The Galaxy Z TriFold is laid to rest. Here’s what I want its successor to fix

The Samsung Galaxy Z TriFold is, by almost every measure, a phone that shouldn’t exist in the first place, and yet here we are: a massive 10-inch screen, two hinges, and a price tag that might make your wallet cry. 

Samsung knew it was a first-generation device, which is why it kept production intentionally limited, a controlled showcase of engineering ambition rather than a full market rollout. 

However, “more hits than misses” is not the bar you set for a device that costs almost as much as two or three conventional smartphones. For now, the TriFold is gone, but its successor — the Galaxy Z TriFold 2 — is reportedly on the company’s roadmap, perhaps being sketched, argued over, and stress-tested in a lab. 

5 things that the Galaxy Z TriFold 2 desperately needs to fix

When the Galaxy Z TriFold 2 arrives, it needs to arrive differently, not just as a thinner, shinier version of the current-generation foldable, but more as a phone that earns its place in more pockets. 

Here is a list of things that need to change in the Galaxy Z TriFold 2, in my frank opinion, as they could seriously make the difference between a phone people admire (from a distance) and one that they actually want to buy. 

A thinner, more durable hinge and chassis

The original TriFold’s dual-hinge system was, in my opinion, an engineering marvel, but it was also the most obvious compromise. At 12.9mm thick when folded and weighing 309 grams, the TriFold seemed gargantuan compared to Samsung’s Fold 7. For those catching up, the Fold 7 measures 8.9 mm thick and weighs just 215 grams. 

Now, I understand that two hinges will always take up more space than one, which explains the TriFold’s thickness. However, this is where the single-fold Fold 7 feels more like a polished product, and the TriFold doesn’t. The good news is that the company already knows this. 

Recent rumors suggest that Samsung is developing an “entirely new hinge solution” from the ground up for the TriFold 2, with the objective of making it meaningfully slimmer. Thinness alone, however, is not enough. If the phone wants to be considered as a daily driver, it needs to survive the brutal reality of everyday life. 

Dust, drops, the unorganized items inside a bag, and the pressure that tight jeans pockets apply on a phone: the TriFold 2 must be able to survive all of this better than the TriFold, and slimming the hinge shouldn’t come at the cost of structural integrity. 

A better ingress protection rating

The Galaxy Z TriFold shipped with an IP48 rating, the same as the Fold 7, and already better than the Huawei Mate XT (which came with an IPX8 rating without any dust protection). 

However, “better than Huawei’s Mate XT” isn’t exactly a glorifying benchmark, especially when the Pixel 10 Pro Fold has become the first foldable to achieve a full IP68 rating, the same as conventional flagships. 

For a device positioned as the pinnacle of Samsung’s engineering, an IP48 feels less assuring. The TriFold 2, in my opinion, needs to match the IP68 as a baseline, and so does the Fold 7. 

Higher peak brightness for the inner display

Screen estate is the TriFold’s entire argument. It’s the reason you’re paying the premium, for the idea of fitting a large-screen foldable smartphone in your pocket (technically, you can). However, to me, it’s genuinely baffling that the phone’s main 10-inch screen peaks at just 1,600 nits, which is lesser than the Galaxy Z Fold 5’s inner screen from 2023. 

For context, the Galaxy Z Fold 7’s inner screen hits 2,600 nits, as does the Galaxy S26 Ultra, and the TriFold’s outer screen. And while these might sound like bare numbers, they’re very important when you’re using the smartphone outdoors, under direct sunlight. 

It’s the difference between holding the phone confidently in the street on a bright sunny day, and running into the shade to read the notification and replying. Given the company’s strong hold over its displays, I would really appreciate a brighter display for everyday use, on par with modern flagships and regular foldables. 

A more powerful chip for better multitasking

The Galaxy Z TriFold featured the Snapdragon 8 Elite chip, which, at the time, was the most powerful smartphone chip. However, due to thermal constraints, the device ran slower than the other 8 Elite-powered smartphones, such as the S25 Ultra.

While I’m not expecting the TriFold 2 to fix that issue entirely, given that it would also feature a thin chassis with very limited space for a dedicated cooling mechanism, a chipset upgrade could surely improve multitasking, gaming, and overall responsiveness. 

This year, the TriFold 2 should feature the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chip, the one we’ve seen on the Galaxy S26 Ultra (globally) and the S26 and S26 Plus (in the U.S., China, and Japan). Even with thermal throttling, the chipset could surely unlock a meaningful performance upgrade. 

The TriFold 2 desperately needs better selfie cameras

The Galaxy Z TriFold’s rear camera setup is still better. A 200MP main camera, a 10MP telephoto, and a 12MP ultrawide; all of these let users fiddle with multiple perspectives and zoom levels to get the picture they want without moving around too much. Selfie cameras, however, are a slightly different story. 

The TriFold’s selfie camera setup is quite symmetrical: a 10MP (f/2.2) on the cover screen and a 10MP (f/2.2) camera on the main 10-inch foldable screen. But in my opinion, it isn’t something buyers expect to get with one of the most expensive smartphones money can buy. 

While the selfie shots might not be the problem for most buyers, I’m not even sure whether they’re looking at it from a quality perspective; it’s the software that’s doing the heavy lifting there.

I appreciate the ultrawide field of view from the inner-screen sensor, I really do, as it helps get more people in a selfie, but I sincerely want Samsung to increase the resolution for both sensors. Additionally, selfie cameras could use slightly larger sensors for better low-light performance.