Korean carriers want to make the Galaxy Fold cheaper, Samsung disagrees

It's pretty much customary in the Android world for carriers to come out with deals on old flagships right around the time successors are made official. The companies cut the prices in order to get more sales before the new models steal the spotlight.

This seems to be what the three Korean carriers had in mind for the Galaxy Fold, but Samsung is having none of it. Apparently the carriers wanted to make the foldable device KRW 399,300 cheaper - that's a price cut of $337 or €306 at the current exchange rates.

The rationale has to do with the imminent launch of the Galaxy Z Flip, Samsung's second foldable smartphone, which is getting official on February 11. However, the device maker feels like such a move isn't appropriate, considering the "symbolism" of the Galaxy Fold as the first foldable smartphone on the market and its flagship innards.

It also helps to remember that the Galaxy Z Flip is not in any way a successor to the Galaxy Fold, as its form factor is entirely different. The only thing they have in common is that the screen folds. The Galaxy Fold 2 is expected to be announced in the second quarter of 2020.

So Samsung may have a point here. It's also likely that the company doesn't want to upset the customers who already bought a Fold full price. After all, it wasn't a small price by any stretch of the imagination - and those early adopters (around 400,000 to 500,000 of them) may not be the best set of people to 'betray' with such a move.

The carriers insist that it's their right to do this, but apparently there are still negotiations going on with Samsung, albeit these have been prolonged more than anyone expected.

Source (in Korean)