Samsung Galaxy Z TriFold
Chris Hall / Foundry
Though announced a little ahead of CES 2026, there’s no doubting that the Samsung Galaxy Z TriFold was one of the stars of the show, and it was the first time we could get our hands on the cutting-edge device. If folding phones are to evolve, then Samsung is the brand to take it mainstream – beyond the offering of the Galaxy Z Fold 7.
While the Huawei Mate XT started this move, Samsung’s wider global reach will be key. The Z TriFold is impressively thin, with a nice crisp action where it snaps open, although interestingly, it’s either open or closed – it can’t sit at an angle like some folding models can. That means you either use the huge 10-inch screen on the inside or the 6.5-inch screen on the outside, you can’t partially unfold it.
Elsewhere, there’s a 200Mp main camera on the back (with ultrawide and telephoto lenses), Snapdragon 8 Elite power and a 5600mAh battery which isn’t as big as you’d expect from a tablet this size – and one of the obvious compromises.
This is a first-gen device, but it’s impressively slim and the displays look great – the question is whether there’s demand for such a large screen in a device where one-handed use is tricky.
That was my lasting impression: one-handed use for a device this size isn’t possible, making it distinctly different to existing foldables. It’s a great piece of technology, though is perhaps slightly ahead of its time for really solid use cases. A potential replacement for your phone, tablet and laptop in one go, maybe.
The Samsung Galaxy Z TriFold is available in South Korea, China, Taiwan, Singapore and UAE, with the US promised for the future. The price is expected to be around $2,500.
