Samsung shows off two tri-fold concept phones at CES 2025 – and I hope the right one gets made

The Huawei Mate XT – still the only tri-fold phone on the market (Image credit: Huawei)

Samsung Display has shown off a number of screen concepts at CES 2025
Two of the demoed models are tri-folding phone screens
The two phone display concepts fold in different ways

We've seen a wealth of new tech unveiled at CES 2025 this week, a lot of it pointing at gadgets still to come – including two concepts from Samsung Display that hint at what a future tri-fold Galaxy phone could look like.

The phone designs were among several display concepts on show, and were captured in three images by CNET (via Notebookcheck). The first two images show one phone, while the third, although the caption suggests it's the same phone, is clearly a different folding design.

While both displays have two hinges and three screen sections, there's one key difference: the phone shown in the third image shows a device that folds fully inwards, while the design shown in the first two images leaves part of the main screen on show when it's closed.

That latter approach is the one used on the Huawei Mate XT tri-fold phone, which essentially just uses a single display. The two hinges fold in opposite directions, leaving a third of the display accessible when you're using it at normal phone size – a TikTok from our sister site Tom's Guide at the Notebookcheck link above shows the device being folded and unfolded.

Fold steady

Diagrams detailing a potential Samsung tri-fold device taken from a patent filed in 2021 — Samsung has already filed a patent for a Z-Fold foldable (Image credit: US Patent and Trademark Office)

We've seen patents hinting at an outward-folding (Z-style) handset, as well as industry reports predicting an inward-folding (U-style) handset, so the form factor is still very much up in the air. Perhaps Samsung will develop both.

Samsung didn't make any kind of announcement about tri-fold phones at CES 2025, or indeed about any phones at all. However, the fact that these working demo units were on show suggests a tri-fold handset launch could be happening sooner rather than later.

Previous leaks have suggested such a device could make an appearance before the end of 2025, and Huawei has shown that the technology is ready for the public, albeit at a high price: the Mate XT starts at 19,999 yuan, which is about $2,730 / £2,200 / AU$4,405.

We can expect Samsung's equivalent to be very expensive too, when it appears – perhaps alongside the Galaxy Z Fold 7 and Galaxy Z Flip 7. Before then, we'll get to see the Samsung Galaxy S25 series launch on Wednesday, January 22.

We’re covering all of the latest CES news from the show as it happens. Stick with us for the big stories on everything from 8K TVs and foldable displays to new phones, laptops, smart home gadgets, and the latest in AI.

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Dave is a freelance tech journalist who has been writing about gadgets, apps and the web for more than two decades. Based out of Stockport, England, on TechRadar you'll find him covering news, features and reviews, particularly for phones, tablets and wearables. Working to ensure our breaking news coverage is the best in the business over weekends, David also has bylines at Gizmodo, T3, PopSci and a few other places besides, as well as being many years editing the likes of PC Explorer and The Hardware Handbook.