It’s already been a busy year for Samsung. The Galaxy S25, Galaxy S25 Plus, and Galaxy S25 Ultra hit shelves in January, and the all-new Galaxy S25 Edge is seemingly just around the corner – but it seems there’s one rumored phone that Samsung fans are even more excited for.
For the past few months, we’ve been hearing more and more about a supposed tri-fold Samsung Galaxy phone, tentatively known as the Samsung Galaxy G Fold. Though Samsung has given but one brief hint of its multi-fold ambitions, tipsters and leakers have been exceptionally active in sharing hints and rumors about what could be the next new product line in Samsung’s mobile portfolio.
Though Samsung isn’t exactly the first phone maker to produce a tri-fold phone – see the jaw-dropping(ly expensive) Huawei Mate XT – it does have a solid chance of being the first to produce a globally available tri-fold phone. Huawei is banned from doing business in the US, so the Mate XT won’t be released there any time soon.
And, as the original pioneers of folding phone technology, many fans will be looking to Samsung to take the reigns on the nascent tri-fold sector. We might be waiting a while yet for more official news, but until then, here’s a roundup of the five biggest Samsung Galaxy tri-fold rumors.
A whole new way to fold
As above, Huawei has already released its tri-folding Mate XT device in certain regions, but rumors suggest Samsung may implement an even more unique folding mechanism on the G Fold.
While the hinges on the Mate XT fold in two separate directions, with a cover screen that’s technically just a piece of the inner display, the G Fold could utilize a pamphlet-style form factor, with two panels that fold inwards and lay on top of one another over the central panel.
This would certainly be a bold move, but Samsung’s official teaser Galaxy Unpacked did show a Huawei-style silhouette rather than this pamphlet-style design, so the G Fold might not necessarily be a first-of-its-kind device.
An absolutely huge display
If the latest Galaxy tri-fold display rumors are correct, then the phone will come with a truly massive inner screen.
According to a report from Korean news outlet ET News, the G Fold will boast a 6.49-inch cover screen and a huge 9.96-inch inner display. That’s almost as large as the base-model iPad, which clocks in at 10.2 inches diagonally, though the G Fold is likely to feature an inner screen with an even wider aspect ratio.
For reference, the current-gen Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 sports a 7.6-inch inner display, while the class-leading Oppo Find N5 sports an impressive 8.12-inch display. Keep in mind that a wider aspect ratio means you’ll have more useful space for multitasking and video playback, even if the rumored diagonal length of the G Fold doesn’t seem much longer.
Additionally, a 6.49-inch cover screen would be the largest on a globally available folding phone, beating the 6.3-inch cover displays on the Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold, OnePlus Open, and Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6.
Out with the Z, in with the G
As mentioned, Samsung might position its tri-fold phone as the first device in an entirely new product line, rather than as the third model in the Z family, which is currently made up of the Galaxy Z Fold 6 and Galaxy Z Flip 6.
Several rumors have referred to the device as the Galaxy G Fold, which may reflect its novel G-shaped folding mechanism or simply be a way to differentiate the phone from its Z Fold contemporaries.
If these rumors hold true, the name change could reflect Samsung’s desire to market the new phone as a different class of device to the Z Fold series, one that could be more appealing to enterprise customers.
The larger screen, versatility, and software familiarity of a tri-folding Samsung phone could make the device an appealing choice for businesses and professionals, and a new name could help Samsung appeal to this demographic.
Alternatively, Samsung might just want to play up the novelty of its new device. It’s worth noting that during the first Galaxy Unpacked event of 2025, the device was referred to as the “multi-fold” rather than tri-fold – another new name, this time for the product category.
Brand new battery tech
One of the biggest challenges behind designing a folding phone is developing a batter that’s big enough to support three huge inner screens.
Thus far, foldable phone makers have opted to split batteries into two cells – one on each side of the hinge – but this brings downsides for battery life as two cells are never as efficient as a single cell of the same size.
However, Samsung has at least one patent for a new technology that could allay this chronic foldable problem.
Specifically, Samsung holds a patent for a folding battery – that’s a battery that could itself bend with the hinges of a folding phone.
Whether or not this idea would work in practice is another matter entirely, as the batteries would need to be able to withstand thousands of bends in order to be safe enough to use.
Such a battery would also be larger and heavier than a split battery, so we’re keen to see how Samsung tackles this problem.
A reveal at Samsung Galaxy Unpacked (but maybe not)
Within the hallowed halls of the rumor mill, there’s debate over when, exactly, the Samsung Galaxy tri-fold phone will launch.
A report from Korean news outlet ET News suggests we’ll be getting an official announcement for the Samsung Galaxy tri-fold via the next Samsung Galaxy Unpacked, which we’d expect to happen sometime in mid-to-late 2025.
If this turns out to be true, we could see the Galaxy tri-fold announced alongside the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 and Galaxy Z Flip 7.
However, as we previously covered, a more recent tipoff suggests the Galaxy tri-fold won’t arrive until later in the year, though the tipster provided little context for this claim.
In any case, it’s hard to say when the tri-fold will launch with such a glaring lack of official information and rumors pointing in both directions.
If and when a Samsung Galaxy tri-fold phone does launch, it’s likely to rocket into a spot on our lists of the best Samsung phones and the best foldable phones – we’ll have the latest updates via our dedicated Samsung phones coverage. Let us know what you’re hoping to see from a Galaxy tri-fold phone in the comments below.
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jamie.richards@futurenet.com (Jamie Richards)
