Tri-Fold Phones Are a Dangerous Game, but Samsung Is Playing To Win

If you’re still warming up to the idea of folding phones with a crease in them, I have bad news; there are likely more phones with more creases on the way. According to a report from Bloomberg, Samsung is going to unveil its tri-fold phone at the end of this month on the occasion of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in South Korea.

That report, which confirms earlier reporting by the Seoul-based Yonhap News Agency, is significant for lots of reasons. The most obvious is, well… it’s a tri-fold phone. As popular as the Galaxy Z Fold and Galaxy Z Flip are, there’s only one company with a tri-fold phone on the market right now, and it’s Huawei. That’s great for people interested in foldable phones who live in areas where Huawei actually conducts business, but for residents of countries—such as the United States of America—where Huawei products are restricted, the existence of that device means little.

Samsung’s phone, however, would mark a big expansion of tri-fold availability, and recent reporting from SamMobile suggests that its entrant will launch in a bunch of countries, including the U.S., in contrast to previous reports suggesting that the product could be exclusive to China and South Korea. If the expanded range is to be believed, that would be strong evidence that Samsung isn’t just dipping a foot into tri-fold phones; it’s betting big, and that huge bet is also evident in the timing of the unveiling.

As I mentioned previously, Bloomberg reports that the announcement of Samsung’s tri-fold will coincide with the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit, which has world leaders from Donald Trump to Xi Jinping planning visits to the host city of Gyeongju. That could just be a coincidence, but as Bloomberg notes, it’s also a prime chance to express to the world that not only are tri-fold phones on their way, but Samsung is going to sell them everywhere. In other words, it’s looking more and more like Samsung is actually confident in its tri-fold phone, and it’s betting that you, dear reader, might want to buy one.

Now, whether you (or any world leaders) will actually want to buy one is another question entirely. I’m skeptical about the tri-fold, and not because Samsung can’t execute. The manufacturer clearly has chops in the foldable game, given how well-received the Z Fold 7 was. But there are still a number of questions. For one, there’s the price. Foldables with just one hinge are already pretty damn expensive. The Galaxy Z Fold 7, however nice it may be, starts at an eye-watering $2,000. That’s, last I checked, a lot of money for the vast majority of people. I can’t say for sure, but if I were to make a wager, I’d bet that adding a whole hinge and a lot more screen won’t bring that price down.

 

How much phone is too much phone? Will adding screen real estate substantially change the foldable experience? How much additional bulk are we talking? Do people even want a phone with two hinges? A tri-fold is a big bet—but one that, by parading its device out in front of the world’s dignitaries, Samsung appears to think it can win.

Working in the company’s favor is its current lead in the foldable phone market. While it does have some big-name competition in Huawei and Google, the former, as I mentioned previously, doesn’t sell phones in the U.S., and the latter, well… the Pixel 10 Pro Fold going up in flames might be an apt metaphor. That leaves Samsung in a good place ahead of this unveiling.

That being said, even the biggest names in tech can take missteps (just ask Apple about its iPhone Mini). I’d be a fool to bet against Samsung when it comes to folding phones, but I’m not quite ready to bet in its favor either. Good news is, we may only need to wait a few more weeks to get our first glimpse of the odds.