Samsung to unveil first tri-fold Galaxy at APEC with limited rollout

Samsung is poised to unveil its first trifold smartphone at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Gyeongju, South Korea, later this week, but the device will be offered only in a handful of markets and in very limited numbers. Leaks and regional reports point to a launch timed to the APEC 2025 summit on October 31, with initial availability confined to South Korea, Greater China, Singapore, Taiwan and possibly the United Arab Emirates, leaving the United States and much of Europe out of the first rollout.

The handset, variously referred to in leaks as the Galaxy Z TriFold or Galaxy G Fold, is expected to fold twice to deliver a tablet-sized screen. Rendered images and firmware assets circulating online show a three-panel inward-folding design that opens to about a 10 inch main display, with an intermediate eight inch mode and a roughly 6.5 inch cover screen when closed. The folding mechanism appears to follow a G-fold configuration in which one panel folds over the middle and both then fold over the rightmost panel, a layout intended to protect the inner display when closed.

Specifications reported by multiple sources place the device at the flagship end of Samsung’s...