What’s happened? Samsung’s tri-fold smartphone is supposedly in its final stages of development and could be entering the market much sooner than expected.
- In July, Samsung confirmed its plans to officially announce its trifold smartphone by the end of 2025. The company reiterated those plans at IFA.
- No official launch date has been given, but a well-known tipster recently suggested September 29 as a potential launch date. If true, the announcement will likely come in the next couple of weeks.
- The phone is not planned for a global launch and will likely only be available in China and Korea.
Why this is important: There has been a lot of excitement around the prospect of a trifold phone, especially the other options on the market are the Huawei Mate XT and Mate XTs — more devices that aren’t readily available.
- Samsung didn’t provide a cost estimate, but given the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 is nearly $2,000, it’s likely the unnamed trifold device will be significantly more than that.
- While the Samsung trifold isn’t planned for a global launch, interested customers will likely be able to import it. Samsung plans to use its launch as a trial run and manufacture only 50,000 units in the initial phase.
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Why should I care? The trifold phone market is still in its infancy and primarily dominated by a single company. Samsung’s entrance into that market will signal more competition, something that could reduce the high costs associated with these devices.
- One Reddit user reported paying $5,800 to purchase the Huawei Mate XT, indicating just how expensive these phones can be outside their original markets.
- If the Samsung device performs well, the company might bring it to a more global audience.
