Samsung’s Trifold Smartphone Rumors Heat Up Ahead of Its Expected Launch

During Samsung’s second-quarter earnings call in July 2025, the company stated its intention to continue driving innovation, with its Mobile Experience (MX) team focusing on its flagship foldable devices and the S25 series. The company announced that it intends to focus on further integrating Artificial Intelligence (AI) capabilities across its smartphones, tablets, and wearables, and to launch new form factor products, such as Extended Reality (XR) and trifold, to expand its ecosystem and achieve strong profitability despite uncertainties and additional Bill of Materials (BOM) cost burdens.

Samsung’s strategy to continuously expand its XR and foldable lineup comes at a crucial time in the consumer device market, when ABI Research estimates that Samsung currently holds global market leadership with about 20% market share in 1H 2025. ABI Research observed that global smartphone shipments in 1H 2025 and 2H 2024 showed signs of recovery from earlier major issues such as supply chain disruptions, worsening geopolitical trade wars, and macroeconomic challenges that have impacted the market since COVID-19.

However, the foldable smartphone market is becoming increasingly competitive in 2025 as established manufacturers like Huawei, OPPO, HONOR, Motorola, and others enter this space, leveraging strong brand loyalty, competitive prices, and innovative features to gain market share. Some of these key innovative and differentiating features that vendors are prioritizing include:

• Ultrathin Design Form Factor: The 4 Millimeter (mm) threshold, when unfolded, is becoming increasingly close to replicating a traditional smartphone’s feel when folded.
• More Usable Screens Form Factor: More usable screen space is present across the phone, especially on the cover screen. Models like Samsung’s Galaxy Fold 7 increased the cover screen by 11% to allow for more everyday use without unfolding. Other innovations, like the Huawei Mate XT, introduced the world’s first trifold smartphone, featuring a 10.2-inch display that unfolds to 6.4 inches when fully folded.
• Display Technologies: In the visible crease, fold lines are being advanced through ultra-thin glass formulations and hinge designs.

Ahead of the rumored Samsung trifold smartphone launch, models like the Huawei Mate X6, Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7, Motorola Razr 2025, Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 7, and Huawei Pura X were among the top models released between late 2024 and 2025. With multiple foldable smartphone releases from various vendors in 2025, some key regional markets for foldables are emerging.

• China accounts for a dominant share of the foldable smartphone market, primarily benefiting from brand loyalty to domestic manufacturers. Key competitors in the region: Huawei, HONOR, OPPO, and vivo.
• North America is a significant market for foldables, and carrier partnerships and subsidies drive its distribution. Key competitors in the region: Samsung, Motorola, and Google.
• Western Europe is a market with strong potential for foldables, mainly due to high purchasing power and a competitive landscape. Key competitors in the region: Samsung, Huawei, Motorola, HONOR, and Google.

As foldables become mainstream products, Samsung will face several key challenges in its push for increased consumer adoption, both in foldable technologies and its MX markets strategy. Key obstacles to foldable technologies include:

• Durability Concerns: Despite improved innovation in durability ratings that can range from 200,000 to 650,000 folds, adoption of foldable smartphones is still in a wary state, as consumers purchasing premium smartphones are still not confident in the technology.
• Pricing Resistance: Most foldable smartphones are priced in the premium smartphone category, with models like the trifold Huawei Mate XT priced at US$2,800 for its base model. This is one of the primary barriers to foldable adoption and may stunt the sub-vertical’s future growth. The strong adoption of Motorola RAZR, which is priced at a more affordable US$699, signals the potential for increased foldables adoption, should pricing become more accessible.

Additionally, Samsung faces several challenges that it must address in its MX strategy. These include:

• The aggressive expansion of Chinese manufacturers into foldables is currently threatening Samsung’s dominance in the global market. China is becoming a key market for foldable phones, so Samsung needs to diversify its strategies across mature markets like North America and Western Europe, as well as other high-potential regions in Asia-Pacific and the Middle East.
• While unconfirmed, rumors of Apple entering the foldables market pose a threat to Samsung’s market share, especially in North America. Samsung must find better ways to establish itself in the market, leveraging its unique strengths to boost foldable smartphone sales through carrier partnerships.
• Samsung also must deal with the trend that the innovation gap in foldables is narrowing, as the difference between generations has shrunk, leading manufacturers to launch 2 to 3 models each year in both book-style and flip-style formats.