Singapore debuts Samsung’s Galaxy Z TriFold that opens up from a smartphone to a tablet

SINGAPORE – Barely a day after Samsung unveiled the design of its new Galaxy Z TriFold mobile phone in Seoul, South Korea, on Dec 2, the phone is already available for pre-order in Singapore stores.

The smartphone goes on sale first in South Korea on Dec 12, priced at 3.6 million won (S$3,180), followed by roll-outs in Singapore, China, Taiwan, the United Arab Emirates and the United States.

Pricing for the Galaxy Z TriFold will be released first to consumers who have successfully registered with Samsung. The Straits Times understands that it will be higher than the Galaxy Z Fold 7 (12GB + 512GB version) released in July, which had retailed from $2,698.

Shoppers can get a feel of the new smartphone at Samsung Experience Stores in VivoCity, 313@somerset and Jurong Point from Dec 3 to 10. It will be available for sale from Dec 19.

The tri-fold is a first for the South Korean global manufacturer of consumer electronics, semiconductors and home appliances.

It transforms a regular phone, which is about 7cm wide, into a 21.4cm screen featuring three panels that blend seamlessly into a single tablet-size screen.

The tri-fold phone unfolds twice, opening up into a generous panel that is ideal for sketching, streaming or enjoying movies on the go. It folds back into a three-tiered bar that fits into the pocket.

Foldable smartphone designs featuring three-in-one screens are a trend. In September 2024, Chinese multinational technology company Huawei was the first to design a triple-folding phone when it announced that it had successfully trialled the Huawei Mate XT and the Mate XTs, which went on sale outside China from February to September 2025.

According to a recent Bloomberg report, American global technology company Apple is also expected to debut the first foldable iPhone by the second half of 2026.

The tri-fold is an upgrade from the bi-fold – two screens in one – design, which first appeared in global markets in 2019, launched by Samsung and Huawei.

Since then, other brands such as Google, Oppo and Honor have launched various iterations of the bi-fold phone. From a design perspective, the key is how Samsung manages thickness, weight and the crease between the three screens in the Galaxy Z TriFold.

The 25cm display is split across three panels with a specially engineered inward-folding hinge system, titanium hinge housing and a lightweight aluminium frame to keep the device rigid without feeling bulky. Inside, the interface treats the open screen just like three phones side by side, so users can run up to three apps in multi-window mode or stack their workspaces.

When unfolded, the phone measures 3.9mm at its thinnest. Its 5,600 milliamp-hour battery, which is currently Samsung’s largest in a foldable phone, is said to support up to 17 hours of continuous video playback.

Mr Ronnie Ng, vice-president and head of mobile experience at Samsung Electronics Singapore, said in a news statement that the TriFold is a way to “expand the canvas for work, creativity and play”, building on Samsung’s years of experimenting with folding glass and hinge mechanisms.

He added: “Consumers in Singapore are always on the lookout for the next big thing, and we are excited to be one of the few markets to usher in a new era of mobile possibilities with the Galaxy Z TriFold.”

Info: The Galaxy Z TriFold will be on display at Samsung Experience Stores in VivoCity, 313@somerset and Jurong Point. Shoppers can register their interest online till Dec 10 at

samsung.com/sg/event/sg-registration/