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?
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.
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