Samsung’s Galaxy Z TriFold Replaced My Phone, Tablet, and Laptop—But There’s a Big Catch – PCMag

Left to right: Galaxy Z TriFold, Galaxy Z Fold 7 (Credit: Eric Zeman)

The Galaxy Z TriFold measures 6.27 by 2.95 by 0.51 inches (HWD) when closed, 6.27 by 8.43 by 0.15-0.17 inches when opened, and weighs 10.9 ounces. Each of its three panels is a different thickness: the left side (without any buttons) measures 0.15 inches, the right side (with buttons) is 0.16 inches, and the center panel is 0.17 inches. The varying thicknesses are so slight that my hands didn’t notice them during day-to-day usage.

(Credit: Eric Zeman)

For comparison, the Galaxy Z Fold 7 is much thinner at 6.24 by 2.87 by 0.35 inches folded, and 6.24 by 5.64 by 0.17 inches open. Interestingly, the Galaxy Z Fold 6 (6.04 by 2.68 by 0.48 inches folded, 6.04 by 5.22 by 0.22 inches open) is just 0.03 inches thinner than the TriFold—showing what Samsung can do in two years. 

(Credit: Eric Zeman)

In hand, the TriFold feels like a standard, high-end Samsung product that happens to be a brick. The bottom-most panel juts out further than the top two panels, making it easier to open compared with the Z Fold 7. 

(Credit: Eric Zeman)

When closed, the TriFold’s heft is fully apparent. When opened, though, the weight balance shifts and the TriFold feels like an incredibly light tablet. For comparison, the 11-inch Apple iPad Pro weighs 1.29 pounds, and the 11-inch Apple iPad Air is 1.01 pounds. A 10-inch screen at just 0.68 pounds makes the TriFold seem barely there when you’re holding it.

The hinges feel sturdy and snap open (Credit: Joseph Maldonado)

The TriFold features a titanium hinge housing and Samsung’s Advanced Armor Aluminum frame. The hinges feel sturdy and snap open; the TriFold does not support Flex View (which holds the device open at various angles) like other Samsung foldables. 

Corning Gorilla Glass Ceramic 2 protects the outer screen, while the back uses a ceramic-glass fiber-reinforced polymer. The TriFold is rated IP48 to withstand particles larger than 1mm and can be submerged in water. I dropped the TriFold into water multiple times, and it worked afterward without issue.

(Credit: Joseph Maldonado)

When open, the left-most side features a SIM tray, while the right-most side houses a volume rocker and a power button/fingerprint sensor. The fingerprint sensor worked reliably even when holding the device in various orientations. 

(Credit: Joseph Maldonado)

The phone can be folded only one way: Fold in the left panel first, then the right panel. Try to close the right panel first, and the phone vibrates to alert you that you’re doing it wrong. After a few times, it became second nature.

The TriFold comes in Crafted Black, which resembles carbon fiber. It’s a sharp, serious look.

(Credit: Joseph Maldonado)

The external display is a 6.5-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X panel with a resolution of 2,520 by 1,080 pixels at 422 pixels per square inch (ppi), a refresh rate of 120Hz, and a maximum brightness of 2,600 nits. These are the exact same specs as the Galaxy Z Fold 7’s external screen; the two devices probably use the same components. 

(Credit: Eric Zeman)

Inside is a truly enormous 10-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X screen with a resolution of 2,160 by 1,583 pixels (269ppi), a 120Hz refresh rate, and a maximum brightness of 1,600 nits. Two hinges mean two creases, which are visible at off angles and when the screen is dark. When the device is right in front of you, the ripples disappear, especially when watching videos or reading comics. The screen is also large enough that I used the TriFold (with a wired keyboard) to write a video script about it.

Both screens look great indoors. The inner screen isn’t quite visible under direct sunlight, while the outer one is. The biggest disappointment, in my opinion, is the lack of S Pen compatibility. Neither screen supports Samsung’s stylus, which seems like a missed opportunity considering the tablet-like screen. 

The TriFold is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy chip, the same one found in the Galaxy Z Fold 7 and the Galaxy S25 series. The Galaxy S26 (starts at $899.99) uses the newer, faster Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 for Galaxy. Samsung packed the TriFold with 16GB of RAM and 512GB of storage, which makes sense considering the device’s price. 

In my benchmark tests, I compared the TriFold with the Z Fold 7 and the S26 Ultra (starts at $1,999.99). Unsurprisingly, the Z phones performed similarly, while the S26 Ultra outdid both. The TriFold is not slow by any means, but at its price, it’s hard to accept that faster devices are available. Still, the TriFold can handle the most demanding games, and it excels at multitasking.

(Credit: Joseph Maldonado)

The TriFold has a 5,600mAh battery that charges at up to 45W wired and 15W wirelessly, and supports 5W reverse wireless charging. For comparison, the Z Fold 7 charges at just 25W wired, but has the same wireless capabilities. 

In a battery test, where I stream a 1080p video at full brightness, the open TriFold lasted 10 hours and 20 minutes. The Z Fold 7 and its 4,400mAh cell ran for 13 hours and 10 minutes. 

