The Chinese brand TCL was among the first to develop foldable smartphones, but as a result, all of them
Why?
As it turned out, the program for the production of foldingsmartphones, codenamed Project Chicago, was canceled due to financial issues - apparently TCL was unable to keep prices in the range they had originally planned. It seems that the upcoming “folding phone” was priced at $800, and this despite the fact that the main competitor, the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 3, costs only a couple of hundred dollars more.
“If someone can spend $800,he can also spend $1,000... He will probably choose a brand that he has known for many years and trusts more,” says Stefan Strait, TCL Marketing Director.
TCL states that due to ongoingGiven the chip shortage crisis, now may not be the right time to enter the market, and explained that this decision was made long before the Samsung Unpacked event. But the company isn't abandoning foldable devices entirely, it's just waiting until they become more affordable. According to preliminary estimates, the project has been delayed for 12–18 months.
At the same time, CNET showed a prototype of TCL's folding clamshell, which was almost ready for release.
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