What you need to know
- A new leak suggests Galaxy foldable phones could launch rebranded in China.
- The alleged devices are said to arrive soon with the W23 series moniker.
- The Samsung W23 and the W23 Flip are apparently the products of a partnership with China Telecom.
Samsung has found new ways to launch its latest foldable smartphones in the Chinese market. Last year, the company's flagship Galaxy Z Fold 3 model was released in China, rebranded as Samsung W22 5G. It is often surprising to see Samsung entirely ditching the Galaxy branding for the Chinese markets, despite phones being popular flagship devices under the Z moniker.
New details emerge courtesy of Ice Universe; Samsung will seemingly have a similar approach in China this year. The company has apparently partnered with Chinese telecom to launch its latest foldable devices, the Galaxy Z Fold 4 and the Galaxy Z Flip 4. These are dubbed Galaxy W23 and Galaxy W23 Flip and are said to be released soon in the Chinese market.
China Telecom customized version of Galaxy Z Fold4 and Flip4: Samsung W23 and W23 Flip, may have 16GB memory, which is unique. pic.twitter.com/HZ3GsL4XtnSeptember 19, 2022
Like the previous foldable model released in China, this year's Samsung devices are said to feature up to 16GB of RAM. This is notably higher than the global variants of the phones, with the Galaxy Z Fold 4 and Flip 4 models sporting up to 12GB and 8GB of RAM, respectively.
It's not clear if the 16GB of RAM will be available on both devices or just exclusive to the larger W23. However, we may not have to wait very long to learn more. Going by the Ice Universe's Twitter post, the launch seems imminent in China, with the poster teasing an October launch. This makes sense as the Samsung W22 5G was released a couple of months later after the launch of Galaxy Z Fold 3 in global markets.
The pricing of these devices can be tricky in the Chinese market, one reason being the higher storage variant. For instance, the Galaxy Z Fold 3, when launched in the U.S., started at $1800 for the 12GB/256GB variant. Likewise, its twin, the W22 5G in China, was released at CNY 16,999 (~ $2,411) for the sole 16GB/512GB variant.
Since we're also anticipating a similar strategy this year, expect it to be priced similarly if you're living in China and are interested in purchasing the non-Galaxy-branded Galaxy Z Fold 4 or Flip 4.
