Samsung has officially announced the Galaxy Z TriFold in its home market. The long-anticipated folding phone features two hinges and a standard slab screen on the back. It hits shelves in Korea on December 12, 2025, with a U.S. launch planned for the first quarter of 2026.
Samsung’s approach here is distinctly different from Huawei’s. Ironically, the Galaxy Z TriFold doesn’t fold three times or in a “Z” shape. Instead, it features two hinges that fold inwards, creating a “C” shape. I reckon Huawei earned the “trifold” name because its device actually offers three distinct ways to use it. By comparison, the Samsung foldable feels more like a dual-mode device, though it still stacks three panels of varying thickness.
While Huawei’s Mate XT is a true 3-in-1 – transforming from a phone to a book-style foldable (mini-tablet) to a widescreen tablet, Samsung is aiming for a different kind of hybrid. The Huawei Mate XT effectively houses a Mate X6 inside it, using part of the inner screen even when folded.
Samsung, however, is pitching a different trifold phone. While the Galaxy Z Fold 7 offers a phone and a mini-tablet experience, the new Z TriFold gives you a phone and a full widescreen tablet. Both devices serve different use cases, so one likely won’t cannibalize the other. You can read more about my comparison of the two Samsung and Huawei design approaches here.
The Galaxy Z TriFold measures 12.9mm thick when folded, putting it neck-and-neck with the Huawei Mate XT. Naturally, it is thicker than the 8.9mm Galaxy Z Fold 7, but it’s not far off the previous generation Z Fold 6 (12.1mm). When unfolded, the device ranges from a 3.9mm at its thinnest to 4.2mm at its thickest point.
The new Samsung foldable features a “ceramic-glass fiber-reinforced polymer” designed to resist cracking. Its hinges are two different sizes, but both utilize a dual-rail design protected by a titanium housing. Like the new Galaxy Z Fold 7 and Z Flip 7, the TriFold is rated IP48. That means it is water-resistant but not fully dust-tight. The Google Pixel 10 Pro Fold remains the only foldable to boast a full dust and water resistant IP68 rating.
Moving past the naming scheme and design, the Galaxy Z TriFold looks like a powerhouse. You get a big 10-inch folding screen with a 2160 x 1584 resolution and a 120Hz adaptive refresh rate. It allows you to run three apps vertically side-by-side and even use Samsung’s DeX desktop environment in standalone mode without an external monitor. On the outside, you get a 6.5-inch cover display with a 21:9 aspect ratio and 1080p resolution.
The Galaxy Z TriFold is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset, so performance should be on par with Samsung’s other 2025 flagships. It is paired with 16GB of RAM and up to 1TB of storage. Samsung also managed to squeeze in a 200MP f/1.7 primary camera, accompanied by a 12MP ultrawide and a 10MP telephoto lens with 3x optical zoom.
The device packs a 5,600mAh battery with support for 45W fast charging. The battery size is a significant step up from the Galaxy Z Fold 7’s 4,400mAh cell and matches Huawei trifold’s capacity. However, with recent book-style foldables from Honor and Oppo pushing past the 5,000mAh mark, it will be interesting to see if the Z TriFold can truly last an entire day on a single charge.
Samsung hasn’t announced pricing yet, but considering the single-hinge Galaxy Z Fold 7 already costs $2,000, the Galaxy Z TriFold won’t come cheap.
