I’ve been a customer of Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold series for a few years now and there’s one reason I’ve stuck with this series, and that’s the enduring value of Samsung’s tremendous trade-in value.
The Galaxy Z Fold series, like pretty much the entire foldable market, isn’t cheap. A few years ago, I went all-in on the Galaxy Z Fold 2, shelling out the better part of $2,000 after trading in my Galaxy S20+ for the foldable. And boy was I glad I did. The Fold 2 was one of my favorite purchases ever, and a year later I was eager to buy the much-improved Galaxy Z Fold 3.
I immediately felt the benefit of Samsung’s trade-in program for the Galaxy Z Fold series. My Fold 2 was traded in for $900 off the new device, bringing the cost down to just over $800. Not bad for a one-year upgrade with cutting-edge tech! A year later, I repeated that with the Galaxy Z Fold 4, getting the iterative upgrade for $799 after trading in my Fold 3, which I had to do at the time because I could tell the Fold 3 was teetering on the brink of disaster.
But fast forward to today, and I still have that Fold 4. Why? Simply put, the Galaxy Z Fold 5 wasn’t worth it for me. Not only was it a super iterative upgrade, but Samsung’s trade-in values had also dropped a bit. But now that the Galaxy Z Fold 6 is here, they’ve gone back up, and I felt it was worth upgrading my Fold 4 to the new, better device.
In short, I think trade-ins are the main reason I still use the Galaxy Z Fold series.
I find the idea of buying a new $2,000 device every two or three years absurd, but if you offer me $1,000 or more for it, it becomes a lot more tempting.
And that’s despite the fact that I objectively believe that other foldable phones are better for me. The Google Pixel Fold has the software and the camera I want. The OnePlus Open is, well, objectively better in every way. Better camera, better hardware, and maybe even better software.
But if I were to invest my money in either of those, I’d effectively be spending a lot of money when it came time to upgrade. While we won’t know how Google and OnePlus really treat their customers in terms of trade-in value until their respective next-generation phones come out, it doesn’t sound great. When the Pixel 8 launched last year, Google only offered Pixel 7 users up to $420 to upgrade. OnePlus trade-ins from the 11 to the 12 also cost up to $400. I’m just not convinced either brand would hand out nearly as much as Samsung year-over-year, or even an upgrade every other year.
And you know what? I hope I’m completely wrong. I hope both brands come up with great deals.
However, all this means is that I think trading in is a big factor for foldables. And you might ask, “who upgrades foldables often in the first place?” I think it’s a bigger number than we might think. Realistically, I think we just now past the point where foldables are no longer just for those eager to try out the latest and greatest. Despite being six generations in, the novelty of a foldable device has not worn off, nor has the inherent risk of jumping into a new technology.
The cost of moving forward with foldables is extremely important to me. And that’s something Samsung seems to know. The The company says that most people who buy their foldables are those who have owned a previous generation. If the majority of your market is made up of existing customers, it makes perfect sense to invest a ton of money in making upgrades attractive to them.
While Samsung’s competitors continue to make products that are inherently better, no one (yet) challenges the company when it comes to long-term value.
That’s why I traded in my Galaxy Z Fold 4 for a Fold 6.
Below you can read my full review of the Galaxy Z Fold 6.
The Galaxy Z Fold 6 and Flip 6 are available to pre-order now with up to $1,200 trade-in value, double the free storage, and other perks. You can also get up to an additional $150 off with our Galaxy Z Fold 6 link on Samsung.com.
Samsung will begin shipping its new foldable devices on July 24, as well as the Galaxy Ring, Galaxy Buds 3 (and Buds 3 Pro), Galaxy Watch 7 and Galaxy Watch Ultra.
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