There’s no official name yet, but Samsung has finally shared its first trifold phone with the world. The prototype device with two folds instead of one, like the ones found in the Galaxy Z Fold 7 and Z Flip 7, was shown off during the K-Tech Showcase at the APEC CEO Summit in South Korea, according to The Chosun Daily.
The cover screen has a 6.5-inch display, and the larger internal foldable display measures around 10 inches. Photos taken by The Chosun Daily and Bloomberg show hole punch cameras on both screens, just like on the Z Fold 7. Per the report, the trifold phone and its dual hinges are wider horizontally than current book-style foldables that resemble more portrait-oriented tablets when unfolded. Images also show three cameras on the backside of the trifold.
Samsung’s first trifold has a 6.5-inch cover display and a foldable inner screen that’s around 10 inches. © Bloomberg / Contributor
You could also expect the Samsung trifold to run Android, likely a new version with its own customized One UI interface that’s available in all the company’s Galaxy products, including its smartwatches.
You can see the hinge/spine of the Samsung trifold here. © Bloomberg / Contributor
Samsung is reportedly planning to produce between 50,000 and 100,000 units of the trifold phone and will launch it in limited countries such as South Korea and China, where “interest in foldable phones is high.” The Chosun Daily estimates the Samsung trifold could cost more than 3 million Korean won, or over $2,088 at the current exchange rate.
Samsung’s trifold phone looks like a larger, wider version of the Galaxy Z Fold 7. © Bloomberg / Contributor
I’m willing to bet it could break $3,000; the Z Fold 7 costs $2,000. You have to think of the Samsung trifold as almost three regular-sized phones. There’s precedent for a $3,000+ trifold phone. Huawei’s Mate XT Ultimate starts at 3,499 euros or about $4,070 at today’s exchange rate.
The folding screen is around 10 inches. © Bloomberg / Contributor
Samsung also appears to be on track to release the trifold phone before the year ends. “The recent showcase reflects ongoing R&D efforts, and we plan to bring this next generation device to users within this year,” the company told SamMobile.
Predictably, Samsung’s first trifold is not expected to be a mainstream device that gets consumers to ditch their traditional glass slabs. For the interim, it’ll serve more as an innovation to showcase Samsung’s design and engineering capabilities. Despite launching the first Galaxy Fold in 2019 and steadily improving everything from the form factor to durability in the last six years, foldables—book-style or flip-style—have not caught on as phone makers had hoped. The main factors holding back most foldables remain thickness and weight, reduced battery, and high prices.
