I had concerns that Samsung’s Galaxy Z Trifold might be too bulky of a “phone.” Too thick and too heavy just to gain a 10-inch tablet-sized display when unfolded. The dual-hinge foldable is chunky, but, oh man, it might be worth it.
At CES 2026, I got some brief hands-on time with the Z Trifold, which went on sale in South Korea in December for around $2,400, and I basically had to refrain from slipping on my own pool of drool. If you need a refresher, the Z Trifold is Samsung’s largest foldable phone to date. Closed up, it has a 6.5-inch external “cover” screen, which works just like a regular touchscreen phone. However, when you unfold it, the device becomes a 10-inch tablet, giving you more space to view movies and play games on or open multiple apps.
It’s really a sight to behold. This device feels like the holy grail foldable that we’ve been waiting for. A genuine tablet (not a mini one) that fits into your goddamn pocket.
Unlike book-style foldables like the Z Fold 7 or the Pixel 10 Pro Fold, the Z Trifold’s 10-inch folding screen actually feels substantially larger than a regular glass slab. I watched a few YouTube videos and it felt like I was using an iPad. Reading articles (like our great website) in portrait orientation was more enjoyable thanks to the more spacious screen real estate, too. With DeX mode turned on, I could comfortably open multiple apps and resize their windows as if I were using a desktop operating system. There wasn’t a wireless keyboard or mouse on hand to pair to the demo units, but it’s not hard to imagine how the combination could actually replace the need for a laptop or tablet and keyboard accessory.
While the Z Trifold is a tank when it’s closed up, it’s super skinny in tablet mode. It didn’t seem fragile, though. I did some light flexes, and the device seemed sturdy and durable enough. Even better was the fact that the two creases at the hinges appeared noticeably less visible than on previous Samsung foldables. I don’t know if this is just because these are demo units that haven’t been folded enough times, but the reduced crease is promising, to say the least. The carbon fiber-like finish also has a nice bit of grippiness to it, which I appreciated.
The Z Trifold is by no means perfect, though. When fully unfolded, your hands will inevitably leave fingerprints all over the external screen. You’ll definitely need to carry a microfiber cloth if greasy prints bother you. There’s also the matter of battery life. The Z Trifold has a 5,600mAh battery, which sounds like a lot, but it’s actually smaller than the more than 7,000mAh silicon carbide batteries that phones like the OnePlus 15 are now shipping with.
And the big question mark is still pricing. Samsung hasn’t announced how much the Z Trifold will cost in the U.S. or provided a concrete release date. Going off the $2,400-ish pricing after Korean won currency conversion, you could expect the foldable to cost at least as much. $2,000 is already a lot of money to swallow for the Z Fold 7. Will consumers be willing to pay more for the Z Trifold to get that larger 10-inch screen? I don’t know. What I do know is that Samsung’s first trifold phone feels a lot more polished than I expected. It’s clearly using all of the learnings from six generations of Z Fold and Z Flip foldables.
I now desperately want to daily carry the Z Trifold just to see what kind of entertainment immersion and productivity it would unlock.
Gizmodo is on the ground in Las Vegas all week bringing you everything you need to know about the tech unveiled at CES 2026. You can follow our CES live blog here and find all our coverage here.
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