Ai+ is set to launch the Nova Flip, a clamshell foldable priced at Rs. 29,999, aiming to make foldables mainstream. CEO Madhav Sheth said the goal is to remove the 'premium barrier' from innovation. The device will go on sale via Flipkart in early May.

Foldable smartphones have long been the domain of the ultra-premium. Samsung's Galaxy Z Flip series, Motorola's Razr, and a handful of Chinese rivals have kept the form factor locked well above or just close to the Rs. 1 lakh mark, a price point that, by design, keeps it aspirational and out of reach for most Indian consumers. Even brand like Tecno, known for their budgeted devices, have launched foldables well above the Rs. 70,000 mark. AI+, the young homegrown smartphone brand led by CEO Madhav Sheth, is about to disrupt this market, with a foldable device that is priced under Rs. 30,000.

The company's upcoming Nova Flip is a clamshell foldable priced at Rs. 29,999, and it is set to go on sale on Flipkart in early May. It is a price that would have seemed implausible even a year ago for the category, and for an Indian brand, a space where foldables simply haven't existed, it marks something genuinely new.

Foldables to longer be a premium device

Sheth is clear that the Nova Flip was never conceived as merely a cheaper foldable. The intent, he says, ran deeper than that. "The intent was very clear from the beginning to remove the premium barrier from innovation," he tells us.