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Samsung may have pulled the plug on its first Galaxy Z TriFold after just three months, but the company clearly is not done experimenting with the format. The original model arrived in December 2025 with a jaw-dropping $2,899 price tag, disappeared from shelves in 20 minutes, and then vanished almost as quickly as it came. Still, a fresh patent suggests Samsung is already sketching out something bolder.
Filed last year and published in March, the patent points to a “multi-foldable electronic device” that looks a lot like the current TriFold at first glance. Look closer, though, and one version stands out immediately. It has a wider cover display, with a shape that feels closer to a passport than a conventional smartphone. Fully opened, it appears to offer a broader canvas than the existing 10-inch panel, almost pushing the device toward small-tablet territory even before you unfold it.
A tri-fold that stops pretending to be a phone
That wider shape would solve one of the subtle problems with the original device. The tall, narrow design works well enough in phone mode, but once unfolded, the experience can feel a little awkward for video playback and split-screen multitasking. A squarer layout could make the whole concept feel more natural, especially for users who want the device to behave more like a compact tablet than an oversized handset.
Samsung is already testing the waters with a wider foldable in a more traditional form. Reports suggest the Galaxy Z Fold 8 Wide could launch this July alongside the standard Fold 8, which may help Samsung gauge whether buyers actually want a broader foldable experience. If that model lands well, a wider TriFold would suddenly look less like a novelty and more like the next logical step.
Of course, patents are not product roadmaps. Samsung files them constantly, and most never make it to store shelves. The more immediate question is whether a Galaxy Z TriFold 2 even arrives first. Recent leaks hint that Samsung is working on a thinner successor to tame the bulk and complexity that reportedly made the original device so hard to mass-produce. For now, the wider TriFold looks like a promising idea sitting several steps down the road.
Still, the message is clear. Samsung has not abandoned the tri-fold dream. It is just trying to decide what that dream should look like next.
Source: phandroid
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