If foldable phones have been getting a little pedestrian for your taste, then perhaps like me you're looking forward to Samsung finally showing off the Galaxy Tri-Fold / G Fold — the phone maker's first foldable handset with two hinges. This phone still isn't official, but the volume of leaks and rumors we've seen seem to mark its arrival as an eventual certainty.
I've been fortunate enough to check out every generation of Samsung foldable, from the original Galaxy Fold in 2019 to this year's Galaxy Z Fold 7 and Galaxy Z Flip 7. I've also tried the Huawei Mate XT, the first triple foldable to go on sale, which provided a lot of perspective on how I think the Samsung triple foldable will turn out.
1. The Galaxy Tri-Fold be too expensive or hard to buy for most people to bother with
Being an early adopter isn't all it's cracked up to be. If this phone comes to the U.K. where I live, and I'm offered a chance to try it, you can bet I will. But I will not be buying one for myself, and I won't recommend anyone else do so unless they're confident in their decision and willing to accept the risks inherent in buying a phone that will likely cost at least two and a half grand, going by the more conservative end of the rumored prices.
This is even assuming that Samsung offers its triple foldable up for sale where you live. Rumors are divided on exactly where the Tri-Fold will be sold, but it seems like only a couple of countries will get access from launch. The U.S. and U.K. may not be among them.
2. Apps may not be optimized at first
In the early days of foldable phones, it was hard to find apps that worked especially well on them. App devs had no experience making software for something between the size of a regular phone and a tablet, so making things work for a foldable took a while.
Even today, in the case of things like games or many third-party apps, they may still not work especially well when used on a full-size foldable display. And I can see this happening all over again with the extra-large display of triple foldables.
Split-screen mode will presumably still be an option, letting you place multiple regular-sized apps across the Tri-Fold's display. But users should have the freedom to use single apps to their fullest across their phone's 8-inch main display.
At least Samsung can hopefully draw on its experience from making foldables and tablets to ensure its own apps work well.
3. Durability is going to be a pain point
The Galaxy Tri-Fold introduces a brand-new form factor, so it's hard to know exactly how tough a phone like this will wind up being. But phone buyers will want strong assurances that this valuable phone isn't going to shatter like a snowglobe if it happens to hit the ground. And I doubt Samsung will be able to give us all that the first time around.
About the best we can hope for is an IP68 dust/water resistance rating like Samsung's other flagship portable devices, and toughened glass and reinforced hinges, as Huawei was able to add to the Mate XT.
Durability feeds back into the pricing issue, too. If you want to repair a broken triple foldable, the parts and necessary skills are going to be in short supply. Hopefully Samsung will offer concierge-level care for any TriFold users after purchase, but that's not something the consumer has any control over.
4. Accessories are going to be few and far between
I expect that Samsung will bring at least a couple of case options for the TriFold to the table when it launches the phone. But I don't think we can guarantee anything much beyond that.
I'd love it if there was stylus support on the TriFold, since it will be the size of a small tablet when unfolded. But rumors have pointed to there being no S Pen support, and the evidence supports that claim. It took Samsung until the Galaxy Z Fold 3 to bring stylus support to a foldable, and, as of the Galaxy Z Fold 7, the feature has been dropped again.
Samsung could also copy Huawei and offer a keyboard/trackpad combo case. This would be another sensible addition inspired by how people like to use their tablets. But making a keyboard that folds up small enough to keep with the fully closed foldable is going to result in a cramped device that is less than ideal for proper work.
And when you consider the small potential audience due to the limited markets Samsung is rumored to be choosing, I can't imagine third-party accessory makers are going to be clamoring to make their own TriFold peripherals. That's going to make for even slimmer pickings.
5. Battery life will likely be a disappointment
This feels like the safest prediction of all. Foldables already have below-average battery life due to the increase in display area to power without a corresponding increase in battery size.
While some Chinese foldables have been stuffing extra capacity into their foldables with the help of silicon-carbon battery tech, Samsung in particular has been uninterested in increasing battery capacity, with the Galaxy Z Fold 7 using the same 4,400 mAh battery as the Galaxy Z Fold 2. That power pack was only marginally larger than the 4,380 mAh battery found in the first Galaxy Fold.
Battery life is dependent on more than just capacity. But even in the best case scenario, the Galaxy Tri-Fold is going to need more trips to a charger than the average phone.
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