The following innovation within the telephone business is tri-folding units, and Samsung is unveiling its efforts on this class with the Galaxy Z TriFold, which is slated to hit the U.S. in Q1 2026. Whereas Samsung nonetheless would not have evaluation items to present out to the media, it’s promoting the tri-fold in South Korea and the UAE. By the way, I am within the UAE this week, and I used to be capable of go hands-on with the Galaxy Z TriFold on the Dubai Mall, the place Samsung is showcasing the foldable and taking pre-registrations forward of the sale later this month.
As somebody who used Huawei’s Mate XT for the higher a part of the 12 months, I used to be excited to get my palms on the Galaxy Z TriFold, and whereas I used it in a demo setting, the system is nothing wanting unimaginable.
The Galaxy Z TriFold seems like an outsized mannequin of the Galaxy Z Fold 7, and that is a very good factor; it has the identical svelte design, and whereas it’s thicker when folded due to the elevated actual property, it’s simply as skinny at 4.2mm whenever you unfold it to the complete 10 inches.
On that be aware, the Galaxy Z TriFold would not really feel flimsy within the least; the hinges are simply as easy to articulate, and it feels nice to carry in-hand when unfolded — it is principally a pill that you could take wherever. There is no seen crease both, and that makes a real distinction.
The Galaxy Z TriFold could not have the largest panel — the Mate XT goes as much as 10.2-inch — however Samsung did an arguably higher job with the internal and canopy panels. Each panels go as much as 120Hz (as a substitute of 90Hz on the Mate XT), and so they get brighter. Though it is not utilizing the newest Qualcomm silicon, the Snapdragon 8 Elite has loads of energy, and this is not going to be a limiting issue within the least.
One other level of differentiation is that the Galaxy Z TriFold will get an analogous 200MP module because the Z Fold 7, so it ought to take respectable images — not that I used to be capable of take a look at it within the restricted time I used the tri-folding system. The Kevlar texture on the rear feels nice, and is completely different to what you get on different Galaxy Z units.
Samsung went with an fascinating design alternative the place the duvet display is sandwiched between the 2 sections that fold in, so whenever you’re holding the system unfolded, your fingers inevitably come into contact with the duvet panel, and it will get coated in smudges with none effort (as you’ll be able to see within the photograph above).
However what’s much more egregious is that the Galaxy Z TriFold is not as versatile because the Mate XT. You need to use it in simply two configurations: the tablet-sized 10-inch internal panel, and the 6.5-inch cowl panel. There is no method to make use of it as a conventional book-style foldable — in contrast to the Mate XT. That is annoying to say the least, as I exploit my Mate XT commonly with one part closed, and the 7.9-inch measurement is useful.
With Samsung, you do not have that alternative. The contact layer shuts down whenever you shut one of many folding panels, and there is even an accurate technique to shut the foldable. You may have to fold the left panel, after which the appropriate. For those who mistakenly shut the appropriate panel, you instantly get an alert.
Why is that this, you ask? It is as a result of the Galaxy Z TriFold’s outer sections shut inward, and the rear of the appropriate panel homes the digicam island. The U-styled design of the outer panel is essentially completely different to Huawei’s Z-style design, and whereas it means the outer panel is not prone to taking harm, it’s restricted to 1 configuration.
Out of the 2 tri-folding units, I choose Huawei’s design higher. I like the flexibility of getting three units in a single, and I do not just like the positioning of the duvet panel on the Z TriFold — it is available in the way in which an excessive amount of when utilizing the internal panel. That mentioned, there is no arguing that the Z TriFold has higher sturdiness; it even will get IP48 ingress safety.
Samsung additionally does an excellent job with software program, and the little I used of the Z TriFold was sufficient to see that it is just like the Z Fold 7 on this regard. Whereas I can solely speak about battery life as soon as I get my palms on a evaluation unit, it is good to see Samsung going with a 5,600mAh unit on the system — its largest battery on a telephone but.
Foldables are near an inflection level; the Galaxy Z Fold 7 and Vivo X Fold 5 are simply 4.2mm thick, and there actually is not rather more than may be performed with the design earlier than limitations with the bodily thickness of the USB-C port turn into an element.
It is no surprise, then, that manufacturers at the moment are turning to new type elements. Huawei proved it could ship a tri-folding system within the Mate XT, and whereas I believed it will be akin to the early wave of book-style foldables that debuted seven years in the past, it was astonishingly simple to make use of — and sturdy. It held as much as near a 12 months of use with none issues in any way.
Total, the Galaxy Z TriFold is a daring new imaginative and prescient for Samsung, and it is evident that the model is testing the waters with the system. Samsung solely plans to have 500 items of the tri-folding system on sale within the UAE, and it is seemingly that it will likely be the case in different international locations the place it can go on sale in 2026. Contemplating the foldable prices nicely over $3,000, it is comprehensible that Samsung is not manufacturing it in bulk, however even then, it is good to see a legit rival to the Huawei Mate XT.
