The Ultimate Fold: Leaked Design of Samsung’s First Triple-Fold Smartphone

Samsung has been toying with the idea of a tri-fold smartphone for a few years now, but unfortunately, the South Korean tech giant was unexpectedly beaten to the punch by Huawei’s impressive Mate XT back in September. This is the moment Samsung can’t afford to lag anymore.

According to a recent leak from the Korean publication ET News, Samsung’s tri-fold phone is expected to launch next year with a completely different design compared to Huawei’s, boasting a massive 9 to 10-inch display when fully unfolded.

The new design is rumored to be finalized by the end of November and will not be the scrollable screen phone that Samsung teased in September. Instead, Samsung will opt for an inward-folding mechanism, where both hinges fold inwards towards the center, as opposed to the Z-shaped fold of the Mate XT.

The Huawei Mate XT features a screen that folds over itself, with the left portion becoming the front screen when folded. ET News suggests that the outer screen of Samsung’s tri-fold phone might resemble the current Z Fold 6.

From the Huawei device’s design, we can gather that Samsung’s goal with this unique folding mechanism is to protect the crease from being exposed, as seen on the Mate XT. However, one of the hinges on Samsung’s device will have to be larger, creating a potential imbalance.

An industry insider told ET News, ” The tri-fold phone that was recently released in China has one side folding inward and the other side folding outward, but Samsung Electronics chose the inward-folding method for durability. If it folds outward, the screen will be exposed to the outside, which is vulnerable to damage when dropped or impacted. ”

Samsung’s concept for an inward-folding tri-fold phone was showcased at CES 2022 as prototypes named Flex S and Flex G. The Flex S featured a similar folding mechanism to the Huawei Mate XT, while the Flex G showcased the inward-folding design. However, the latter lacked an outer screen.