Over the last five years since Samsung and Motorola launched their first commercially available foldable device, dozens of brands have jumped and released their folding phones. With saturation in the segment, brands are now looking to stand out with tri- and multi-fold devices, especially after Huawei launched the unimaginably thin triple-folding phone. While the usual intent with a tri-fold is to expand the phone to a foldable-like footprint, one brand is taking the opposite route and using it to make the phone more compact.
Infinix, a phone brand that’s huge in Asia, Africa, and parts of Eastern Europe, just teased a concept of a tri-fold phone that folds down to a tiny palm-sized layout. Instead of a book-style foldable, Infinix is choosing dimensions similar to a flip phone. But instead of folding twice, this one folds thrice, for a minimal layout.
In its press announcement, Infinix shares examples of use cases, where it says the phone can be mounted on bikes or gym equipment or even clipped to your pocket or a backpack’s strap, like a tiny action camera. Infinix also says it can be partially unfolded for hands-free calling and watching content, and further adds the device is built for “single-handed use” and blurs the “lines between a smartphone and an all-in-one tech companion.”
Like any flip phone, there are screens both inside and out. The concept phone uses two hinges, one of which is likely to move freely with 360-degree rotation along the bottom third. This also makes the bottom hinge thicker, and Infinix appears to have used that as an opportunity to make that section of the screen usable with distinct elements — something like the edge panels on the Samsung Galaxy Note Edge.
Of course, these are digital renders, and Infinix calls it “a visionary glimpse into the future,” suggesting this phone will likely not have a commercial release. However, it does plan to showcase the concept at Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2025 next week. Whether that would be another digital render or a physical prototype is something we will learn shortly.