the production technology is still imperfect and the result is a lot of rejects. All this is included in the cost of the final product. It should recoup not only production and delivery costs, but also development costs.
As a result, now folding smartphones cost from one and a half thousand dollars. At the same time, their quality leaves much to be desired, and the functionality is completely inferior to the classic candy bar smartphones for $ 600-900. Thus, it is easy to calculate that a smartphone with a folding screen costs at least $ 1,000 more than usual. That's exactly how much. we overpay, but how long will this last?
When will foldable smartphones become cheaper?
The answer to this question is best sought among representatives of companies that produce folding devices. This is exactly what the guys from Wired did. They posed this question to Richard Yu, CEO of Consumer Business Huawei.
How many hopes were there for this smartphone and how inept it failed.
He believes that for the technology to become mainstream and foldable smartphones have fallen in price to about the level of modern smartphones, it will take about two years.
”The cost of this category [foldable smartphones – approx. author] is very high. We are losing money. The costs are so high that it is hard to believe in them. With such a price, it is simply impossible to make a profit. ” Yu said.
At the same time, he noted that the demand for the second generation of the foldable smartphone Huawei, called the Huawei Mate Xs, is very high. Even in spite of its cost, which is 16,999 Chinese yuan or 2,400 dollars. Despite such a high price, the company is even ramping up production of this smartphone.
How many foldable smartphones are sold?
The exact number is unknown, but few have met users of such smartphones. Personally, I've only met one. And then he was from the IT community. He had a Samsung Galaxy Fold.
In general, there are no sales statistics figures and no one shares accurate data. Only once did someone at Samsung say that the company had sold over a million Galaxy Folds. Later it turned out that such sales figures were not even close. As a result, the company's press service had to make excuses, saying that he meant expected sales, not actual ones.
This smartphone has become for foldable devices something like the first iPhone for ordinary ones.
At the moment, Samsung is not saying anything other than that the demand for the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip has been amazing. Analysts tend to believe this as this is the cheapest foldable smartphone you can buy today. Of course, if not talking about the Escobar Phone. But, I think there is no need to remind this story and once again say that that smartphone turned out to be a hoax and an attempt to cash in on the name of a famous Colombian.
The cheapest foldable smartphone
The cheapest foldable smartphone right now is the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip at $ 1,400. We can safely say that even with the current state of affairs, we can count on the price reduction of foldable smartphones to $ 1000-1300.
But the real price decline will begin not even when the pioneers beat off their development costs, but when cheaper manufacturers catch up. Such as Xiaomi, OPPO, Vivo and even OnePlus. According to rumors, Nokia is also preparing to show its foldable phone. Nokia should arrive this year, although I doubt it. The rest will most likely present their products in the middle of next year. It is then that prices will begin to decline significantly and may drop to the level of several hundred dollars. The main thing is that the quality grows. Few people want to put up with a crease on the screen.
Now you can still put up with this, since phones in general produce a wow effect. When they become cheaper and it will not be possible to surprise someone with them, you will have to decide something.