Samsung announces triple-folding Z TriFold phone
Three is too many folds.
Earlier this week, Samsung delivered on their promise of a triple-folding phone and announced the Samsung Z TriFold. It is similar to other triple-folding phones, like the Huawei Mate XT, but with a Samsung logo and aesthetic. It is heavy, thick and carries a similar weighty price tag.
The main detail (and probably, for this kind of phone, the most important one) is the screen. It is the highlight of this device and is the thing that people will be marveling at every time that they see it. The outer screen is nice at 1080p, though not as nice as the inner screen. Its expansive 10-inch inner display has an adaptive refresh rate, like the iPad Pro models and iPhones, going all the way from 120Hz down to 1Hz, depending on the content. Its resolution is 2160 x 1584. It is sounds amazing, and The Verge highlights how you can "use Samsung’s DeX desktop environment in a standalone mode without a separate display."
The other important detail that is now becoming a selling point on phones is the thickness and weight. When unfolded, the device is strikingly thin, at around 4 mm (Samsung notes that it is different depending on the area of the device that is measured). However, when folded, it is a much larger 12.9 mm thick. That is the main downside of these triple-folding phones. There is only so far that a company can slim a phone, since there still needs to be width for batteries and chips, even if it is split up between screens. So, there is a point at which the thinness can only get so far.
This is much less of an issue on normal folding phones, since it was only folded once over. However, by using essentially the same thickness for each half (in this case, each third), the thickness becomes less manageable. It most likely won't be a major issue, but it begs the question of why we need this much folding in the first place.
Not only is thickness added, but weight is increased as well. The phone weighs in at 309 g. The iPhone 17 Pro Max, a phone that is also not necessarily light, comes in at 233 grams.
As for price, Samsung did not mention a US price. The transfer from the listed price in South Korea at KRW 3,590,400 translates to about $2442.32, meaning this will definitely not be a cheap phone.
The Samsung Z TriFold is an interesting new phone and shows the capabilities of what smartphones can become. We will have to wait and see what Samsung does soon.
