The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 could be overshadowed by a new type of Samsung foldable this year, and one that could revitalize Samsung's place in the foldable phone market if it's true.
Tipster Revegnus (@Tech_Reve) has claimed in a new tweet/X post that Samsung is looking to bring out a "triple fold" phone this year. We've been seeing rumors, patents and even demos from Samsung's own display arm of this type of foldable for years at this point, so it's not much of a secret that Samsung's been working on the new folding form factor. But the fact it could arrive so soon is a surprise.
Rumors are circulating that Samsung will add a triple fold to its lineup this year. With Huawei almost certain to release a triple fold in the second quarter of this year, from Samsung's perspective, it cannot afford to miss out on the title of 'world's first'.February 13, 2024
Like most of the best foldable phones, the general idea for Samsung's tri-fold phone is that you can have a large-screen device inside a smartphone form factor. But this model could go even bigger than the Z Fold 6.
An earlier patent revealed that this phone might be able to sense what state the screen is in, thanks to sensors in the hinges. That means content will only appear on screens that are in active use, while features like Flex Mode could take advantage of that additional display.
However, one big threat to Samsung's triple-folding plans mentioned by Revegnus is Huawei. While not a significant rival in the U.K., and not at all in the U.S. since it was banned from trading in the country, Huawei is still a big player in the rest of the world, particularly with its Mate X series of foldables. And it may have a triple foldable of its own to show the world in the second half of 2024 according to Revegnus, meaning that if Samsung wants the honor of being first to market, it needs to move quickly.
Triple foldables: Is being first worth it?
Being first to a specific technology is a nice feather in a company's cap. But when you look at how Samsung's original Galaxy Fold suffered from build issues (while still losing out on the first foldable phone crown to the all-but-forgotten Royole FlexPai), I think I speak for all phone buyers in saying that it's not important if Samsung is a little late to the party with its triple foldable if it gets the important stuff right first time.
That applies even more so when its apparent main rival is Huawei. With the Chinese giant locked out from not only the U.S. but also from using Google apps, Samsung would still effectively be most customers' first experience of a three-part foldable even if it waited until next year to bring out this putative device.
We normally see new Galaxy Z Fold and Flip models every summer towards the end of August, and there's currently no rumor arguing against the Galaxy Z Fold 6 and Galaxy Z Flip 6 arriving in about six months.
It's hard to say with any confidence when this Samsung triple-folding phone will arrive based on this one rumor, but perhaps we'll at least see a teaser for it during a Galaxy Unpacked this year while Samsung makes final adjustments.
