Samsung simply unveiled its finest foldables but, however they’ve all gotten worth hikes over final yr’s fashions. Folding telephones have all the time been probably the most premium gadgets — with worth tags to match — however this yr’s crop is one thing else.
I used to be aghast when the primary foldables debuted round $2,000 years in the past, and so they haven’t gotten extra inexpensive. Despite the fact that the beginning worth has stayed the identical, these telephones are nonetheless out of attain for a lot of cellphone patrons, particularly in these financially strained occasions.
These costs are only for the minimal 256GB minimal for storage. In order for you extra room for images, movies and apps, count on to pay out the nostril: A completely kitted out Galaxy Z Fold 8 Extremely with the utmost 1TB of storage is $2,700, which is gorgeous, contemplating that the Samsung Galaxy Z TriFold launched in January was solely a bit costlier at $2,900. For a few hundred bucks greater than the highest-tier Z Fold 8 Extremely, you may get an interior display that’s 25% larger.
The Galaxy Z TriFold was on sale for lower than three months in early 2026.
Patrick Holland/CNET
Or quite you may have, however Samsung pulled the plug on gross sales of TriFold telephones again in March. On the time, Samsung stated that the TriFold was “a super-premium system in restricted portions.”
Personally, I’d guess this and the Z Fold 8’s rising worth have the identical perpetrator: the RAM scarcity, which is making seemingly each tech product costlier. It’s not arduous to attract conclusions from the rising value of reminiscence and elements and a shuttered product.
Given these situations, it’s not shocking that Samsung has adopted different merchandise (and even its earlier telephones, just like the Galaxy S26 collection) in elevating costs by $100 or extra over final yr’s fashions. Samsung itself stated that larger costs for the Z-series telephones replicate elevated reminiscence and part prices, which have affected the bigger tech business. The corporate additionally pointed to enhancements over final yr’s gadgets, together with the brand new Titanium Flex shows, bigger batteries and higher 50-megapixel ultrawide cameras on the Z Fold 8 and Z Fold 8 Extremely.
So how does a completely kitted-out Galaxy Z Fold 8 Extremely stand up to $2,700? Due to one other typical apply, which is for phone-makers to spice up costs of the upper storage tiers. In actual fact, final yr’s Galaxy Z Fold 7 topped out at $2,500 for 1TB of storage.
That was nonetheless some huge cash, however there’s one thing bleak concerning the rising value of reminiscence, additional skyrocketing the costs of probably the most superior telephones available on the market. Again in 2017, the iPhone X crossed the phone-price Rubicon by launching at $1,000; in 2019, the unique Samsung Galaxy Fold debuted at just below $2,000.
The Galaxy Z Fold line has come a great distance since then, with a litany of sturdiness, design and have enhancements. You may nonetheless get the newest Z Fold 8 Extremely for $2,100 should you don’t thoughts the minimal 256GB storage with out the potential to increase it utilizing a microSD card. However with a most worth creeping towards the $3,000 milestone with little enhance in performance, the Z Fold 8 Extremely is perhaps a harbinger of diminishing affordability on the prime finish of smartphone lineups.
Because the RAM scarcity continues driving up product costs, both everybody should reside with quite a bit much less onboard storage — or fancy foldables will proceed to be priced out of everybody’s arms.
