Huawei upstaged every other brand this year with the Mate XT. The tri-folding design gives the product a unique edge against regular foldables, and having used the phone for a considerable amount of time, it's astonishing how normal it is in regular use.
I thought it would be more of a tech demo than an actual product, but that isn't the case at all — the Mate XT is usable as a daily driver, and I've done just that. The fact that the phone unfolds to a tablet-sized panel is just wild, and the novelty doesn't really wear thin.
With Huawei leading the fray, it isn't astonishing that other brands are looking to get in on the action. Samsung is touted to launch its own take on a tri-folding device dubbed the Galaxy Z TriFold, and with leaks pointing to an imminent release, here's what I want to see in the phone.
A design that isn't cumbersome
Samsung did a good job overhauling the design of its foldables with the Galaxy Z Fold 7, and I want the tri-folding device to share the same aesthetic. The Z Fold 7 is a delight to hold and use thanks to its sleek design, and it makes a genuine difference over the likes of the Z Fold 6 and its predecessors. It's just as thin and light as the Honor Magic V5 and Vivo X Fold 5, and it wasn't until I used the Fold 7 next to the Pixel 10 Pro Fold that I realized how much of a tangible difference there is this year.
Huawei is no stranger to making sleek devices, and the Mate XT shares this trait; the tri-folding device is just 4.8mm when unfolded, and the thinness is a key factor in the device's futuristic look. Samsung needs to do the same with its tri-folding device. The Z Fold 7 being down to 215g and 4.2mm is a great starting point, and I want Samsung to use its foldable as the starting point and build on that design.
Cameras that can take on the Mate XT
Samsung gave the Z Fold 7 a much-needed 200MP camera upgrade this year, allowing the foldable to take much better photos and videos. The Galaxy Z TriFold needs to have the same cameras if it needs to measure up to not just Samsung, but other foldables.
While I wasn't sure about what Huawei had to offer on the Mate XT, the cameras on the tri-folding device proved to be among the best in this category. The Mate XT continues to take standout photos and videos, and I never got the feeling that I'm being limited by the cameras on the device.
Although foldables are all about the added real estate, the fact that the Galaxy Z TriFold might cost over $3,000 means it needs to have stellar cameras — no two ways about it. Samsung has shown that it can deliver in this area this year, and we'll just need to wait and see if it manages to do the same with its tri-folding device.
A battery that lasts all day
There's a lot I like about the Galaxy Z Fold 7, but a constant source of frustration is the battery life. The foldable has a smaller 4,400mAh battery, and while it manages to last a day with medium use, I find myself plugging it in before the end of the day on most days.
Most other foldables get at least a 5,000mAh battery, with Samsung being the outlier in how conservative it is in this area — even Google decided to slot in a bigger 5,015mAh battery on the Pixel 10 Pro Fold this year. All of this is to say that the Galaxy Z TriFold needs to have a bigger battery to hold its own against the Mate XT.
However, that may not be the case; leaks indicate that the tri-folding device may share the same 4,400mAh battery as the Galaxy Z Fold 7, and if that turns out to be the case, it will be a letdown.
A foldable I actually want to use
Another annoyance on the Z Fold 7 is just how much it wobbles when using it on a table. Because of the thinner design and the switch to bigger camera sensors, the rear cameras jut out a bit more than previous years, and with Samsung not changing the positioning of the modules, the foldable wobbles quite a lot.
Huawei and other Chinese brands mitigate this issue by using a center-mounted camera island, and Samsung needs to consider doing the same. It isn't likely that the design of the Z TriFold will diverge that much from the Z Fold 7, but even if that isn't the case, I want a phone that I can use on my desk without it constantly moving around.
Meaningful software
Samsung is doing a great job with foldable software in general, and I want to see how it utilizes the tablet-sized panel available on a tri-folding device. I'm ambivalent towards Galaxy AI, but I'll admit that Samsung is doing the right thing in highlighting what its AI suite can do front and center — unlike the Easter egg hunt that Google makes you do on the Pixel 10 Pro XL.
I'm keen on seeing if any additional multi-tasking features make their way to the Z TriFold. Outside of that, I just want software that's easy to use, and has decent customizability.
A key reason why Samsung continues to dominate the foldable category is available — its phones are sold in more countries than any of its rivals. It has an insurmountable lead in North America, and with the Galaxy Z TriFold, the latest leaks indicate Samsung is readying a launch in select global regions, including the U.S.
