The world’s first tri-folding phone could finally land soon – and not from Samsung

Samsung's tri-folding display technology unveiled at the SID Display Week 2021 online event
Samsung teased a tri-folding display concept (above) back in 2021, but Huawei could beat it to a full launch (Image credit: Samsung Display)

Tri-foldable phones have been teased and mooted for over four years now, but it looks like the world's first could finally get a full launch – and beat Samsung to an official announcement.

Some new rumors on Chinese social media suggest that Huawei has recently cleared a durability hurdle that should see its tri-foldable phone (a triple-screen phone with two hinges) launch, in China at least, within the next month.

The Weibo tipster Bad Review Emperor (via Huawei Central) claims that Huawei's tri-foldable phone has just "passed the 28μm test", which is apparently a durability test for its impressively thin screen and how visible the crease lines will be after multiple folds. Huawei's foldable is expected to debut a new 'inside-out' mechanism with a dual-hinge design. 

A tri-foldable phone makes sense for Huawei because it will likely run HarmonyOS Next, a new iteration of its operating system. According to the Weibo tipster, this means it'll be able to run "PC-level applications", potentially melding the lines between phone, tablet and laptop.

These rumors follow a separate post from Digital Chat Station on Weibo stating that "a certain large manufacturer has started scheduling the production of a tri-fold phone". According to the leak, it'll have a 10-inch internal screen and both its specs and pricing "are going to hit new highs".

Putting the two rumors together, it looks increasingly likely that Huawei will beat Samsung to the 'world's first' bragging rights for a tri-foldable phone. However, given that Huawei's banned from selling phones in the US, Samsung may still become the first tech giant to make a truly global tri-foldable.

Fortunately for tech fans, we seem to be finally reaching the end of the concepts and teasers stage for these next-gen foldables, and towards the first actual launches of the form factor.

An extra hinge or a lower price?

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 in Paris in front of the Louvre pyramid

The Galaxy Z Fold 6 (above) is a refined foldable, but it still commands a serious premium compared to standard phones (Image credit: Lance Ulanoff / Future)

These rumors fit the timescale we heard earlier this year for the world's first tri-foldable. Back then, the display analyst Ross Young claimed that Huawei's tri-folding phone was supposed to launch in late 2023, but got pushed back to later this year. Senior Huawei exec Richard Yu Chengdong also hinted in an interview in July that Huawei was close to launching a tri-foldable.

Given how expensive the best foldable phones remain, you could argue that a price drop is more important than adding an extra hinge for more screen real estate. And we have heard rumors, which haven't yet come to fruition, that a Galaxy Z Fold 6 FE model is in the pipeline.  

Still, a new phone form factor is always exciting, so the launch of Huawei's first tri-foldable is certainly intriguing. The recent launch of Samsung's new Z Fold 6 and Z Flip 6 foldables show that the tech has matured and early teething problems, like durability issues and noticeable creases, have been addressed. Our Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 review concluded that it's "an excellent foldable" that "edges closer to perfection".

Then again, the Z Fold 6 starts at $1,899 / £1,799 / AU$2,749, so we're already talking laptop-style prices for a foldable with a single hinge. A triple-screened phone with two hinges would presumably go well beyond that, making the first models a luxury reserved for only the most well-heeled tech fans. 

If Huawei does beat Samsung to the punch with the first tri-foldable, it'll hopefully prompt the Korean tech giant to show its hand beyond the concepts we've seen so far – and start the journey towards making the devices a more realistic prospect for the rest of us.

You might also like...

Mark Wilson
Senior news editor

Mark is TechRadar's Senior news editor. Having worked in tech journalism for a ludicrous 17 years, Mark is now attempting to break the world record for the number of camera bags hoarded by one person. He was previously Cameras Editor at both TechRadar and Trusted Reviews, Acting editor on Stuff.tv, as well as Features editor and Reviews editor on Stuff magazine. As a freelancer, he's contributed to titles including The Sunday Times, FourFourTwo and Arena. And in a former life, he also won The Daily Telegraph's Young Sportswriter of the Year. But that was before he discovered the strange joys of getting up at 4am for a photo shoot in London's Square Mile. 

Read more
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6
More details of the Samsung tri-fold phone have leaked – as the Huawei Mate XT tri-fold gets a global launch
The Huawei Mate XT official imagey
Tri-folds aren't experiments or fads, they're the future foldable devices need
Holding the Huawei Mate XT in-hand
I thought the tri-folding Huawei Mate XT was a gimmick, but then I held it
A tease of Samsung's product roadmap
Samsung just teased a tri-fold folding phone at Galaxy Unpacked 2025
a photo of the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6
Samsung Galaxy tri-fold – 5 key rumored features, from its screen size to its hinge
Huawei Mate XT
More details of Samsung's tri-fold phone have leaked – and it could launch alongside the Galaxy Z Fold 7
Latest in Phones
An image of the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra from a hands-on event
Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra could resurrect an intriguing camera feature
Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max REVIEW
The latest iPhone 17 Pro Max leak may have given us another look at its upcoming redesign
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6
The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 could be in line for a Galaxy S25 Ultra-level camera upgrade
Three iPhones on a green and blue background showing trails on Apple Maps
iOS 18.4 will give your iPhone a much-needed maps upgrade – but only if you're in the EU
Google Pixel 9
Android 16 could bring an improved Samsung DeX-style desktop mode to more phones
Apple products all showing different versions of the Apple Photos app
Apple Photos could actually win you over in iOS 18.4 – here are 4 improvements that are coming
Latest in News
Google Gemini Flash 2.0 Images
I tried Gemini's new AI image generation tool - here are 5 ways to get the best art from Google's Flash 2.0
An image of the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra from a hands-on event
Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra could resurrect an intriguing camera feature
Eurocom Raptor X18
At $15,000, this massive 256GB RAM laptop makes Apple's MacBook Pro look affordable, tiny and very, very slow
Cristin Milioti in Black Mirror season 7
Netflix launches trailer for Black Mirror season 7, giving us a look at its first-ever sequel episode and an unexpected returning character
A graphic of the PC Gaming Show
Get ready for a bounty of PC games on June 8, as the PC Gaming show is back
A close up of The Daily podcast from Pocket Casts' web page
‘Podcasting shouldn’t be locked behind walled gardens’: Pocket Casts slams Spotify and makes its web player free to all