In a few days, the foldable market will see the entry of a new player. OnePlus’ first foldable phone, which it is calling the OnePlus Open, is expected to launch later this month as the latest competitor to Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold 5.
OnePlus made a name for itself by launching flagship-grade phones at super aggressive prices, and while that isn't the case these days, OnePlus phones still continue to offer superior specs at prices lower than Samsung Galaxy smartphones.
So naturally the OnePlus Open is getting a lot of attention, as it could be one of the more affordable book-like foldables compared to the Galaxy Z Fold 5 or Google’s Pixel Fold. Samsung was probably a little worried, too, especially when rumors suggested the OnePlus foldable could be priced lower than $1500 despite featuring specs similar to the Z Fold 5 (including the faster Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chip that was initially exclusive to Samsung smartphones).
But it seems Samsung can breathe a sigh of relief, as the latest OnePlus Open leak says it will be priced at $1,699, or just $100 less than the Z Fold 5. With price tags that high, customers in most markets would prefer buying something with Samsung’s (or Apple’s) name on it. That’s especially true in price-sensitive countries like India, which is expected to be the first market to get the OnePlus Open.
We’re not saying the Open will fail. It is possible many customers will be willing to pick one up, especially if OnePlus can knock the cost down by another $100 or so in some markets. But the difference in price will have to be substantial for Samsung to feel any sort of heat. OnePlus will also want to make sure its software offers enough features to take advantage of the foldable form factor, as that is an area where Galaxy foldables stands undefeated at the moment.
As we keep saying, more competition in the foldable space is good for Samsung fans as it could force the Korean giant to stop playing it safe and introduce bigger upgrades with its foldables every year compared to what it is doing now. But unless the competition can start undercutting Samsung with much lower prices (like they do in China), we probably aren’t going to see Samsung switch up its strategy anytime soon.
