Samsung Galaxy Z Fold trade-ins keep me as a customer

July 20, 2024

I have been a customer of Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold series for several years now, and there is one reason why I have decided to remain loyal to this series: the continued value of Samsung’s tremendous trade-in values.

The Galaxy Z Fold series, like virtually the entire foldable market, isn’t cheap. A few years ago, I went all-in on the Galaxy Z Fold 2, spending nearly $2,000 after trading in my Galaxy S20+ for the foldable. And I loved it. The Fold 2 was one of my favorite purchases ever, and a year later, I was dying to have 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 able to be traded in for the new device at $900 off, bringing the price down to just over $800. Not bad for a year-long upgrade to cutting-edge technology! A year later, I repeated that with the Galaxy Z Fold 4 and received the iterative upgrade for $799 after trading in my Fold 3, which I had to do at the time knowing the Fold 3 was on the brink of disaster.

But today I’m still on the Fold 4. Why? Simply put, the Galaxy Z Fold 5 wasn’t worth it to me. Not only was it a super iterative upgrade, but Samsung’s trade-in values had also dropped a bit. However, with the Galaxy Z Fold 6, they’ve gone back up and I felt it was worth upgrading my Fold 4 to the new and better device.

With that said, I think trade-ins are the main reason why 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 devices are a better fit for me. The Google Pixel Fold has the software and camera that I want. The OnePlus Open is, well, just objectively better in every way. Better camera, better hardware and probably better software too.

But if I were to invest my money in either, I’d end up having to shell out a lot of money 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 generations come out, this doesn’t sound good. When the Pixel 8 launched last year, Google only offered Pixel 7 users up to $420 to upgrade. Even OnePlus trade-ins from the 11 to the 12 cost a maximum of $400. I’m just not convinced that either brand would spend anywhere near as much as Samsung for an annual or even bi-annual upgrade.

And you know what? I hope I’m completely wrong. I hope both brands come up with some great deals.

But all this means that I have to trade in for a large factor for foldable devices. And you may be wondering, “Who updates foldable devices frequently anyway?” I think it’s a bigger number than we might assume. Realistically, I think we Only It’s past the point where foldables are no longer just for those who want to try the latest and greatest. Despite being six generations old, the appeal of foldables hasn’t faded, and neither has the inherent risk of embracing a new technology.

The cost of developing foldable devices is, in my opinion, extremely important. And Samsung seems to know that. The company says most people who buy its foldable devices are owners of previous generations. When the majority of your market is made up of existing customers, it makes perfect sense to spend a lot of money making upgrades attractive to them.

While Samsung’s competitors continue to produce fundamentally better products, no one can (yet) compete with the company in terms of long-term value.

That’s why I traded in my Galaxy Z Fold 4 for a Fold 6.

You can read my full review of the Galaxy Z Fold 6 below.

The Galaxy Z Fold 6 and Flip 6 are available for pre-order now with trade-in value of up to $1,200, double the storage for free, and other benefits. You can also save up to $150 more with our link to the Galaxy Z Fold 6 on Samsung.com.

Samsung will begin shipping its new foldable devices, as well as the Galaxy Ring, Galaxy Buds 3 (and Buds 3 Pro), Galaxy Watch 7, and Galaxy Watch Ultra on July 24.