Samsung will likely release a cheaper foldable this year, but only after Z Fold 6 and Z Flip 6

The Samsung Galaxy lineup of folding phones sounds an awful lot like it's going to expand in the coming months, with rumours swirling about an affordable addition. 

The lineup currently comprises the Galaxy Z Flip and Galaxy Z Fold, the latter more expensive and premium with a bi-fold design, and the former a smaller flip phone that is nonetheless pretty pricy.

Both normally come out at the same time each year, and 2024 is expected to follow that pattern, albeit a little earlier than usual.

A new report from South Korean site The Elec indicates that it expects the company's typical folding phone launch event to be brought forward into mid-July of this year, launching the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 6 and Galaxy Z Fold 6 at the same time. 

Both phones should probably go on sale very soon after the event, but we'll then be in for a wait before Samsung is ready to unveil the cheaper version of the Z Fold 6 that it's heavily rumoured to be working on. 

This will apparently be shown off in September or October, wrestling Samsung back some of the attention that will have shifted to the annual iPhone launch event. 

The more affordable Z Fold model will seemingly be even thinner and more lightweight than the full-fat option, and one of the biggest changes will be the absence of the S Pen. 

Exactly what other differences there will be between the variants isn't clear at this stage – not least because until it launches we don't have concrete information about the more premium offering's actual specs.

Shaving away the S Pen alone wouldn't seem enough to make a substantial difference in price, so it'll be interesting to see how Samsung manages it. 

Equally, it'll be curious to see where this new model fits into the overall Samsung Galaxy lineup – in particular, whether it'll be cheaper than the smaller Galaxy Z Flip 6, which would again seem unlikely. 

There are quite a few months to go before the phone's rumoured unveiling window, though, so expect more leaks and rumours to give us an indication of what to expect before then.