Listed for only three months, Samsung's TriFold tri-fold phone priced at $2,899 will be discontinued

Samsung’s most expensive foldable phone under the Galaxy brand is quietly being phased out.

According to Bloomberg on Tuesday, Samsung will stop selling the Galaxy Z TriFold smartphone about three months after its launch. A company spokesperson stated that Samsung will first cease sales in South Korea, then clear remaining inventory in the U.S. before ending its presence in that market.

This move was foreshadowed earlier—at the beginning of this month, Samsung’s official website stopped listing restock notifications for the product, showing only “Sold Out.”

Priced at $2,899, this tri-fold phone features two hinges and can transform into a 10-inch tablet when unfolded. Samsung positioned it as a showcase of engineering prowess. However, its high price limited its audience to a small group of high-net-worth early adopters, preventing it from entering the mainstream consumer market. For investors, the product’s discontinuation confirms external doubts about the sustainability of Samsung’s high-end foldable screen strategy.

Early Signs of Discontinuation

The Galaxy Z TriFold was first launched in South Korea on December 12 last year, priced at 3.59 million won, and entered the U.S. market in January. Since its release, the product has shown clear signs of being a niche device—it was sold only through Samsung’s official channels and was never available through carriers or retail stores. This unconventional sales approach was seen as an early indicator of its limited lifespan.

This month, Samsung’s website stopped updating restock notifications and instead displayed “Sold Out,” marking the product’s de facto exit from the market. According to feedback on social media and Reddit, some buyers in Texas and Queens, New York, still managed to purchase units at Samsung experience stores recently, indicating some inventory remains.

Samsung’s initial goal with the TriFold was more about demonstrating its foldable screen engineering capabilities than making it a core product line. The company heavily promoted its multitasking potential on a wide screen, but the $2,899 price tag made it a niche choice, difficult to achieve mass sales.

Last month, Won-Joon Choi, Chief Operating Officer of Samsung Mobile Experience, said in an interview that due to complex manufacturing processes, the company has not yet decided whether to release a follow-up model of the TriFold. However, he also noted that some core advantages of the device—such as its wide aspect ratio suitable for media consumption—might be incorporated into Samsung’s more affordable foldable product lines in the future.

Samsung’s Foldable Strategy Shifts

Alongside the discontinuation of the TriFold, Samsung has begun launching the Galaxy S26 Ultra, which features a new privacy display and a suite of AI capabilities, representing its main focus in the high-end flagship market.

The brief lifecycle of the TriFold indicates that ultra-premium foldable devices still struggle to break out of their engineering showcase status. For Samsung, extending foldable screen innovations across a broader price range may be key to achieving scalable growth in its foldable business.

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