Foldable phones. Instantly recognizable. Premium. Stylish.
Since the first Galaxy Fold phone was introduced in 2019 by Samsung, foldable smartphones have gradually become a distinct category. Questions about whether the hinge would last, whether the screens would work well after repeated use, whether apps would work properly, or whether people would even pay a premium for a phone that opened up into a tablet have largely been answered already.
Samsung has continually refined the Galaxy Z Fold over multiple generations of launches. Multiple brands have pushed the form factor forward and foldable phones are today recognized as a serious category.
IDC forecasts strong growth for foldables in 2026. But the biggest buzz today is about Apple potentially joining the fray. Counterpoint Research as well as MacRumors points to Apple’s 2026 possible entry to the foldable phone category being a major catalyst to the segment. There will be avid discussions and opinions now on the hinge, the screen, the price, the launch date.
But for the current foldable phone users, the question is more immediate. What happens to their resale value once Apple enters this category?
Cash My Cell proprietary data from 2021 to 2026 offers a unique, data driven insight.
The data across Samsung Fold phone models show that annualized depreciation ranges from 15% for the Galaxy Z Fold6, where 77% of the tracked value is retained, to 40% for the Galaxy Fold2 5G.
This suggests that the resale market is also becoming more comfortable with the category and it is moving beyond the initial uncertainty the category had faced.
In fact, a head-to-head comparison of the Galaxy Z Fold6 with the iPhone 16 Pro Max, one of the strongest-performing devices in terms of resale value, based on Cash My Cell data, shows an almost identical pattern of value retention and depreciation.
While the older Fold models do show a steeper depreciation, it shows that resale pricing is being set by a mix of factors including launch timing, maturity of the model, the confidence of the buyers and the category evolution.
This is where Apple’s possible entry could potentially change the game.
Apple’s Entry Changes the Buyer Pool
The standard assumption is that the new foldable phone, if and when launched by Apple, with compete with Samsung’s foldables. But that’s just part of the story.
Loyal Apple users who may have been curious about foldables but preferred to stay within the Apple ecosystem could now use this opportunity to explore the category, potentially expanding the market beyond its current user base
This could influence the resale market as well for Fold phones.
The more critical question then for Samsung Fold phone owners is therefore one of timing: when should they sell.
And this leads to two underlying tensions.
- Once the official launch comes out, there could be a reset in price expectations in the market.
- And over the longer term, as the confidence in foldables increases further with Apple phones joining the category, the overall resale values for foldables could also increase.
A quick look at historical shifts helps put this moment into perspective.
Historically, Apple has entered markets once the customer behaviour and the product and the underlying technology have become more stable. This is why the new proposed launch could signify more than a form factor change but a bigger market shift.
Owners of Fold phones will have to assess if they are seeing their deepest depreciation slope already or will the value hold longer.
For example, the original Fold and Fold2 series have seen significant value declines. By contrast, value retention remains strong for the Z Fold5 and Z Fold6. For the Z Fold6, the average value in March 2026 was $616, according to Cash My Cell data.
The other question users will ask concerns the potential price of Apple’s foldable devices, given the strong base of Apple users already accustomed to premium pricing.
Buy, sell and hold – forget the stock market, the anticipation is moving to the Foldables now and given the chatter, it does not look like it will fold anytime soon.