Following Huawei's first trifold release, Samsung aims to showcase tech amid foldable market competition


Samsung Electronics is set to release a ‘trifold’ phone that folds the screen twice. While Samsung Electronics led the market by being the first to unveil a foldable phone with a foldable display, it has ceded the lead to Chinese companies. The trifold phone was first released by Chinese company Huawei. This move is interpreted as an effort to demonstrate Samsung’s technological capabilities and gauge market response.

According to the tech industry on the 14th, Samsung Electronics plans to unveil its first trifold phone late this month or within October. The design features an external screen in the center, with the screens on both sides folding inward. The external screen is speculated to be equipped with a display similar to the Galaxy Fold series, approximately 6.5 inches, but when fully unfolded, it is expected to have a large display of around 10 inches, comparable to a tablet. Samsung Electronics received KC certification for this model last month.

Huawei, which released the world’s first trifold phone, the ‘Mate XT’, in September last year, unveiled its second-generation model, the ‘Mate XTs’, on the 4th. Unlike Samsung’s product, it features a ‘Z-shaped’ design where one side folds outward and the other inward. The display size is 10.2 inches when fully unfolded, 7.9 inches when one side is folded, and 6.4 inches when completely folded. The starting price is approximately 15,000 yuan (around 2,930,000 Korean won), which is about 1,000,000 Korean won lower than the previous model’s 19,999 yuan (around 3,900,000 Korean won).

The initial production volume of Samsung Electronics’ new product is expected to be around 50,000 units. It is also reported that the launch countries will be limited to some nations with high purchasing power. Industry insiders speculate that the release of this product is not aimed at mass sales but focuses on highlighting Samsung’s technological capabilities and premium image. A source from the tech industry said, “In a situation where the growth of the foldable phone market is slowing, it seems they are trying to showcase their technological prowess through product diversification.”

According to market research firm Counterpoint Research, Samsung Electronics’ market share in the global foldable phone market in the second quarter of last year was 9%, ranking third. It dropped 12 percentage points from 21% in the second quarter of the previous year, falling to third place. Huawei (45%) took first place, and Motorola (28%) rose to second.