Samsung's promotion of doubling storage for preorders has ended in Austria, and the new offer is not as appealing.
Samsung's free storage doubling promotion may be coming to an end.
If you’ve pre-ordered a Samsung foldable hoping for the free storage increase, you might feel disappointed after tomorrow's Unpacked event.
Historically, pre-ordering a new Galaxy device meant receiving double the storage for the same price—buying a 128GB model would get you 256GB, and the same for the 256GB and 512GB models. However, this might change at the upcoming Galaxy Unpacked event.
In a newsletter from Samsung Austria, the company has indicated it will no longer provide the free storage upgrade that customers have been accustomed to when pre-ordering a Galaxy flagship.
This means that those pre-ordering the Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra, Galaxy Z Fold 8, and Galaxy Z Flip 8 will not receive a complimentary storage increase for expressing interest and reserving their devices early.
While this wasn’t entirely unexpected—an industry insider had predicted it months ago—it still feels like a significant change.
So what will customers receive instead, and is it worth it?
Instead of free storage, Samsung Austria will offer discounted upgrades. Opting for the 512GB model during pre-order will give you a €100 discount, while moving to 1TB will reduce the price by €200.
Based on leaked pricing in Europe, this discount amounts to approximately half of the future upgrade cost after the pre-order period. So while it's something, it’s a notable downgrade from the previous free doubling of storage.
Samsung has yet to confirm if this pricing structure will apply internationally. However, given the worsening global memory crisis and how companies have been passing these costs to consumers, it is uncertain if Samsung US will adopt a similar strategy.
What options does Samsung have in the US?
Samsung could take two approaches. It might absorb the rising material costs by minimizing its margins and maintain the free storage upgrade for US customers. Alternatively, it could offer discounts on higher storage options as a compromise.
Until the official pre-order details for the US are released, these avenues illustrate the challenge of balancing profit margins while still providing incentives for buyers.
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Samsung's promotion of doubling storage for preorders has ended in Austria, and the new offer is not as appealing.
Samsung has eliminated its traditional pre-order benefit of double storage at no extra cost for Austria, substituting it with discounted upgrade options for the Galaxy Z Fold 8 and Z Flip 8.