Samsung's first trifold phone is expensive and half-baked

"Samsung Electronics Co. became the first major player in 2019 to get in on the trend, and has kept at it since, releasing four new folding phones in 2025 alone, most recently the Galaxy Z TriFold. That device, which is available in South Korea to start and coming soon to the US, has two screens, two folds and a price of roughly $2,500 about what it would cost to buy two high-end smartphones."

"The convenience of having both in one gadget is supposed to overshadow the fact you could purchase both an iPhone Pro Max and iPad Pro for less. But after a week of testing one of the first Galaxy Z TriFold units available in Seoul, it's clear that this experimental phone is also held back by some unique design flaws that make it even less polished than regular, dare I say, normal foldables."

Foldable smartphones have struggled commercially despite persistent hardware innovation. Samsung launched the Galaxy Z TriFold in 2025, a two-screen, two-fold device priced around $2,500 and initially sold in South Korea. Trifolds, first tried by Huawei last year, combine a smartphone and a widescreen tablet aimed at video viewing. The TriFold's convenience competes with buying separate high-end phones and tablets, but testing reveals unique design flaws that leave it less polished than standard foldables. High engineering complexity and steep pricing confine the device to early adopters. Foldables still represent under 2% of global phone sales, making 2026 pivotal.

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