Samsung showed a tri-fold phone as the future. But almost no one will buy it

At the end of October, Samsung showed its first tri-fold phone during the APEC conference in South Korea. It looked like a big unveiling of the future of foldable phones. However, according to a new report, it seems to be more of a concept in a shop window than a product you could actually buy. Original plans spoke of hundreds of thousands of units, new figures speak of only tens of thousands.

What is a tri-fold and how does it differ from Z Fold

Let’s start with the basics. The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold (currently Z Fold7) is a phone that you unfold once – you have an outer display and, once unfolded, one large inner display.

The Galaxy Z TriFold is a phone with three parts – two hinges, three display sections. When folded, you have a normal phone. After the first unfold, a tablet. After a full unfold, an even larger tablet. A similar concept to the Huawei Mate XT, which was introduced last year, but is also sold in ultra-limited quantities mainly in China.

Advantage? A larger display than regular folds. Disadvantage? The phone is thicker, heavier, more expensive, has more moving parts that can break. And according to photos from APEC, the Galaxy Z TriFold is really thick compared to modern foldables.

Original plans: hundreds of thousands of units

Earlier this year, there was talk that Samsung planned to produce 200-300 thousand units of the Galaxy Z TriFold for launch in China and South Korea. That’s still an ultra-limited number (for comparison, the Z Fold sells in millions annually), but at least it would mean the phone could actually be bought.

Then a Bluetooth SIG listing with six models under the designation Q7M appeared, suggesting the possibility of a global launch. Samsung has so far officially confirmed availability only in the United Arab Emirates, which is… an interesting choice.

New reality: only tens of thousands

According to The Elec website, previous estimates are completely off. Samsung reportedly informed suppliers that it would produce 10 thousand units in September. And nothing has changed since then. By early November, 20-30 thousand components for the tri-fold had been manufactured, although it is unclear how many finished phones this corresponds to.

That’s a completely different league. This is not a product intended for sale, this is a test series. Samsung wants to gauge interest, test the technology, generate media headlines. But actually selling the phone to customers? That seems like a secondary (and significantly more complicated) goal.

Why so few?

There are several reasons. A tri-fold is complex to manufacture – two hinges, three display sections, complex mechanics. If something fails, you have a problem. Samsung most likely wants to test reliability on a small number of users before embarking on mass production.

Second reason: the price will likely be astronomical. The Huawei Mate XT started at around 2,500 dollars. The Galaxy Z TriFold will probably be in a similar, perhaps higher, price range. And at such a price, it’s hard to estimate demand. In Europe, the phone would probably sell for around 70 thousand.

Third reason: Samsung wants to be first (after Huawei), but doesn’t want to risk huge losses. Produce tens of thousands of units, create hype, measure reactions, and then decide if it makes sense to mass produce. A classic market testing strategy.

Would you buy a tri-fold for 70+ thousand crowns if it were available?

Source: Notebookcheck