Foldable phones have made major strides in recent years, but sky-high pricing still puts top models out of reach for many consumers. Seeking to make the form factor more accessible, ZTE has taken the wraps off its new Libero Flip phone for Japan with an unprecedentedly low price made possible by its unique home market.
ZTE bills the Libero Flip as the “cheapest foldable smartphone” at a standard price of ¥63,000 ($420). However, for those who pre-order the device, an even lower discounted early bird price of just ¥39,800 ($265) applies. This shatters existing perceptions of foldable as exclusively ultra-premium products.
Spec-wise, the Libero Flip features a 6.9-inch internal FHD+ OLED display with a secondary 1.43-inch cover display. Cameras include a 50MP main shooter plus a 16MP selfie cam embedded within the inner screen’s punch-hole notch. Performance comes via a Snapdragon 7 Gen 1 chipset with 6GB RAM and 128GB storage.
The 4,310 mAh battery supports 33W fast charging, while the software is ZTE’s custom UI layered atop Android 13. Despite such competitive pricing, ZTE has still managed to incorporate folding-specific features to take advantage of the dual-screen design.
Available in white, gold, and blue colorways with optional decorative back covers, the Libero Flip is currently up for pre-order exclusively from Japanese carrier Y! Mobile. Open sales commence February 29th.
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While its budget-friendly nature sadly limits the Libero Flip to Japan for now, it represents a major milestone in making foldables economical and potentially mainstream.