Club Benefits
Three months after it was first announced, Samsung is officially discontinuing the $2,899 Samsung Galaxy Z TriFold. This news comes from Korean outlet Donga, with claims that Samsung made the decision earlier this week.
This means production will cease, and domestic sales in Korea are set to end today. A Samsung spokesperson told Bloomberg that U.S. sales will continue until the current supply of TriFold phones runs out. Once they're gone, that's it, you won't get another chance to buy a brand new Galaxy Z TriFold from Samsung.
Article continues belowThis all makes total sense
It's always been clear to me that the Galaxy Z TriFold was going to be a very niche item. Dual-Fold foldable phones are already a fairly niche product, and that's reflected in lower sales figures. Reports indicate that Samsung's aiming to ship 7 million foldable phones during 2026, whereas the Samsung Galaxy S25 series reportedly sold around 20.2 million units in the first half of last year.
That's quite a big difference, and it's worth mentioning that Samsung should be quite confident in its ability to sell foldable phones. The Galaxy Z Fold 7 launch was Samsung's "strongest launch ever for a Z Fold device," and even following that, the sales targets are considerably lower than they are for non-folding phones.
You have a device that only a minuscule number of people will ever consider buying, much less afford.
A lot of it comes down to the fact that foldables are expensive, especially the larger book-style models. The Galaxy Z Fold 7 starts at $1,999, which is already completely unaffordable for a lot of people. Up that price to the $2,899 Samsung charges for a TriFold in the U.S., and you have a device that only a minuscule number of people will ever consider buying, much less afford.
With that in mind, it's no surprise that Samsung didn't expect to make bank selling Galaxy Z TriFolds. The company appears to have taken the sensible approach, producing a small number of units, and releasing them in batches to keep an eye on demand. Then, once the hype seems to wear off and demand for the devices dips, they can shut down production and avoid sitting on a dragon-size hoard of unsold foldables that nobody else wants.
Plus, with the rising cost of components, especially RAM, the cost of actually producing the Galaxy Z TriFold is only going to get higher. Either Samsung takes the hit and absorbs the extra cost, at the expense of its profit margins, or it passes those costs onto the consumer. This would make an already-expensive and niche phone even less desirable, and no doubt impact sales in the process.
As strange as it might seem to release and cancel a phone so quickly, it makes perfect sense for Samsung to quit while it's ahead and double down on products that already sell extremely well. This doesn't necessarily mean the TriFold series doesn't have a future, but I wouldn't get my hopes up for seeing a Galaxy Z TriFold 2 anytime soon.
Follow Tom's Guide on Google News and add us as a preferred source to get our up-to-date news, analysis, and reviews in your feeds.
More from Tom's Guide
You must confirm your public display name before commenting
Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.
