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Samsung is contemplating releasing its upcoming “tri-fold” smartphone in the United States, a primary for US smartphones and Samsung because it seeks to recharge the marketplace for what was as soon as a-cutting-edge product however is now a staple of on a regular basis life.
Samsung is nonetheless weighing which markets to launch the system in when it arrives later this yr, however a United States launch is half of these discussions, an individual acquainted with the firm’s plans informed NCS. That’s essential as a result of Samsung has beforehand restricted new product traces to sure markets comparable to South Korea or China, like the Galaxy Z Fold 6 SE, which it launched in these nations final yr. Chinese tech large Huawei already gives a tri-folding telephone, however the firm doesn’t promote its merchandise in the United States.
The launch would come as Samsung, Apple and different system makers are experimenting with new designs to wow shoppers – an more and more difficult feat as folks maintain onto their telephones for longer than earlier than and analysts query whether or not new AI gadgets will in the future supplant the smartphone.
Apple is launching the iPhone Air on Friday, the first main redesign of its most necessary product in almost a decade, and reportedly plans to introduce its first foldable telephone as early as 2026, in accordance to Bloomberg. Samsung launched the seventh era of its foldable telephones over the summer time and is making ready a brand new model of its slimmer Galaxy S Edge smartphone for next yr.
Apple and Samsung collectively account for roughly 35% of telephones shipped globally, in accordance to the International Data Corporation — and as the two main smartphone makers, they’re seen as bellwethers for the business.
“I think what we’re seeing is a bit more of a return to life before (the smartphone),” when older cell telephones had completely different kinds and other people wished a range of choices, Drew Blackard, senior vp of cell product administration for Samsung Electronics America, informed NCS in a joint interview with Minseok Kang, Samsung’s world head of smartphone product planning.
The upcoming tri-fold system, which folds in two locations to present a bigger display screen than its present foldable telephones, will probably be the most radical change to Samsung’s smartphone lineup because it launched its first foldable telephone in 2019.
The firm has stated little about the system aside from that it plans to launch it by the end of the year. Samsung declined to touch upon the specifics round market availability and launch timing for the the tri-fold. But Minseok Kang, Samsung’s world head of smartphone product planning, stated the 2025 launch timeline is nonetheless on monitor in an interview with NCS.
Kang sees the present Galaxy Z Flip and Z Fold collection, which noticed a 25% enhance in preorders in contrast to the earlier era, as steps towards a tri-fold telephone that might supply a “much larger screen than before,” he stated. The firm’s Galaxy Z Fold 7 has an eight-inch display screen when unfolded, making it barely smaller than an iPad Mini and considerably smaller than an ordinary iPad or iPad Air.
The executives declined to present particular particulars about the tri-fold display screen dimension, however Blackard stated: “We don’t want to offer the exact same experience in a slightly different form factor.”
Samsung has proven concepts of devices that fold into thirds as a substitute of in half at commerce exhibits comparable to the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. One idea, referred to as the Flex G, opens like a brochure, whereas the Flex S prototype folds inward and outward, creating an “S” form and offering the equal of three screens in one system.
Samsung has but to launch a product based mostly on these prototypes, however its first tri-fold will probably be a guess that customers are prepared to splurge to match an excellent bigger display screen in their pockets.
“I think… the exciting part is getting it out into the wild and then ultimately seeing what different users are attracted to,” Blackard stated.
Samsung’s tri-folding telephone might be costly and area of interest like its Galaxy Z Fold, which solely lately started gaining traction. But it may assist the firm differentiate itself from the competitors and lure buyers away from different telephone manufacturers. Blackard stated that on a share foundation, the firm’s foldable telephones entice twice as many non-Samsung telephone homeowners in contrast to its normal flagship telephones.
For next yr’s Galaxy S lineup, Samsung plans to launch a sequel to the Galaxy S25 Edge, which now faces new competitors from the iPhone Air. Although it’s not confirmed, Kang recommended Samsung is seemingly to start promoting the S25 Edge’s successor in the first quarter of next yr alongside the Galaxy S26 lineup as a substitute of in the spring. An individual acquainted with Samsung’s plans stated the firm’s design philosophy round making gadgets slimmer will apply to future product launches, together with its flagship Galaxy S collection.
But whether or not thinner designs are sufficient to increase gross sales stays to be seen. Blackard and Kang wouldn’t touch upon gross sales of the Galaxy S25 Edge, however Korean information outlet The Elec reported in June that the mannequin’s gross sales have been falling quick of expectations.
The give attention to slimness has fueled hypothesis about the emergence of telephones with no charging ports, a design alternative that Apple reportedly thought of for the iPhone Air, in accordance to Bloomberg. Eliminating the charging port would imply solely counting on wi-fi chargers, but it surely may make telephones considerably thinner.
Samsung has floated the thought of a port-free telephone internally, in accordance to Kang.
“There’s no technical limitation,” stated Blackard when requested about whether or not Samsung has thought of a telephone with out charging ports.
But Samsung hasn’t developed a telephone with no charging port and doesn’t at the moment have plans to accomplish that. While most smartphones help cable-free charging, wi-fi chargers aren’t extensively obtainable in public areas for when shoppers may want to energy up their telephones in a pinch, Blackard stated.
Kang in contrast it to one other excessive thought Samsung had a decade in the past: a smartphone with a clear display screen.
“Definitely, (it) was on the table internally at Samsung,” Kang stated.
But comparable to the port-less telephone thought, the compromises of a clear telephone would have outweighed the advantages. For instance, Kang stated it could have been tough to make the complete system clear as a result of of the battery and charging port.
“When we consider new devices, the first topic which we are currently thinking about is what kind of benefit we can deliver,” Kang stated.
For now, that profit, in Samsung’s view, will come in the type of slim and foldable telephones — despite the fact that gross sales of such gadgets solely make up a sliver of the broader smartphone market, in accordance to market analysis information. Foldable telephone shipments are anticipated to attain 45.7 million units by 2028, The International Data Corporation stories, whereas an estimated 1.2 billion smartphones have been shipped worldwide in 2024.
“For a decade, we’ve been looking at phones that looked somewhat like this bar-type smartphone,” stated Blackard. “And I think for the first time, you’re seeing innovation come to the market that is making consumers think differently about what their traditional needs are from a mobile device.”