I connected the TriFold to the included fast charger and found it reached 29% in 15 minutes, 53% in 30 minutes, and a 100% charge in 1 hour and 25 minutes. 

For connectivity, the TriFold supports 5G (sub-6GHz and C-Band, but not mmWave), Bluetooth 5.4, NFC, and Wi-Fi 7. The TriFold can hold one physical SIM and one eSIM or two eSIMs. 

On T-Mobile’s 5G UC network in New York City, the TriFold reached maximum download and upload speeds of 248Mbps and 46.1Mbps, respectively. For comparison, the Galaxy Z Fold 7 reached 210Mbps down and 44Mbps up in the same location. 

When connected to a Wi-Fi 6 access point, the TriFold reached peak speeds of 548Mbps down and 39.5Mbps up. The Z Fold 7 hit 400Mbps down and 38.7Mbps up. When I took the phones to the limits of my Wi-Fi network, both performed well. The TriFold reached 418Mbps down and 39.8Mbps up, while the Z Fold 7 hit 492Mbps down and 40Mbps up.

(Credit: Joseph Maldonado)

Call quality is very good, with crisp voice reproduction even amid noisy background music. To measure loudness, I use a decibel meter. With the decibel meter right on top of the earpiece speaker, the TriFold reached 84.2dB. Its speakerphone hit 80dB with the decibel meter six inches away. I find volumes around 70dB easy to hear.

When playing Metallica’s “Enter Sandman,” the TriFold reached 94.4dB while the decibel meter remained six inches away. I couldn’t discern the deepest bass notes of our test song, The Knife’s “Silent Shout.” Overall, media playback sounds well-rounded, but a pair of Bluetooth earbuds will provide a better experience. 

(Credit: Eric Zeman)

The TriFold uses the exact same camera setup as the Z Fold 7. It provides a 200MP main camera with an f/1.7 aperture and optical image stabilization (OIS), a 12MP ultra-wide with an f/f.2 aperture, and a 10MP telephoto lens with OIS, 3x optical zoom, and 30x Space Zoom. It’s no surprise that they took nearly identical images. Generally, colors look realistic, and details are well-preserved, though images can seem slightly overbrightened. 

The main camera can take full 200MP snaps or pixel-binned 50MP or 12MP snaps. Far-off details can be a little soft in 50MP or 12MP shots, while 200MP pictures hold up better when zooming. 

Main camera, 12MP (Credit: Iyaz Akhtar)

The 12MP ultra-wide produces images similar to the main camera, with good color reproduction and detail preservation, though it occasionally overbrightens the overall image. 

Ultra-wide camera (Credit: Iyaz Akhtar)

The telephoto’s 3x zoom works well with good contrast, though 30x Space Zoom struggled to pull details out of a faraway clock with muddy details. 

Telephoto camera (Credit: Iyaz Akhtar)

The TriFold features a 10MP selfie camera at f/2.2 with an 85-degree field of view on the external screen, while the inner selfie camera is a 10MP shooter at f/2.2, but with a 100-degree field of view. Again, colors are realistic, while fine details of near subjects are preserved. 

External selfie camera, portrait mode (Credit: Iyaz Akhtar)

Inner selfie camera, portait mode (Credit: Iyaz Akhtar)

Rear video capture tops out at 8K resolution at 30fps. My test footage looked remarkably stable, though a little dim. Dropping down to 4K/60fps brought a much brighter picture overall. The TriFold’s optical image stabilization ensures steady videos. 

The TriFold runs Android 16 with Samsung’s One UI on top. Samsung offers seven generations of OS and security updates; I’ve contacted Samsung to see if this software commitment will still apply to the TriFold now that it has been discontinued, but I haven’t heard back yet.

One UI really ties everything together by pushing tablet productivity with three apps open at once (not counting a floating video player), while Dex gives you a standard desktop-like experience complete with resizable windows. The TriFold is the first Samsung phone to come with a standalone Dex mode; other devices must connect to an external display for Dex. 

Android mode, three apps (Credit; Samsung/PCMag)

During work, I usually keep a browser open while writing in a text editor. The 10-inch screen let me comfortably have two apps open while music played in the background. When I needed more apps up at once, switching to Dex mode let me get more work done. I attached a wired keyboard and mouse via a USB-C dock to the TriFold, propped it up on a pocket tablet stand, and used it like a computer, browsing the web and writing. Of course, a wireless Bluetooth keyboard and mouse would make for a neater setup.

Once finished, I could fold up the tablet and continue browsing on the external screen. If a thought popped into my head, I could enter it on the front screen.

Dex mode, multiple desktops (Credit: Samsung/PCMag)

In addition to those productivity tweaks, the TriFold includes Galaxy AI (Samsung’s suite of AI tools), Edge panels (a hideable toolbar), and deep integration with other Samsung devices. For example, I could copy something on a Galaxy Z Fold 7 and paste it into the TriFold thanks to a shared clipboard.