Don’t wait for the Galaxy Z TriFold, buy this other Samsung foldable right now instead

It’s exciting to want the cutting-edge latest and greatest — believe me, I know. I’m in a fortunate position where I get to try a lot of new form factors pretty quickly after they’re announced. And, when Samsung finally announced its Galaxy Z TriFold, you can bet it perked up my ears — after all, who doesn’t want an alternative to the HUAWEI Mate XT that’s actually available in the US?

But now that I’ve had a few days to think about it, I think I’m ready to exercise caution. I’ll still allow myself to be excited about Samsung testing out a new form factor, but I’m not about to tell you to rush out and buy one. Instead, I think you should bank on what’s already working and pick up the Galaxy Z Fold 7 instead, and here’s why.

Alright, so the first thing that gives me pause about picking up the Galaxy Z TriFold (and recommending that you do the same) is that it’s a Samsung debut. As you and the entire internet probably already know, that’s where Samsung tends to struggle most. Its first crack at, well, almost everything tends to go just-okay before rounding into form on the second or third try.

So, for Samsung to add another hinge, another display crease, and slim down its form factor even further when unfolded is more than enough to make me nervous. The first time it dove into the foldables market with the original Galaxy Fold went down in historic — I mean historically bad — fashion, plagued by durability and display issues that delayed its launch by several months.

Of course, that major stumble was nearly six years ago at this point, so it’s fair to say the Galaxy Z TriFold shouldn’t have the same problems. Samsung has addressed many of its previous foldable flaws, doing so at an impressive rate, slimming its Galaxy Z Fold from one year to the next while packing it with better specs and more power each time. So, it’s pretty fair to say that Samsung has its hardware figured out.

This time around, though, the reason I think you should be careful about picking up the Galaxy Z TriFold is that I’m just not sure how the recipe is going to come together under the hood. Yes, I think the Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy — not the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5, the older one — will be just fine as a powerhouse, and the 5,600mAh battery is a nice upgrade over the 4,400mAh cell in the Galaxy Z Fold 7, but it has the unenviable duty of powering an even larger internal display.

There’s also the little matter of durability, which is still a work in progress even on current foldables. Currently, the best Samsung can offer in terms of protection against water and dust is an IP48 rating, which is good but not exceptional, and lags behind the robust IP68 rating of Google’s Pixel 10 Pro Fold. Add an extra crease and an extra hinge, and there are more spots for the Galaxy Z TriFold to break down.

Perhaps what’s most concerning is that Samsung seems to expect this, offering a one-time 50% discount on repairs for the Galaxy Z TriFold. I shudder to imagine just how expensive those repairs might be if Samsung is already assuring buyers of discounts — especially if you need to replace the fragile internal display.

So, if you’re anywhere near as worried about the prospects of the Galaxy Z TriFold as I am, what are you supposed to do? Well, I think the answer is pretty simple. Like I said at the start, you should go out right now and buy the Galaxy Z Fold 7. Yes, it shares several features with the Galaxy Z TriFold, such as the 200MP primary camera and the Snapdragon 8 Elite chip, but it has the benefit of time on its side.

And, with that time — seven generations, to be specific — Samsung has done quite a lot to drill down what works and what doesn’t. It’s figured out that the under-display selfie camera was best left as an experiment and that you really can go thinner without sacrificing too much power. Alright, maybe that second point was learned from the short-lived Galaxy S25 Edge, but the lesson carried over to the Galaxy Z Fold 7.

Honestly, perhaps the best thing I can say about Samsung’s newest book-style foldable is that it drew me away from the clamshell flip phones I love so much. This is the first year since probably 2022 that I’ve gone Fold over Flip, and I’ve regretted nothing. I used to bemoan how much pocket space the Galaxy Z Fold demanded, only for Samsung to go and make it nearly as thin as a Galaxy S25 when closed.

Of course, there’s much more at play in my decision than simply the fact that the Galaxy Z Fold 7 is thin. There’s also the increased camera flexibility, the array of Galaxy AI features, and the years of software support. And yes, I know all of those things will be coming to the Galaxy Z TriFold, but not without risks. There’s no guarantee that Samsung will stick with a tri-fold design beyond this first one, nor can we promise that the as-yet-unpriced foldable will actually get new Galaxy AI features as they launch due to its chipset.

That also brings me to a pretty important point: we don’t know what the Galaxy Z TriFold is going to cost. The Galaxy Z Fold 7 already starts at an eye-watering $2,000, and I can only imagine what a larger, dual-folding display will add to that cost. I wouldn’t be surprised if the base configuration costs $2,500 or more, and that’s an awfully steep asking price for what’s ultimately an unproven design.

Who knows, though, maybe Samsung proves me wrong. Maybe the Galaxy Z TriFold becomes the device that bridges the gap between the best Android phones and the best Android tablets. That should mean that we’ll see several generations yet to come, and if so, great. Buy one of those. After a year or two, they’ll be mature enough to justify the cost. In the meantime, though, go with what you know and buy a Galaxy Z Fold 7 that strikes the right balance between power, flexibility, and durability.