Samsung’s Galaxy Z TriFold lasted barely three months on shelves before being discontinued, and a sequel wasn’t expected until 2027. The iPhone Duo’s arrival appears to have changed that timeline.
According to a report from 9to5Google, leaker Lanzuk says Samsung is considering an earlier release for a Galaxy Z TriFold 2, alongside a separate slideable form factor originally planned for the same year. No firm date has surfaced, and 2027 remains the more likely window even with the acceleration under consideration.
The Original TriFold Didn’t Last Long Enough to Compete With Anything
Samsung’s first triple-folding phone launched in the US in January at $2,899 and was pulled from sale just three months later, reportedly after selling at a loss on top of it. A phone that briefly disappears from the market isn’t in a strong position to hold off a new competitor, and the iPhone Duo gives Samsung its first real reason to rush a sequel out the door.
Samsung Downplayed the iPhone Duo, Then Started Rushing a Response
Samsung’s public tone toward the iPhone Duo has been dismissive from the start, with the company offering blunt unsolicited advice to Apple rather than treating it as serious competition. A leak showing Samsung quietly weighing an earlier TriFold sequel days later tells a different story than the public posture did.
The rumored TriFold 2 is said to aim for a design that’s thinner, lighter, and more durable than the original, while keeping pricing nearly identical at around $2,899. That’s an ambitious target given the same memory and component cost pressures pushing prices up across the industry, including a rumored price hike coming to Samsung’s own Galaxy S26 lineup.
Apple’s own pricing for the iPhone Duo starts at $1,999, well under what Samsung charged for the original TriFold, and Apple structured it as a single fold rather than three panels. The iPhone Duo’s IP68 rating already beats Samsung’s two-panel Galaxy Z Fold8 on durability, and Apple has leaned on years of software work built specifically to avoid the compromises Android foldables still carry.
iPhone Duo pre-orders open October 16, with availability starting October 23, well before any accelerated Galaxy Z TriFold 2 could realistically reach stores.
Our Take
Rushing a sequel out early after publicly downplaying the competition is a pretty clear tell about how seriously Samsung actually takes the iPhone Duo. The tricky part for Samsung is that speed and price rarely move in the same direction at once. Getting a thinner, lighter, more durable TriFold 2 out sooner while holding the price flat is the harder version of this plan, especially with component costs working against Samsung the same way they’re working against Apple.
