I Tried Samsung’s Galaxy Z TriFold and Z Fold 7. Here’s How the Foldable Phones Differ

Samsung launched the Galaxy Z TriFold in December in choose worldwide markets, and I bought to go hands-on with the brand new foldable phone simply earlier than it hit shops. From the hinges to its three again panels, there are clear particulars and design decisions that reveal how the TriFold builds upon Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold 7. The TriFold prices $2,900 and is now available in the US, although it is quickly selling out on the primary day of gross sales.

You may suppose the Galaxy Z TriFold can be a pure rival to Huawei’s personal trifold, the Mate XT, however they really have very totally different designs. The Mate XT might be folded right into a cellphone, a mini-tablet and a wide-screen pill. The Galaxy Z TriFold can be utilized folded up like a cellphone or totally unfolded like a pill, however with out a mini-tablet mode in between.

Samsung is going through a number of stress for achievement. Foldables are anticipated to develop 30% over the subsequent yr, partly as a result of debut of the Galaxy Z TriFold and Apple’s rumored iPhone foldable, in keeping with analysts at IDC. Many have grow to be accustomed to book-style foldables just like the Z Fold line, and Samsung is wise to retain that tried-and-true performance on the brand new Z TriFold. 

In case your intention is to fold a pill down right into a cellphone that matches in your pocket, each the Z Fold 7 and Z TriFold have the identical core attraction. Here is an in depth comparability of how they stack up towards one another.

Z TriFold vs. Z Fold 7 value

The obvious distinction between Samsung’s foldables, aside from measurement, is value. The Galaxy Z Fold 7 begins at $2,000. The Galaxy Z TriFold is not offered within the US but, but it surely prices around 3.59 million won in South Korea, which converts to about $2,430. Whereas system costs do not usually immediately convert to native foreign money, it does present that an eventual US launch may have the next price ticket than the Z Fold 7.

Z TriFold vs. Z Fold 7 design

Samsung took years of studying from the Galaxy Z lineup and utilized it to its new folding cellphone. In a method, the Galaxy Z TriFold is an extension of the Fold 7. For instance, the Fold 7 has two halves (or panels) and a single hinge. The TriFold has three again panels and two hinges. By intensive fine-tuning of the hinge on its Z Fold collection, Samsung has made it simple to open and place at varied angles, much like a laptop computer display. The left hinge on the TriFold is much like one on the Fold 7.
Nonetheless, there is a elementary distinction in design between the 2 telephones. For the TriFold, it’s good to unfold each aspect panels to make use of the internal display. To shut it, each side fold flat onto one another. One hinge (the left one) is smaller than the opposite, whereas the opposite (the suitable one) is thicker to accommodate the additional panel. 

Throughout my hands-on expertise, I seen that once I opened the broader hinge on the suitable aspect of the TriFold, it might pop open after reaching a sure angle. Unfolding the TriFold feels intuitive as a consequence of its springiness. And in the event you attempt to fold the TriFold unsuitable, Samsung contains an computerized on-screen warning and vibration alert to cease you. 

When each telephones are folded closed aspect by aspect, the distinction in thickness is instantly obvious. The Fold 7, with its 0.35-inch (8.9mm) thickness, stands out in comparison with the TriFold, which is 0.5 inches thick (12.9mm).

However when each telephones are open, the slim design is equally spectacular. Every panel on the Fold 7 measures 0.7 inches (4.3mm) thick. The TriFold’s three panels have a distinct thickness, starting from 0.15 inches to 0.17 inches (3.9mm to 4.2mm) when unfolded. Each telephones have a sizeable digital camera bump.

At 7.58 ounces (215 grams), the Fold 7 is the lightest book-style folding cellphone of 2025. In distinction, the TriFold weighs 10.89 ounces (309 grams). I solely bought to make use of the TriFold for 20 minutes, however I think about its weight (and the added thickness) will probably be noticeable when utilizing it for prolonged intervals. In the event you’re extra seemingly to make use of both of those foldables in “cellphone mode” as a substitute of “pill mode,” the Fold 7 must be simpler to handle.

Each Samsung folding telephones are rated IP48 for mud and water resistance and might survive half-hour of submersion as much as 1.5 meters. Neither is dust-tight, nevertheless, so that they’re susceptible to small particles, lower than 1mm, resembling pocket lint, salt and sand. The Google Pixel 10 Pro Fold stays the one foldable to be rated IP68 and have this degree of mud resistance.

