During CES 2026 this week, I had a brief minute to try out Samsung’s new Galaxy Z TriFold and, I’ve got to say, this one really takes seeing it in person to really prove just how impressive it is.

While foldables have become relatively commonplace in the market at this point, the idea of a device that unfolds a second time is still a wildly new concept, and one that personally, I never expected to see hitting the market quite this soon.

Yet, here we are.

Announced late last year, the Galaxy Z TriFold is a device that Samsung is not only releasing, but has delivered beyond my wildest expectations. That’s something that’s almost hard to put into words. Just feeling this device in your hand is a wild experience, because it doesn’t make any sense. It feels more or less like a Galaxy Z Fold 6, a device Samsung released less than 18 months ago, yet has an entire extra section of screen to offer. Even compared to the Galaxy Z Fold 7 I’ve been using every day, it’s far from inconveinent. What stood out more in the litreral few minutes I was able to use the device were the additional “ridges” from the extra display section. I’m not sure how I feel about it, but I didn’t mind the added grip by any means.

Advertisement – scroll for more content

When you unfold the device, the full impact of that 10-inch display is expansive. It’s truly a full-size tablet in your pocket. While there are plenty of arguments to be made for running three apps at once, there were two clear use cases for me. Media apps are the obviously one, because the Galaxy Z Fold 7 frankly sucks for watching movies. Some games work well, but having a proper aspect ratio will just be so much better.

The other obvious case is full tablet apps. While those are still somewhat few and far in between on Android, everything about this size just tells me this will be a great experience. The same applies to desktop websites, since this is basically just a tiny laptop when a wireless keyboard is attached.

One of the big questions I had going in was how natural the folding and unfolding of the TriFold would feel, and I’m a bit mixed on it. Unfolding feels natural enough, but going back the other way around isn’t as easy. I imagine this would improve with time, but I started folding it back up twice while playing around with the hardware thinking I was going the right way. Thankfully, the phone basically yells at you (with strong vibrations) that you’re folding it wrong.

I knew I’d be enamored by the TriFold before getting my hands on it, but even just first impressions clearly showed that the TriFold is something that needs to be experienced, not just talked about. If it really does end up costing upwards of $2,500, though, that’s not going to be easy for most customers.

What do you think of the Galaxy Z TriFold?

More from CES 2026:

Follow Ben: Twitter/X, Threads, Bluesky, and Instagram


Add 9to5Google as a preferred source on Google
Add 9to5Google as a preferred source on Google

FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.