Samsung's folding phone could be an EE exclusive and pricier than expected

Image of folding display demo

Samsung's folding phone - which could be called the Galaxy X, the Galaxy F, or according to the most recent rumors, the Galaxy Flex – is finally coming soon, but if you want it prepare to pay a lot, as the latest report puts it at £1,500 - £2,000.

That's roughly $1,930-$2,570 / AU$2,660-AU$3,550 and is a price supplied to Gizmodo UK, by a source that the site claims to have verified works for Samsung. It's also a price that's even higher than an earlier leak, which put the Galaxy Flex at around $1,850 / £1,375 / AU$2,400.

Apparently the Samsung Galaxy Flex will come in multiple configurations, with the most expensive being around £2,000, so even for the cheaper model you might be paying more than earlier estimates suggested, with the top version potentially costing twice what the iPhone XS starts at.

Exclusive to EE and Samsung

It's not just set to be expensive though, it could also be a bit harder to get hold of than most phones, as according to the same source, the Galaxy Flex will be exclusive to the EE network in the UK. Though you'll also apparently be able to buy it SIM-free from Samsung.

As Gizmodo UK notes, Samsung has its own service where you can pay off some of its phones over two years. So if that’s offered for the Galaxy Flex then it may be an alternative to EE for anyone who can't stomach paying the likely massive price in one go, but if you want to buy it directly on contract with a network other than EE you might be out of luck.

There's no word on whether it will be exclusive to certain networks in other regions, but we wouldn't be surprised, especially as this isn't likely to be a phone with mass appeal.

Though Samsung clearly has reasonable hopes for it, as in a statement to Gizmodo UK the company confirmed that it is planning to produce at least one million units of the handset.

If the possible price hasn’t put you off, you should be able to buy the Samsung Galaxy Flex at some point in the first half of 2019.

James Rogerson

James is a freelance phones, tablets and wearables writer and sub-editor at TechRadar. He has a love for everything ‘smart’, from watches to lights, and can often be found arguing with AI assistants or drowning in the latest apps. James also contributes to 3G.co.uk, 4G.co.uk and 5G.co.uk and has written for T3, Digital Camera World, Clarity Media and others, with work on the web, in print and on TV.