Samsung set to launch tri-foldable phone later this year: Roh Tae-moon

Seoul: Samsung Electronics plans to debut its first tri-folding smartphone later this year, adding a new form factor to its flagship Galaxy lineup.

“We are working hard to release it by the end of this year,” Roh Tae-moon, president and head of the Devise eXperience (DX) division at Samsung Electronics, said during a press conference following the Galaxy Unpacked event to launch the company’s latest Galaxy Z Fold 7 and Flip 7 models in New York, reports Yonhap news agency.

The company has recently teased the arrival of a foldable phone featuring three screens.

At the Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2025 in March, Samsung showcased concept devices with tri-folding displays, the Flex G and Flex S, signaling its ongoing development in this area.

The anticipated launch of a tri-folding phone comes as Samsung Electronics moves to solidify its lead in the competitive foldable market, especially amid growing pressure from Chinese rivals, like Huawei. Huawei’s Mate X3 Ultimate, a tri-fold model, has already reached the market.

Samsung Electronics, known as a trailblazer in the foldable phone market since launching its first foldable model in 2019, has seen increased competition from tech giants, such as Google and Motorola, alongside Chinese manufacturers.

According to industry data, Samsung Electronics led the foldable phone market with a share of 32.9 percent in 2024, followed by Huawei with 23.1 percent and Motorola with 17 percent.

As part of its strategy to retain leadership, Samsung Electronics enhanced the performance of its latest Galaxy Z Fold 7 and Flip 7 models. Their features and artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities are now nearly on par with the company’s premium bar-type Galaxy smartphones.

The company has unveiled the latest generation of its Galaxy Z series smartphones, introducing its slimmest and lightest foldables to date with an upgraded camera and artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities.

At the summer edition of Galaxy Unpacked 2025, held at the Duggal Greenhouse in New York City, Samsung Electronics revealed the Galaxy Z Fold 7 and Galaxy Z Flip 7. The Galaxy Watch 8 also made its debut at the event.

The device measures just 8.9 millimeters when folded and 4.2 mm when unfolded, compared with 12.1 mm and 5.6 mm for its predecessor, the Galaxy Z Fold 6. It weighs 215 grams, making it even lighter than the Galaxy S25 Ultra, Samsung’s top-tier S series model launched in January.

Despite the reduced size and weight, the Galaxy Z Fold 7 features a 6.5-inch external display and an 8.0-inch main display, with the inner screen being 11 percent larger than that of the Fold 6.

The Fold 7 is equipped with a 200-megapixel wide-angle camera, supported by the Galaxy’s signature image processing and editing capabilities, and powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 Mobile Platform for Galaxy.

IANS