When Huawei unveiled the world’s first tri-foldable smartphone last year, it’s fair to say there were a few raised eyebrows. While the Huawei Mate XT is undoubtedly a technical marvel, the average smartphone user was left wondering whether a triple-folding screen was really necessary.
After all, foldables have only just begun gaining mainstream traction with simpler designs – and even those phones have had some questions surrounding their durability and cost.
Yes, they have been a popular choice among early content-heavy users and gamers. The expanded display real estate allows for better media consumption, streaming, and playing new games that demand more immersive visuals and multitasking capabilities. But for everyday users, they’re still a cautious investment.
So do we really need a phone that can fold not just once, but twice? The general consensus a year ago was no, and this was backed up by the fact Huawei’s trifold was marked up at $3,000 – proving it to be a niche luxury device for tech fans, rather than a mass-market breakthrough.
Enter Samsung
One year later, however, there’s been a twist in the tale. Just a few weeks ago, new Samsung leaks revealed that the company is preparing its own trifold entry – likely named the Galaxy Z TriFold or the Galaxy GFold. Set to launch in October 2025, Samsung’s version introduces a design that folds inward twice with a ‘G’ shaped pattern, offering a large internal display of about 10 inches and a cover screen of around 6.5 inches.
Powered by the latest Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset and boasting up to 16GB of RAM, it’s a phone that looks set to target power users who need serious multitasking capabilities, such as content creators, gamers, and professionals on the go – but again, it doesn’t look like it’s going to make much of an impact in the general market, so why is Samsung taking the risk?
Doing it Better
Part of the reason why Samsung may have gone down this route is because, at the end of the day, the smartphone industry is one big competition. Huawei was the first to launch its trifold phone, but there were a number of issues and concerns about how durable and practical it would be during everyday use.
Samsung likely noted those concerns, as their design aims to protect the main screen far better than Huawei’s outward-folding Mate XT. By folding inward twice, Samsung’s trifold shields the main display from scratches and impacts when the phone is closed, addressing one of the biggest pain points for early foldable adopters.
Beyond durability, Samsung is also focusing on software optimisation to make multitasking more seamless, while also enhancing the user interface to fully leverage the unique form factor. With this in mind, perhaps the reason Samsung is launching its own trifold is simply because they know they can do it better. They’re already leaders in the smartwatch market, as well as the foldable landscape. Perhaps they’re staking their claim as the leaders in this new market – despite the fact that the market itself is super niche.
Gimmick or a Genuine Next Step?
It’s also important to note that the idea of the trifold isn’t really a gimmick. As we mentioned previously, there are people out there who really benefit from the expanded screen real estate, and for these users, a trifold device offers a versatile hybrid between a phone and a tablet.
Samsung’s approach, then, shows that they’re not just chasing novelty, but trying to build the blueprint for a genuinely useful tool – perhaps even a tool that will become more accessible the more models Samsung releases in the future. It’s a risk, there’s no doubt about that. But Samsung has always been an innovative, competitive company, and so it seems they have every confidence that the risk is worth it in the long run.
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