Samsung: Tri-Fold smartphone to be launched "later this year"
Samsung's Tri-Fold smartphone is practically ready. According to Samsung Mobile boss TM Roh, it will be launched on the market this year.
Samsung's answer to Huawei's Mate XT (see picture) is coming soon.
(Image: Steffen Herget/ heise medien)
Samsung had already teased a foldable with three screens and two folds at the Galaxy S25 event at the beginning of the year. Now it was assumed that the company would present it as a kind of “one more thing” at the end of the Galaxy Unpacked event on July 9 after the Galaxy Z Fold 7. Instead, TM Roh promised the Korea Times that it could be released by the end of the year.
One wonders if there is a demand for this form factor
He said: “We are working hard on a tri-fold smartphone with the aim of launching it by the end of this year.” “We are focusing on perfecting the product and its usability, but we have not yet decided on its name,” TM Roh added. A “final decision on the name will be made soon”. So far, the device is unofficially doing the rounds as the “Galaxy G Fold.”
TM Roh wasn't the only Samsung executive willing to talk about the tri-fold device on the sidelines of the Unpacked event. An unnamed regional Samsung manager told Android Authority that the Tri-Fold is ready for production. However, the manufacturer is unsure whether the world needs such a product. The question is whether there really is a demand for this form factor.
“Galaxy G Fold” allegedly initially only in China and Korea
According to a report from South Korea last week, the Galaxy G Fold will go into production in September and will initially only be available in a few markets. It will only be launched in China and Korea in the fourth quarter. Samsung could use these two markets as a test balloon to gauge consumer interest before offering it in other markets. It would already be the second Tri-Fold device for the Chinese market, as Huawei already offers its Mate XT there.
In terms of hardware, Samsung's tri-fold device is said to have a 10-inch OLED screen that can be folded to a third of its size using two hinges so that it fits in a trouser pocket. The processor will reportedly be Qualcomm's Snapdragon 8 Elite SoC. Samsung's cameras are based on the Galaxy Z Fold 7. It is said to have a 200 MP main camera, a 12 MP ultra-wide-angle camera, and a 10 MP telephoto zoom camera with triple optical zoom, as well as a 10 MP selfie camera on board.
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Similar to the Huawei model, the “Galaxy G Fold” is not expected to be particularly cheap. A price of four million won—equivalent to around 2400 euros—is currently doing the rounds. This means that the potential buyer group is likely to be relatively small.
(afl)
