What’s happened? After months of leaks and anticipation, Samsung has officially unveiled the Galaxy Z TriFold, its first tri-folding smartphone and a global rival to Huawei’s Mate XTs Ultimate.
- The device opens to a 10-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X display with 1600-nit peak brightness and a 120Hz adaptive refresh rate.
- The 6.5-inch FHD+ cover screen (borrowed from the Fold 7) is even brighter at 2600 nits, supports 120Hz, and packs a higher 422 ppi density than the inner panel’s 269 ppi.
- It’s powered by the Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy (3nm), not Qualcomm’s newest chip, but still delivering near-flagship CPU and GPU performance.
- The tri-folding phone also features a 200MP primary camera, along with 12MP ultrawide and 10MP 3x telephoto cameras. The phone also has two 10MP selfie shooters on the inner and the cover screen.
Why is this important? Samsung’s Galaxy Z TriFold marks a significant leap beyond the Fold and Flip lineup, thanks to a clever dual-hinge, three-panel design that folds twice into a surprisingly pocketable shape.
- To pull this off, Samsung uses two differently sized hinges with a dual-rail structure, allowing the device to fold smoothly despite its uneven weight distribution.
- The handset uses a reinforced Advanced Armor Aluminum frame, which adds rigidity and keeps the inner displays safely separated when closed.
- Samsung has secured an IP48 dust- and water-resistance rating for the foldable, which is good, but not quite as good as the IP68 on some of the latest dual-foldables.
- For Samsung, the Galaxy Z TriFold is a tool to reinforce the company’s position as the leading foldable maker worldwide.
Why should I care? It’s not only the tablet-sized foldable screen and the powerful Snapdragon chip; the TriFold also features a three-cell 5,600 mAh battery (45W wired and 15W wireless charging), larger than the one Samsung provides on the Galaxy Z Fold 7.
- With the large screen estate, you can do virtually all the tasks on the TriFold that you’d do on a tablet or a laptop.
- With the built-in Samsung Dex mode, which no longer requires an external monitor, you can use the large screen to get multiple things done at once.
- For travellers or people who don’t like carrying multiple devices, the TriFold combines the power and screen space of a tablet with the familiar One UI 8 user interface.
OK, what’s next? The Galaxy Z TriFold “is expected” to be available in Korea from December 12, 2025. Thereafter, the company will release the devices in other markets, including China, Taiwan, Singapore, the UAE, and the U.S.
- Hence, there’s no definitive launch date for the U.S. market yet, but at least the company has confirmed the arrival.
- In South Korea, the device is priced at 3,594,000 won (about $2,449) for the only variant with 16GB of RAM and 512GB of storage.
- However, given that the TriFold is about 50% more expensive than the Fold 7 in Korea, it could arrive as one of the most costly consumer-grade smartphones in the U.S., at around $3,000.