What you need to know
- The $2,899 Galaxy Z TriFold sold out online in minutes in the U.S. despite having no trade-in deals.
- This is Samsung’s first dual-folding phone, featuring a 10-inch display that blurs the line between phone and tablet.
- However, Samsung has not disclosed sales figures, leaving open the possibility this was a limited test run to gauge demand.
If you thought a $3,000 smartphone would be a hard sell, Samsung just proved us all wrong. When the Galaxy Z TriFold went on sale in the U.S. on January 30 at a whopping $2,899, it disappeared online within minutes.
It wasn’t supposed to be easy to snag one. Samsung deliberately skipped trade-in deals, pushing buyers straight into full-price territory for what’s now the most expensive Galaxy phone you can buy stateside. And yet, even with that steep cost, demand outpaced supply in a way few saw coming.
When you visit the Galaxy Z TriFold listing on Samsung’s website right now, you’ll be greeted by a “Notify me” button alongside a “Sold out” label sitting where the buy button should be.
You may like
(Image credit: Samsung)
A true tablet-phone hybrid
To see why this is such a big deal, it helps to look back. The Galaxy Z TriFold isn’t just another foldable. It’s Samsung’s first dual-folding phone, opening up to a 10-inch Dynamic AMOLED display. That’s more screen than a typical smartphone, which is why Samsung pitches it as blurring the line between a phone, a tablet, and a portable productivity device.
Inside, the TriFold comes with powerful hardware: 16GB of RAM, 512GB of storage, a Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset, a 5,600mAh battery, and a triple-camera system with a 200MP main sensor.
But it’s not only about the specs. Foldable phones have slowly improved over the years, moving from the original Galaxy Fold’s shaky hinges to today’s smoother dual-fold design. The TriFold shows Samsung taking the technology further, and strong sales suggest there are buyers eager for this kind of innovation.
However, Samsung hasn’t revealed how many units were available, so “sold out” might mean just a few hundred or a few thousand. Some in the industry think this was a limited global release to test the market before making more. This uncertainty makes the sell-out seem bigger, even though we don’t know the real numbers.
Android Central’s Take
Seeing the Galaxy Z TriFold vanish so quickly — even without trade-ins and at nearly three grand — tells me there’s real hunger for devices that rethink what a phone can be. For users, that means people aren’t just buying screens, they’re buying experiences. Whether it’s working on the go or having a tablet-sized display in your pocket, people want something truly different, not just a flashy new device.
