\nIt seems that 7-inch slab phones are the next thing on the menu<\/a>, as we already told you, but that’s not what I want to talk about today.I stumbled upon this piece of fascinating information:
Apparently, even the Galaxy Z TriFold<\/a> \u2013 a 10-inch monster (when unfolded) \u2013 might not be big enough. And that’s where things get interesting, because this stops being about phones and starts being about whether a phone can actually become a computer.<\/p>\n
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An image from Samsung’s patent for a Galaxy Z TriFold Wide. | Image by Network Right<\/p>\n
I hope they make this one gigantic\u2026 and I’m not being ironic here.<\/p>\n
The uncomfortable truth\u2026
\u2026 is that phones have already replaced (almost) everything except computers.In one of the most successful consolidation stories in consumer tech history, smartphones have eaten entire device categories like MP3 players, GPS units, calculators, clocks, voice recorders, scanners and even flashlights (yeah, LOL).<\/p>\n
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The Galaxy Z TriFold was unveiled in 2025. | Image by Samsung<\/p>\n
Sure, all of the above gadgets still exist and they’re more often than not much more polished than before. I enjoy listening to lossless music audio files on high-end digital audio players (DAPs) as much as the next guy, but 90% of the time, I’m perfectly fine with terrorizing my eardrums with Slayer on Spotify from my phone while on the subway.<\/p>\n
Dedicated cameras are also mostly gone from normal users’ drawers. Unless you’re a professional (meaning that you take pictures for a living, not that your mom brags to her neighbors about how cool the sunset pictures you take are), you can get by with a (flagship) phone’s camera in the majority of cases.<\/p>\n
The one category that didn’t get absorbed properly is the computer.Where do phones still fall short? Phones are good (and even great) for media consumption but super mediocre for creation. What’s more, the touch input is still a compromise and the lack of a mouse is a bummer.<\/p>\n Typing long text, detailed editing or heavy multitasking is not fun on a phone. Sure, we’ve all done it to a degree, but it always feels like something substantial is missing.<\/p>\n The DeX experiment<\/p>\n The Galaxy Z TriFold sells out in minutes, usually. | Image by Samsung<\/p>\n Samsung DeX is probably the closest thing we currently have to a phone turning into a real computer, and it actually works better than most people expect.<\/p>\n You plug a phone into a monitor or use it wirelessly, and suddenly you get a desktop-like interface with resizable windows, taskbar-style navigation and proper multitasking. <\/p>\n I think this is where DeX can become crucial in the context of foldables and tri-fold concepts. A larger unfolded screen makes the whole setup feel more like an actual computer.What do we need?<\/p>\n Tri-foldables are still super exotic. | Image by Samsung<\/p>\n For the whole thing to become a viable solution, we need responsive and lightweight input.<\/p>\n As I said, touchscreens are fine for scrolling, tapping and quick actions, but they are not built for long-form writing or precise control.<\/p>\n On a flat display, your hands also end up covering part of the workspace, which becomes annoying.<\/p>\n A trackpad or mouse changes everything, but phones do not naturally come with either, so you are always improvising. Even Samsung DeX feels noticeably better the moment you connect proper peripherals, which says a lot about where the real bottleneck is. <\/p>\n The problem is that carrying a full keyboard and mouse setup defeats the whole “mobile” promise that foldables are trying to sell. That is why a super-thin and folding keyboard with an integrated trackpad could be the answer here.<\/p>\n Sure, this will drive up the price additionally, but some people will inevitably decide that it’s better to spend $2,500 on a 14-inch folding Galaxy computer-phone that fits in their (jacket) pocket than two separate gadgets.<\/p>\n Get Visible as low as $20\/mo for 1 year. Limited time offer with code: FRESHSTART<\/p>\n Offer Ends 6.1.2026 at 11.59pm ET. New members get $5\/mo off the $25\/mg Visible plan, $35\/mo Visible+ plan, or $45\/mo Visible+ Pro plan for the first 12 months. Promo code FRESHSTART required at checkout.<\/p>\n
Screen size is the first wall that smartphones today hit. Even 6.9\u20137 inches is still “hand territory”, not “workspace territory”. Compared to 14\u201318 inch laptops (and 24-inch desktop monitors), even big phones like the Galaxy S26 Ultra<\/a> or the iPhone 17 Pro Max<\/a> are tiny.<\/p>\n![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/2-3.webp.webp\")
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