Upcoming Unpacked... 'Galaxy Z Flip' Official Subsidies Raised One After Another

[Asia Economy Reporter Eunmo Koo] As Samsung Electronics is expected to unveil its new foldable smartphone through the Galaxy Unpacked event on the 11th of next month, mobile carriers are also increasing the official subsidies for the 'Galaxy Z Flip 5G' one after another.

According to industry sources on the 18th, LG Uplus raised the official subsidy for the Galaxy Z Flip 5G from 650,000 KRW to 700,000 KRW the day before.

Currently, the retail price of the Galaxy Z Flip 5G at LG Uplus is 1,349,700 KRW. If customers use LG Uplus's ‘5G Premier Essential’ plan, which costs 85,000 KRW per month, the official subsidy of 700,000 KRW plus an additional 15% distributor subsidy of 105,000 KRW brings the actual purchase price down to 544,700 KRW.

KT raised the official subsidy for the Galaxy Z Flip 5G from a maximum of 600,000 KRW to 700,000 KRW on the 14th. Assuming the use of KT’s Super Plan Basic Choice at 90,000 KRW per month, the combined official and additional subsidies lower the actual purchase price to 544,700 KRW, matching LG Uplus.

Earlier, SK Telecom also increased the official subsidy for the Galaxy Z Flip 5G from a maximum of 480,000 KRW to 580,000 KRW on the 1st. When using SK Telecom’s 5GX Prime plan at 89,000 KRW per month, the total subsidy reduces the actual purchase price to 582,600 KRW.

The prices of Samsung Electronics’ new flagship models, the ‘Galaxy Z Flip3’ and ‘Galaxy Z Fold3’, scheduled to be unveiled on the 11th of next month, are expected to be set in the 1 million KRW range. Samsung’s significant price reduction for the new models is interpreted as an effort to popularize foldable phones, and the carriers’ rush to sell older models at lower prices is seen as a move to clear inventory ahead of the new foldable phone launch.

According to industry and foreign media reports, Samsung recently proposed a price of around 1.99 million KRW for the Galaxy Z Fold3 to mobile carriers. This is about 400,000 KRW lower than the previous model, the Galaxy Z Fold2, which was priced at 2,398,000 KRW. In price negotiations, the Galaxy Z Flip3’s retail price was proposed at around 1.28 million KRW, approximately 400,000 KRW lower than the previous model’s 1.65 million KRW.

The Galaxy Z Flip3 is expected to have a similar size to its predecessor but will show some design differences. The rear camera and flash will be arranged in a line, and it will be offered in two models: LTE and 5G. The colors will include a total of eight options: Light Violet, Black, Gray, Dark Green, Beige, Pink, Dark Blue, and White. It will feature 8GB of RAM and be released in two internal memory models: 128GB and 256GB. The mobile application processor (AP) will be Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 888, and the battery capacity is expected to be 3,300mAh.

At the online Unpacked event on the 11th of next month, not only the Galaxy Fold3 and Galaxy Z Flip3 but also the smartwatch ‘Galaxy Watch4’ series and wireless earbuds ‘Galaxy Buds2’ are expected to be unveiled.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.