The Galaxy Z Fold 7 costs too much – but this could actually be a good thing for folding phones
The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 is here, and to put it simply, it is a KO – our review Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 calls the last of this line of foldable devices “the almost perfect foldable phone”.
This is for a good reason: the Galaxy Z Fold 7 looks like a real overhaul after years of incremental updates, sporting larger screens, new software, a better main camera and a more powerful chipset, all contained in a thinner design that rivals with the tastes of the Oppo N5.
However, all of this comes with a higher price. The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 starts at $ 1,999 / £ 1,899 / $ 2,899 at – It is the most expensive available smartphone.
I recently wrote that the Galaxy Z Fold 7 is simply too expensive for me to plan to buy one. One dollar in $ 2,000 is simply too much money to separate in my opinion – the Galaxy Z Fold 6 was already reduced to $ 1,899 / £ 1,799 / $ 2749 at, and more expensive than the Rival Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold (which launched $ 1,799 / £ 1.799 / $ 2,699).
But that said, I think that the Galaxy Z Fold 7 launched at such a high price has the potential to do good things for the folding phone industry as a whole, even if it is difficult on the pockets of individual customers.
Price and possibility
Now, before explaining to me, let me say that I do not give manufacturers of carte blanche to increase prices as they see fit. Price increases seem particularly thorny in the current environment of prices and turbulence, and like everyone at Techradar, I want to see the daily customer get the best possible offer.
That said, prices will increase over time, even slowly – and in the case of the folding phone market, I think it creates an opportunity for real improvement – if Telephone manufacturers take this opportunity responsible for this occasion.
Think about the launch of the iPhone X in 2017. The Apple All -Encran handset was the first phone widely available to be launched at a starting price of $ 999 / £ 999 / $ 1,579 at – For the general public, it was the first phone at a thousand dollars.
For reference, the Samsung Galaxy S8 was also launched in 2017 at a starting price of $ 750 / £ 689 / $ 1,079, and the iPhone 7 of the previous generation started at $ 649 / £ 599 / $ 1,079 at. It was a proportionally greater price increase than we saw with the Galaxy Z Fold 7.
It looked like a huge hike at the time, but it did not take long for the phone manufacturers to follow the example of Apple, pushing the flagship prices of the phone, and finally beyond, the brand of the thousand dollars. This has done more pressure on consumers, but also gave telephony manufacturers to improve models at the end of their ranges.
You just have to look at today’s best panel phones, such as the iPhone 16 Pro Max, Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra and Google Pixel 9 Pro XL – These are phones with huge and beautiful screens, three or four high quality cameras each, and enough internal power to make a PC halfway. A lasting limit of $ 1,000 would give manufacturers of phones less flexibility and, frankly, less incentive to make such powerful devices.
I will go out on a member here and say that, in the end, breaking the barrier of $ 1,000 was good for the phone industry as a whole. After using some of the best phones on the market, I think the compromise was worth it.
This is particularly true if we consider that a highly competitive mid -range segment has become that the prices of premium and inexpensive phones have diverged, populated by excellent handsets such as OnePlus 13R and Samsung Galaxy S24 Fe phones, phones that offer a quality experience almost for much less money.
These mid -range phones cost roughly the same, or even less, than flagship products before the entry of premium models like the iPhone X. The Samsung Galaxy S24 Fe, for example, starts at $ 649.99 £ 649 / $ 1,099 at, while the OnePlus 13R is very respectable $ 599 / £ 679.
The future of folding phones
Let’s put it back to the Galaxy Z Fold 7 – Folding phones are always what I would call emerging technology. I do not think we have reached the point where folding phones are easy to recommend against traditional smartphones for the daily person.
After testing several folding phones, I can say with confidence that there is still work to do with regard to the ergonomics, sustainability and the quality of the camera. Price increases, while swallowing, could give the manufacturers of folding phones the resources necessary to implement these improvements.
Speculatively, we could even see the emergence of a mid -range folding phone market. The launch of the Galaxy Flip 7 FE suggests that Samsung feels some interest in folding phones at moderate prices. If the iPhone X has opened the way to the OnePlus 13R, maybe the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 can open the way to the first real foldable mid-range booklet, at a price similar to a high-end high-end headlight.
Naturally, all of this is based on users to always buy more expensive devices, and on phone manufacturers to use additional income to invest in their product, rather than just pocket difference as a profit. This will determine if going beyond the $ 2,000 barrier is worth it.
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