Samsung’s Galaxy Z TriFold Finally Arrives, Starts at $2,500

Samsung just revealed the Galaxy Z TriFold, a phone that unfolds twice to become a 10-inch canvas capable of handling spreadsheets and streaming marathons. For $2,500, it enters a market on December 12 where Huawei’s Mate XT has dominated, particularly in China and the Middle East.

Samsung engineers spent ten years developing foldables before landing here. The TriFold features two hinges and is 159.2 x 75 x 12.9mm, making it remarkably small for something so unusual. Once opened, you’ll see a familiar book-style layout. When you open it again, the entire 10 inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X screen appears, with 2160 x 1584 resolution, a refresh rate of 120Hz, and buttery-smooth scrolling. The peak brightness is 1600 nits, which is sufficient to see through sunlight without washing out colors. The outer 6.5-inch cover screen has 2600 nits and 2520 x 1080, ideal for short glances or one-handed use. Both screens support the complete DCI-P3 color gamut, so videos look great whether you’re watching them outside or inside.

It weighs 309 grams, which is lighter than expected for three panels placed together. The chassis is built of Advanced Armor Aluminum and encased in a ceramic-glass fiber-reinforced polymer back that resists scratches without adding bulk. Corning’s Gorilla Glass Ceramic 2 is used on the lid, and the entire device is IP48 rated for 30 minutes of immersion in fresh water up to 1.5 meters deep. The hinges are known as Armor FlexHinge and feature a dual rail system with two different widths to equalize the weight as the panels move. They fold in to protect the screens, and built-in sensors will buzz or flash if you attempt to close them incorrectly. Unfolded, the thinnest edge measures 3.9mm, which is a hair thinner than the Galaxy Z. The Fold 7’s thickness is 4.2mm, allowing Samsung to incorporate more screen without adding bulk.

Power comes from a Snapdragon 8 Elite chip designed for Galaxy smartphones, constructed on a 3-nanometer technology that can tackle tasks without breaking a sweat. With 16 gigabytes of RAM, you can quickly edit 4K videos or manage demanding apps. Storage starts at 512 gigabytes and goes up to 1 terabyte, no card slot. Cameras borrow the best from Samsung’s lineup: a 200-megapixel wide-angle sensor tops the rear triple, with optical image stabilization and a fast F1.7 lens. A 12-megapixel ultrawide gets 120-degree shots, a 10-megapixel telephoto offers 3x optical zoom and 30x digital. For group photos, the inner one is 100 degrees, while the front and back are 10 megapixels. Video is 8K at 30fps, using AI to steady shaky footage.

Battery life gets a considerable boost with a 5600 milliamp-hour battery distributed over the three panels for uniform drain. A full day of mixed use (calls, creative work) and Samsung says it lasts longer than prior foldables. 45-watt wired charging fills half the tank in 30 minutes, 15-watt wireless tops it off without cords. Reverse wireless sharing allows you charge earbuds or a watch on the road. 5G, Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 5.4, NFC for payments. Side-mounted fingerprint reader for unlocks, Samsung Knox for security. Seven years of upgrades for Android 16 with One UI 8.

Software transforms the hardware into a productivity monster. The 10-inch screen allows you to run three portrait apps simultaneously, resize windows freely, and pin a taskbar for rapid switching. Hold it vertically, and papers will fill the screen without cropping. Samsung DeX makes its debut as a built-in mode, supporting up to four desktops with five apps apiece, with no dock required. Connect it to a monitor and you may expand the workspace even further, with mouse and keyboard in play. Galaxy AI includes features such as photo editing that generates missing elements or sketches from doodles, all split-screen for before-and-after comparisons. Browsing Assist summarizes or translates pages in real time, while Gemini Live comments about what the camera sees and suggests outfit combinations based on a closet scan. A six-month Google AI Pro trial includes video creation and 2 gigabytes of cloud storage.