Ever since foldable smartphones were first introduced, the major complaint that most people had was the pricing. These phones were painfully expensive, and even up to date, they’re a lot more expensive than any other average device that you can get—even the very best flagship phones.
However, as the tech developed, the expectation was for prices to drop. Yet, we waited several years without this actually happening. Well, according to rumors, Google finally had plans to get that to happen, but it seems it might not anymore, thanks to the tariffs that have been newly introduced by the Trump presidency, and that’s makes me sad.
The Google Pixel Fold Was Expected to Drop Up to $1,500 By 2027
I have some pain points with foldables, and by the time that they’re solved, I’ll have no issue spending money on one. However, one of those problems is the pricing. Foldables are very costly (and that leads into another one of my issues, which is that many don’t come with comparable specs to flagship bar phones). They’ve been around since 2018, and with the tech being relatively accessible, we hoped the pricing would follow suit.
According to an exclusive from Android Headlines, it looked like Google was finally ready to bring foldables down into more accessible territory. The Pixel 10 Pro Fold, coming later this year, was expected to launch at around $1,600. That’s down from last year’s $1,800 price tag. And in 2027, for the Pixel 12 Pro Fold, that’s expected to go down to $1,500 at launch.
That’s a big deal, considering the fact that a lot of flagships are getting very comfortable with the $1,799 cost point. However, there’s a reason I’m using the past tense regarding Google’s plans, and I’ll get into that later.
Some Other Google Pixel Models Are Expected to See a Price Increase Instead
The foldables aren’t the only phones in Google’s Pixel family. There’s also information on the other members of the Pixel 10 series. The Pixel 10a will remain at $499, and the a-series in general won’t move away from that spot even up until 2028. After that, the price increases might start coming in.
However, the flagship Pixel won’t stay the same. The Pixel 10 Pro XL is going to go up in price by $100, which means it could be as expensive as $1,200. This will put each of these phones distinctly into their own price categories, making the purchasing process a lot more intentional.
With Trump’s Tariffs, There Are Few Ways That Google’s Plan Could Survive
Now, the big problem is that the price decreases, increases, and “stabilities” that Google was hoping for likely won’t happen anymore. The simple reason is that the US government is imposing tariffs on imports from other nations. Phones that are manufactured in other countries and imported to the US, or parts that are manufactured in other countries and imported to the US for assembly, will be hit by these tariffs.
Countries like China, Vietnam, and Taiwan are integral to the smartphone industry, manufacturing most smartphones and smartphone parts, and hitting them with much heavier tariffs means there’s almost no way that the increased import costs won’t be passed on to consumers. So you see that $200 Google wanted to shave off the Pixel 10 Pro Fold? That’s probably impossible now.
To be honest, if you’re in the mood to upgrade your smartphone, there’s genuinely no better time to do so than now. The best thing is if you target phones that are currently on sale, as once those tariffs hit, we will likely never see phones as cheap as this again.
