Samsung has announced the price of the Galaxy Z TriFold, and if you thought the regular folding phones were already too expensive, you may want to look away.
The TriFold starts at $2,899. That’s right, close to three times the price of a normal iPhone or Galaxy smartphone. To be fair to Samsung, this is somewhat expected given the Galaxy Z Fold7’s starting price of $1,999. Add another screen, add another $900.
Even so, the Galaxy Z TriFold pushes the limits of what consumers are willing to pay for a smartphone, particularly given that its main selling point is a 10-inch screen that rivals a tablet. For $2,899, buyers could easily pick up a premium phone and a powerful tablet and still have money left over.
That said, the TriFold is an experimental device and is not expected to appeal to mainstream consumers, much like first-generation foldables or Apple’s Vision Pro. For enthusiasts interested in new form factors, it may be an enticing purchase, and Samsung will almost certainly use early usage data to refine future models, which are likely to be cheaper.
According to Samsung’s press release, the Galaxy Z TriFold includes 512 GB of storage, a 200-megapixel camera, a 5,600 mAh battery, and a Snapdragon 8 Elite chip. The company claims it has completed a 200,000-cycle multi-folding test, equivalent to folding the device 100 times a day for five years, although it is likely only a matter of days before YouTubers put those hinges to the test.
The Galaxy Z TriFold will be available to purchase in the US this week.
Is it finally the year of the foldable?
Samsung’s move into a trifold design suggests folding phones are here to stay. Multiple manufacturers, including Motorola and Google, now sell at least one foldable model.
Francisco Jeronimo, vice president, Client Devices, IDC, said in its latest Smartphone Market Share report, “Apple delivered its best results ever in a July quarter, while Samsung achieved its strongest July-quarter growth on record. Demand for Apple’s new iPhone 17 lineup was robust, with pre-orders surpassing those of the previous generation. At the same time, Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold 7 and Galaxy Z Flip 7 outperformed all earlier foldable models, creating renewed momentum for the foldables segment.”
Apple has so far stayed out of the foldable market, but that could change in 2026. Rumours suggest a foldable iPhone is in development, with Fubon Research analyst Arthur Liao claiming it will cost $2,399 and sit within Apple’s ‘Ultra’ range. The device is also expected to feature a crease-free design, a long-standing concern for potential foldable buyers.
Memory costs may raise prices for all phones
While the Galaxy Z TriFold may be eye-wateringly expensive, analysts warn that smartphone prices more broadly are likely to rise due to surging demand for memory chips from AI data centres. Market research firm Counterpoint expects average smartphone prices to increase by 6.9% in 2026.
Samsung, as the world’s largest supplier of DRAM memory, may be better positioned than rivals to absorb some of these increases. The company recently partnered with OpenAI to supply memory chips for its Stargate data centres.
Also read: Leaks and early builds have fueled a wave of Apple 2026 rumors, from new devices to iOS updates.
