Citizens of the earth. I have seen the future of smartphones, and it is bendy. Samsung recently invited a handful of tech journalists to Cote—the buzzy Korean steakhouse in Las Vegas—to actually touch and hold their new Galaxy Z Trifold before it arrives for the rest of humanity in the first quarter of 2026. I was initially skeptical about a phone that folds out into a 10-inch screen. My laptop and regular phone are just fine, thank you. But now that I’ve seen what this gadget can do, I’m considering skipping a mortgage payment to buy one of these things. Read on to find out why.
Three Screens, One Device
To the untrained eye, the Trifold masquerades as a regular, albeit slightly chunky Galaxy Ultra phone. But then you unfold one panel to the right and one panel to the left and suddenly you’re staring at an impossibly thin 10-inch tablet that is just 3.9mm at its slimmest point. It’s like the original phone went on Ozempic.
Once unfolded, Samsung’s DeX desktop mode allows you to open up 4 windows at a time that you can resize and drag around. This means you can watch a YouTube video, while checking emails, doom-scrolling through X, and playing Subway Surfers. The hinge system that makes this all possible is barely noticeable unless your nose is pressed to the screen. And Samsung programmed it to warn you if you’re folding it wrong—which I did several times, terrified I’d snap the device in half.
Premium Phone Mode
Once you are ready to fold it back up, you’ve got all the benefits of a premium smartphone. The 200-megapixel camera rivals Samsung’s flagship Galaxy S25 Ultra, so you’re not sacrificing photo quality for the folding trick. The 5,600mAh battery actually lasts through a full day of heavy use. And the Snapdragon 8 Elite processor means it can do everything from gaming to video editing without yelling at you. One feature I particularly loved is the dual-screen preview. When the phone is folded, the person you’re photographing sees the exact same shot you’re capturing, live.
Back to Earth
Let’s be honest, despite its futuristic ambitions, the Galaxy Z Trifold isn’t for all humanity. At around $2,500, the price may be a dealbreaker for some. And when folded, it’s noticeably bulkier than your standard smartphone—you’re basically carrying two phones stacked together. Even Samsung acknowledges the Trifold is essentially a strategic pilot—seeing what features users gravitate toward. But if you’re an early adopter, looking for a hybrid phone-tablet with cutting-edge tech and desktop capabilities that make you feel like you just stepped off the set of The Jetsons, the Trifold is well worth it.
