High production costs and the need to prove reliability keep volumes low

The Galaxy Z TriFold opens into a large 10-inch tablet-like screen and folds down into a 6.5-inch smartphone size, allowing users to switch easily between work, viewing, and everyday use. (Samsung Electronics)
The Galaxy Z TriFold opens into a large 10-inch tablet-like screen and folds down into a 6.5-inch smartphone size, allowing users to switch easily between work, viewing, and everyday use. (Samsung Electronics)

Samsung Electronics’ Galaxy Z TriFold has become one of the most visible smartphones of the year precisely because almost no one can buy it.

Since its South Korean launch on Dec. 12, the tri-fold device has sold out repeatedly within minutes, despite carrying the highest price ever set for a Samsung smartphone. The pattern has drawn attention not only to consumer demand, but to what Samsung is signaling ahead of a decisive phase in the global foldable market.

The first domestic batch of the Galaxy Z TriFold sold out in about five minutes, according to Korean media reports. A second online restock on Dec. 17 was gone in roughly two minutes. Samsung priced the device at 3,590,400 won ($2,466). As of this week, the phone is unavailable in Korea until at least January.

Behind the rapid sellouts is an unusually small supply. Korean industry estimates put domestic sales at roughly 3,000 to 4,000 units so far, with Samsung planning global shipments of only 20,000 to 30,000 units.

That scale is negligible compared with Samsung’s mainstream foldables. The Galaxy Z Fold7 and Z Flip7, released earlier this year in July, recorded more than 1.04 million units in preorders alone, according to Samsung.

Customers line up outside Samsung Electronics’ Samsung Gangnam flagship store in Seoul on Dec. 12 as domestic sales of the Galaxy Z TriFold begin. (Samsung Electronics)
Customers line up outside Samsung Electronics’ Samsung Gangnam flagship store in Seoul on Dec. 12 as domestic sales of the Galaxy Z TriFold begin. (Samsung Electronics)

The contrast is deliberate. Unlike other flagship launches, Samsung did not distribute Galaxy Z TriFold units to media outlets or content creators for review loans. Industry sources describe the device as a tightly controlled, special-edition product, conceived primarily to “demonstrate market leadership and engineering capability” rather than to drive volume.

That positioning reflects manufacturing reality. A tri-fold smartphone requires two hinges, multiple high-end OLED panels and far tighter assembly tolerances than standard book-style foldables. Expanding production quickly would increase defect risk and push costs higher. According to people familiar with the matter, Samsung did not initially expect demand to be this strong at the price level, but scaling up output is not straightforward.

Profitability is another limiting factor. Memory semiconductor prices have risen sharply in recent months, and the TriFold’s custom OLED panels are significantly more expensive than those used in conventional foldables. Korean tech analysts had expected the handset to be priced above 4 million won. Samsung instead set the price far below that level at 3,590,400 won.

The unusually precise pricing down to the last 400 won in the Korean market has even been interpreted by some as an effort to keep the price as low as possible.

Samsung Electronics uses high-speed CT testing to verify internal alignment and bonding quality in Galaxy Z TriFold components, where a single defect can compromise the entire multi-fold assembly. (Samsung Electronics)
Samsung Electronics uses high-speed CT testing to verify internal alignment and bonding quality in Galaxy Z TriFold components, where a single defect can compromise the entire multi-fold assembly. (Samsung Electronics)

At the product unveiling, Lim Sung-taek, vice president and head of Samsung Electronics Korea, said the price was “a figure we arrived at only after cutting and cutting again,” according to attendees. Multiple industry sources say Samsung is likely accepting extremely thin margins, or even losses, on each unit.

The strategy stands in contrast to Huawei’s approach. Huawei’s first-generation Mate XT, launched in China in late 2024, started at 19,999 yuan ($2,845) and even reached $3,660 in overseas markets. IDC estimates Huawei sold around 470,000 units of the Mate XT by the end of the second quarter of 2025.

Samsung’s Galaxy Z TriFold seems to prioritize durability over volume production. Its dual inward-folding design fully conceals the main 10-inch display when closed, unlike Huawei’s outward-folding Z-style mechanism that leaves part of the screen exposed. While the Samsung device is slightly thicker and heavier, reviewers and analysts have generally regarded it as more reliable.

The timing matters. IDC forecasts foldable shipments to grow by nearly 30 percent year-on-year in 2026, largely driven by Apple’s long-anticipated entry with a reported $2,400 foldable.

“Samsung will kick start 2026 with the Galaxy Z Trifold, introducing tri-fold innovation to mainstream global consumers, But the real game-changer for the category comes at year-end when Apple enters the foldable space,” Nabila Popal, senior research director at IDC, said in a Dec. 9, 2025 market forecast.


mjh@heraldcorp.com