Samsung Cares About Competing Again. Tri-Fold Phone Coming by End of Year
Despite various rumors and even an alleged leak, there was no “one more thing” teasing a tri-folding phone at Samsung’s Unpacked event last week, where the tech company announced the impressively thin Galaxy Z Fold 7, Z Flip 7 with an edge-to-edge cover screen, and two stylish Galaxy Watch 8 smartwatches. But the tri-fold phone is real and it’s coming soon.
See Galaxy Z Fold 7 at Samsung.com
See Galaxy Z Flip 7 at Samsung.com
Speaking to the Korea Times, Roh-Tae-moon aka TM Roh, Samsung’s acting head of its Device Experience Division, said the company is “working hard on a tri-fold smartphone with the goal of launching it at the end of the year.” There’s no name for the tri-fold—rumors claim it’ll be called the Galaxy Fold G—but it’s nearly finished, said Roh. “We are now focusing on perfecting the product and its usability, but we have not decided its name.”
Android Authority shared the below video and several images and animations, mined from the latest version of Samsung’s One UI 8 software, showing off what it believes is Samsung’s tri-fold phone.
I’ll have a review for the Galaxy Z Fold 7 on Gizmodo this week, but it’s safe to say that Samsung has finally created the book-style foldable it set out to make in 2019. The Z Fold 7 is basically as thin and light as a Galaxy S25 Ultra and has the top-notch performance and cameras you’d expect from a flagship phone—features you can’t cheap out on when you’re asking $2,000 for the device. With the Z Fold now virtually perfect, it’s the right time for Samsung to look at even bolder phone form factors.
A tri-fold phone with two folds instead of one, which allows for an even larger tablet-sized screen when unfolded, would be a first for Samsung and play catch up to Huawei’s Mate XT Ultimate. Like all of Huawei’s phones, the Mate XT Ultimate is not available in the U.S. because of Chinese restrictions, which is a problem that Samsung wouldn’t have. While tri-fold phones are eye-catching and would put Samsung back at the top as a tech innovator, the company’s first such device will almost certainly cost even more than the Z Fold 7. Huawei’s Mate XT Ultimate carries a 3,499 euros starting price (roughly $4,000 at today’s exchange rate). That’s not surprising since you’re getting a phone that functions as a regular glass slab when folded up, a tablet when one fold is unfolded, and then a really big tablet (or laptop-sized screen) when fully unfurled.
Releasing a tri-fold phone won’t be without its own challenges. More folds gets you the biggest screen you can fold up into your pocket, but it also requires bigger and heavier batteries and thickness balloons with all the folds. Durability might be a concern, too—there’s more display area to get damaged, especially on the sides where the creases fold over. Still, it’s good to see Samsung hasn’t lost all of its fight after giving in and making all of its bar-style phones essentially look like iPhone bricks. I’d love to see Samsung come back and wallop its competitors instead of phoning things in year in and year out.
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