Samsung Galaxy Z Fold Lite release date, price, features, and news

The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 2 was arguably the most exciting smartphone of 2020. It improved on the first generation Galaxy Fold in many ways, most notably by introducing a better, sturdier hinge, getting a larger external display and removing the notch from the inner folding display. But one area where Samsung could still have improved upon, in order to make this exciting folding smartphone more accessible to the general consumer, was its starting price – $2,000.

In early 2020 we began hearing rumors claiming that a cheaper version of the Z Fold is planned to come out. Will it be a more affordable, slightly downgraded version of the Z Fold 2? When will it get a release and how much would it cost? Let's try to answer these and other burning questions by looking at all the information we currently have on the upcoming Galaxy Z Fold Lite.

The "budget" version of the Galaxy Z Fold foldable phone was expected to be announced in the first half of 2021. However, in early April a rumor suggested that the Galaxy Z Fold Lite might be delayed to 2022 instead, likely due to chip shortages. As of right now, there's no concrete information on its release date.

As for the phone's name, it's still not certain whether this smartphone will be named "Galaxy Z Fold Lite". Among its possible names is also "Galaxy Z Fold 2 Lite" or "Galaxy Z Fold 3 Lite".

Although the Galaxy Z Fold Lite's price is arguably the most important thing about the phone, there's little reliable information to suggest just how much cheaper it will be than the $2,000 Galaxy Z Fold 2.

According to a fairly early rumor coming from SamMobile, based on a report out of South Korea, the Galaxy Z Fold Lite might be as affordable as $900. Another early rumor suggested a price tag of $1,100. While the truth likely lies somewhere in the middle, a $999 price tag is our current best bet, at least until more leaks pour in. Stay tuned for updates.

As its name suggests, the Galaxy Z Fold Lite will have downgraded specs from the Z Fold 2. It's not unreasonable to expect it to be similar in design and specs to the original Galaxy Fold, though this is only speculation, at least at the moment. Currently, this is what we can expect from the Galaxy Z Fold Lite, in terms of specifications:

It's plausible that the Galaxy Z Fold Lite may share the same design with the original Galaxy Fold, or at best, the Z Fold 2. In both cases, this means a solid, premium glass and metal build. Although if Samsung cuts costs by re-using the 2019 Galaxy Fold design, then we can expect its large notch on the folding display to make a return.

Currently, the Galaxy Z Fold Lite's external display is expected to be somewhere around 4.6 inches in size, far smaller than the Z Fold 2 and again, similar to the original Fold. The foldable display itself is speculated to be between 7.3 and 7.6 inches in size, which is still reasonably close to a small tablet, such as the iPad Mini 4. In any case, both displays are expected to remain OLED, thus featuring great colors and contrast. We're yet to see whether the folding display will remain 120 Hz or see a downgrade in its refresh rate, possibly to a more standard 60 Hz.