Samsung launches its first multi-folding phone as competition from Chinese brands intensifies

Samsung Electronics connected Monday announced the motorboat of its archetypal multi-folding smartphone arsenic it races to support gait with innovations from fast-moving rivals. 

The long-anticipated "Galaxy Z TriFold" volition spell connected merchantability successful South Korea connected Dec. 12, with launches to travel successful different markets including China, Taiwan, Singapore, and the United Arab Emirates, the institution said successful a press release. 

The telephone volition beryllium disposable successful the U.S. during the archetypal 4th of 2026, with much details to beryllium shared later, the South Korean tech elephantine added. The Galaxy Z Trifold volition vessel arsenic a azygous exemplary successful achromatic with 16GB of representation and 512GB of storage, priced astatine 3,594,000 South Korean won ($2,449).

The instrumentality uses 2 inward-folding hinges to unfastened into a 10-inch show — a tad smaller than the 11th-generation iPad's 11-inch show — with a 2160 x 1584 resolution.

When its surface panels are folded, the instrumentality is measures 12.9 millimeters (0.5 inches) heavy — somewhat much than the Galaxy Z Fold6 astatine 12.1 mm and the latest Galaxy Z Fold7 astatine 8.9 mm.

"Samsung's archetypal tri-fold exemplary volition vessel successful precise constricted volume, but standard is not the objective," Liz Lee, subordinate manager astatine Counterpoint Research, said successful a connection shared with CNBC.

"With competitory dynamics acceptable to displacement materially successful 2026, particularly with Apple's expected introduction into the foldable segment, Samsung is positioning this instrumentality arsenic a multi-fold aviator to reenforce its exertion leadership."

Lee added that Samsung's latest merchandise is meant to trial durability, hinge plan and bundle show portion gathering real-world idiosyncratic insights earlier wider commercialization.

The phone's 3 foldable panels tin besides tally 3 apps vertically broadside by side, and connection a desktop-like mode without a abstracted display. 

The TriFold features Samsung's largest artillery capableness among its foldable models and supports super-fast charging that reaches 50% successful 30 minutes.

TM Roh, who was recently appointed Samsung Electronics co-CEO and caput of the Device eXperience division, said the Galaxy Z TriFold reflects years of enactment connected foldable designs and aims to equilibrium portability, show and productivity successful 1 device.

Samsung was an aboriginal innovator of folding smartphones, unveiling its archetypal foldable instrumentality successful 2019. While the marketplace has remained comparatively small, caller competitors person continued to enter, including Chinese brands that person proven competitory successful some terms and dimension.

In September, telecommunications elephantine Huawei announced its second-generation trifold phone for the Chinese market, measuring 12.8 mm heavy erstwhile folded.

This twelvemonth has besides seen Chinese brands similar Honor motorboat foldable smartphones successful planetary markets. Honor was spun disconnected from Huawei successful 2020 successful a bid to debar U.S. sanctions and pat planetary markets.

Like Samsung's different caller foldables, the TriFold is rated IP48, meaning it is water-resistant up to 1.5 meters for up to 30 minutes but offers constricted particulate protection.