Samsung’s new phone biggest in years may launch in the US this year

Englewood Cliffs, NJ — In an effort to revitalize the market for what was once a cutting-edge product but is now a necessity of daily life, Samsung new phone is thinking of selling their next “tri-fold” smartphone in the US. This would be a first for both Samsung and US smartphones.

A person familiar with Samsung’s intentions told CNN that the company is still considering which areas to release the gadget in when it arrives later this year, but a US release is part of those discussions. This is important since Samsung has typically limited new product lines to specific territories, like China or South Korea, where it debuted the Galaxy Z Fold 6 SE last year. Although it doesn’t sell its products in the US, Chinese tech behemoth Huawei already has a tri-folding phone.

The release would coincide with Samsung, Apple, and other device manufacturers experimenting with new designs to impress users, an increasingly difficult task given that consumers are holding onto their phones longer than ever before and analysts wonder if new AI products may eventually replace smartphones.

According to Bloomberg, Apple intends to release its first foldable phone as early as 2026 and is releasing the iPhone Air on Friday, the first significant overhaul of its most significant product in almost ten years. In addition to releasing its seventh generation of foldable phones throughout the summer, Samsung is getting ready to release a new, thinner Galaxy S Edge smartphone in the upcoming year.

According to the International Data Corporation, Apple and Samsung together make up around 35% of all phones delivered worldwide. As the two biggest producers of smartphones, they are regarded as industry bellwethers.

In a joint interview with Minseok Kang, Samsung’s global head of smartphone product planning, Drew Blackard, senior vise president of mobile product management for Samsung Electronics America, told CNN, “I think what we’re seeing is a bit more of a return to life before (the smartphone),” when older cell phones had different forms and people wanted a variety of options.

The most significant addition to Samsung’s smartphone range since the company introduced its first foldable phone in 2019 will be the next tri-fold handset, which folds in two places to create a larger screen than its current folding phones.

Other than stating that it intends to release the device by the end of the year, the business hasn’t talked much about it. Regarding the details of the tri-fold’s market availability and debut date, Samsung declined to comment. However, in an interview with CNN, Minseok Kang, Samsung’s global head of smartphone product planning, stated that the 2025 launch date is still on schedule.

According to Kang, the current Galaxy Z Flip and Z Fold series, which had a 25% rise in preorders over the previous generation, are a step toward a tri-fold phone that might have a “much larger screen than before.” When unfolded, the company’s Galaxy Z Fold 7’s eight-inch screen makes it much smaller than a regular iPad or iPad Air and marginally smaller than an iPad Mini.

The South Korean tech giant stated that more information will be released later. The phone will be available in the United States in the first quarter of 2026. The Galaxy Z Trifold, which costs 3,594,000 South Korean won ($2,449), will be available as a single black variant with 16GB of RAM and 512GB of storage.

Blackard stated, “We don’t want to offer the exact same experience in a slightly different form factor,” but the executives declined to give precise information regarding the size of the tri-fold screen.

At trade exhibitions like the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Samsung has displayed concepts for devices that fold into thirds rather than halves. The Flex S prototype folds inward and outward to form a “S” shape and provide the equivalent of three screens in one device, while the Flex G design opens like a pamphlet.

Although Samsung has not yet released a device based on those prototypes, the company’s first tri-fold will be an attempt to gage consumer willingness to spend more money in order to fit an even larger screen in their pockets.

Blackard stated, “I think the exciting part is getting it out into the wild and then ultimately seeing what different users are attracted to.

Like the Galaxy Z Fold, which has only lately started to gain popularity, Samsung’s tri-folding phone may be pricey and specialized. However, it might help the business stand out from the competitors and draw customers away from other phone brands. According to Blackard, compared to its regular flagship phones, the company’s foldable phones draw twice as many non-Samsung phone owners on a percentage basis.

Samsung intends to release a follow-up to the Galaxy S25 Edge for the upcoming year’s Galaxy S range. The Galaxy S25 Edge now faces competition from the iPhone Air. Kang stated that Samsung is probably going to start selling the S25 Edge’s replacement alongside the Galaxy S26 series in the first quarter of next year rather than in the spring, though this has not been verified. Future product launches, including its flagship Galaxy S series, will follow Samsung’s design philosophy of making gadgets thinner, according to a person familiar with the company’s intentions.

It remains to be seen, though, if smaller designs are sufficient to increase sales. Blackard and Kang declined to comment on the Galaxy S25 Edge’s sales, however a Korean news source Sales of the model were not meeting expectations, according to a June article from The Elec.

The emphasis on thinness has sparked rumors that phones without charging ports would become more common; according to Bloomberg, Apple apparently examined this design option for the iPhone Air. Phones may be significantly smaller if the charging connector were removed, but doing so would require using wireless chargers exclusively.

According to Kang, Samsung has discussed the concept of a port-free phone internally.

When asked if Samsung had thought of a phone without charging ports, Blackard responded, “There’s no technical limitation.

However, Samsung hasn’t created a phone without a charging connector and doesn’t currently have any intentions to do so. Although the majority of smartphones can be charged wirelessly, Blackard noted that there aren’t many wireless chargers available in public areas for situations where users might need to quickly recharge their phones.

Kang likened it to another radical concept Samsung had ten years prior: a transparent-screen smartphone.

“It was undoubtedly discussed internally at Samsung,” Kang stated.

However, the drawbacks of a transparent phone would have overshadowed the advantages, much like with the port-less phone concept. For instance, Kang stated that the battery and charging connection would have made it challenging to render the entire gadget translucent.

“What kind of benefit we can deliver is the first topic we are currently thinking about when we consider new devices,” Kang stated.

For the time being, Samsung believes that this benefit will come in the shape of slim and foldable phones, even if market research data indicates that sales of these devices only account for a small portion of the larger smartphone industry. The International Data Corporation projects that shipments of foldable phones will reach 45.7 million units by 2028, compared to an estimated 1.2 billion smartphones supplied globally in 2024.

“We’ve been looking at phones that looked somewhat like this bar-type smartphone for ten years,” Blackard remarked. “And I believe that innovation is entering the market for the first time, changing consumers’ perceptions of what their conventional needs are from a mobile device.