Z TriFold vs. Z Fold 7 show

Each the Galaxy Z TriFold and Fold 7 have a 6.5-inch AMOLED cowl display with a 21:9 facet ratio. The quilt show has a 2,520×1,080-pixel decision and a 120Hz adaptive refresh fee. The internal display is the place we see probably the most variations.

The Galaxy Z Fold 7’s foremost display has an 8-inch AMOLED show with a 2,184×1,968-pixel decision and a 368-pixel-per-inch (ppi) density. The Galaxy Z TriFold has a 10-inch display with a decrease decision of two,160×1,584 pixels and a density of 269ppi. Each have minimal creases (one on the Fold 7 and two on the TriFold) and a 120Hz adaptive refresh fee.

The Fold 7’s foremost display has a squarish facet ratio, which is right for studying and shopping, however not for video consumption. Noticeable letterboxing (black bars on high and backside of the video) seems when watching motion pictures and TV reveals. On my Fold 7, I prop it up by folding it open to about 90 levels and watch movies on the opposite half of the show.

As compared, the Galaxy Z TriFold has a barely wider facet ratio when totally unfolded. It is higher than the Fold 7 in video consumption, however not so good as Huawei’s 16:11 display, which has much less letterboxing.

Samsung is selling its TriFold as a productivity-centric system. In my transient hands-on time, I attempted working three apps aspect by aspect with two extra pop-up home windows on my display. The TriFold ran easily, and I did not have any points resizing the home windows. You may as well run a standalone Samsung DeX for a extra intuitive work setup. 

Z TriFold vs. Z Fold 7 efficiency and battery

The Galaxy Z Fold 7 was launched in July with the most recent Qualcomm chip at the moment, the Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy. Comparatively, the Galaxy Z TriFold was launched two months after Qualcomm’s launch of the brand new Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chipset, but it surely additionally makes use of the identical processor because the Fold 7. That “for Galaxy” branding displays Samsung-specific optimizations that Qualcomm made particularly for the Fold 7 and TriFold.

Primarily based on my expertise with the Fold 7, you’ll be able to anticipate day-to-day duties to run easily. You will have quite a few customization choices to additional personalize both cellphone. Each run Samsung’s One UI 8 (constructed on Android 16) and include seven years of OS and safety updates.

The Galaxy Z Fold 7 and its 4,400-mAh battery fared higher than I anticipated, usually lasting nearly a day. The Z TriFold has a bigger 5,600-mAh cell, which I nonetheless want to check. Though the TriFold has a 27% bigger battery than the Fold 7, it additionally has a bigger display, which can eat extra energy. I assume that having a lower-resolution display, even one which’s 10 inches, will affect how Samsung tunes the facility administration on the TriFold.

At 45 watts, the Galaxy Z TriFold prices on the identical velocity because the Galaxy S25 Ultra. The Fold 7 helps as much as 25-watt quick charging, which, on paper, appears gradual in comparison with the TriFold or Extremely. Each telephones help Qi wi-fi charging and wi-fi connectivity choices, together with NFC, Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 5.4.

Z TriFold vs. Z Fold 7 digital camera

The 2 Samsung folding telephones function an equivalent digital camera setup.

You get a 200-megapixel foremost digital camera with optical picture stabilization (OIS) and a wide-angle lens with an f/1.7 aperture. Each function a 12-megapixel ultrawide sensor with a 120-degree discipline of view and a 10-megapixel telephoto digital camera with OIS, 3x optical zoom, and help for 30x digital zoom. Plus, there are two 10-megapixel front-facing cameras — one inside the quilt show and the opposite throughout the folding display.

Primarily based on my expertise with the Galaxy Z Fold 7, you’ll be able to anticipate vibrant colours, good dynamic vary and balanced processing in low-light images from the TriFold. Nonetheless, the Fold 7’s growing older telephoto digital camera is simply OK, and images from it are crammed with picture noise when taken in something lower than brilliant daylight. I would slightly use the hi-res mode on the Fold’s foremost digital camera and crop it later than zoom in utilizing the 10-megapixel f/2.4 sensor. I look ahead to placing the TriFold’s cameras by way of their tempo as soon as I can spend extra time with the system.

Each the Z TriFold and Z Fold 7 are distinctive

The Galaxy Z TriFold is a promising system. Its bigger display could be higher for a video consumption expertise and permit for a degree of multitasking that hasn’t been supported on a Samsung folding cellphone.

The Galaxy Z Fold 7 stays a robust contender for shopping, studying and utilizing the Google productiveness apps. As compared, Samsung’s Galaxy Z TriFold seems to be for individuals who need a full-size pill however want it to be extra pocketable and transportable.