It may not have been given floor space at this the company’s mid-year Unpacked, but that doesn’t mean that Samsung isn’t making its tri-fold smartphone. The still-unnamed device will hopefully release this year, according to Device Experience head TM. Roh.
That’s according to the Korea Times, which, being closer to Samsung’s home base, should know. Before us, at any rate. According to the report, the South Korean company definitely has the device in the works, but that’s as much as anyone will say about it.
Samsung’s year-end party
Roh, speaking to the outlet, said, “We are working hard on a tri-fold smartphone with the goal of launching it at the end of this year. We are now focusing on perfecting the product and its usability, but we have not decided its name. As the product nears completion, we are planning to make a final decision soon.”
The cagey answer does little more than confirm the tri-fold smartphone’s existence, but we can infer a few things from the statement. Odds are, we won’t see the new form factor this year. Usability isn’t something that’s ironed out overnight, while marketing campaigns are also planned months in advance. Unless there’s a meeting to decide on the name (and the phone’s final appearance) this weekend, we can’t see Samsung bringing the device to market in 2025.
Or perhaps the company is holding its tri-folding smartphone in reserve for whenever Apple announces (at long last) a folding smartphone of its own. That’s the sort of sneaky thing Samsung might do, just to take the wind from its competitors’ sails. After all, what better way to combat a new form factor from Apple than with a new design of your own?
