Samsung says its trifold phone should launch ‘this year’

Yesterday’s Galaxy Unpacked event came and went without a single tease of Samsung’s rumored trifold phone, but the head of the company’s phone business says that it’s on the way and due “this year.”

“I expect we will be able to launch the trifold phone within this year,” TM Roh, acting head of Samsung’s Device Experience division, told The Korea Times. While the device is rumored to be called the Galaxy G Fold, Roh said its final name hasn’t been decided.

“We are now focusing on perfecting the product and its usability, but we have not decided its name,” Roh said. “As the product nears completion, we are planning to make a final decision soon.”

Roh wasn’t the only Samsung representative willing to discuss the trifold. Android Authority quoted an unnamed executive who claimed the company has designed the phone’s hardware and could “put it into production,” but that it first has to identify a “purpose” for the new form factor.

“We’ve had a trifold for some time, designed and everything,” the executive said. “So it’s not a new concept to us. What we’re debating is the viability. When I say the viability, is there really a demand for this form factor?”

Samsung previously teased the trifold at Unpacked in January. After it appeared in One UI 8 animation files, there were hopes for a reveal at yesterday’s event, which saw the launch of the Z Fold 7, Z Flip 7, and Watch 8 series. For now, Huawei’s Mate XT remains the only trifold phone on the market.