The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 FE might be canceled, but we could get a cheaper Z Flip

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Things don't look promising for the Z Fold 6 Ultra either

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 review
The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 (Image credit: Future / Lance Ulanoff)

The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 FE was one of the more intriguing rumored Samsung phones, as it could have provided an affordable alternative to the likely far-from-affordable Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6, but it now seems that’s not to be.

According to The Elec (via NotebookCheck), Samsung has canceled the Galaxy Z Fold 6 FE, having been unable to make it as thin as the company would like. Apparently, it’s no slimmer than Chinese rivals' foldable phones (see the Honor Magic V2), and that coupled with “industry uncertainty” has supposedly led Samsung to abandon the project.

While we’d take this claim with a pinch of salt, leaker @Revegnus1 has agreed with the report, so it seems quite likely that the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 FE is indeed dead in the water.

There had also been talk of a Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 Ultra, which would be a higher end alternative to the standard Z Fold 6, and while this report doesn’t specifically mention that device, it does say that we’ll just see the standard Z Fold 6 this year, so presumably that has also been canceled (or at least delayed), if it was ever in the works at all.

There might instead be a Galaxy Z Flip 7 FE

Those hoping for a more affordable foldable phone might not be totally out of luck, though, as the Elec's report adds that Samsung is considering launching a Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 7 FE next year.

It sounds like these plans aren’t finalized yet, but if it does happen, then this could be a truly cheap – or at least mid-range – phone, since the Z Flip line already contains Samsung’s most affordable foldables.

But if you want an affordable book-style foldable, you’ll probably have to look to another brand.

As for this year, we’re still expecting to see both the standard Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 and the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 6, both of which will probably land in July.

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James Rogerson
James Rogerson

James is a freelance phones, tablets and wearables writer and sub-editor at TechRadar. He has a love for everything ‘smart’, from watches to lights, and can often be found arguing with AI assistants or drowning in the latest apps. James also contributes to 3G.co.uk, 4G.co.uk and 5G.co.uk and has written for T3, Digital Camera World, Clarity Media and others, with work on the web, in print and on TV.