Samsung's first tri-fold camera phone could be just days away

Samsung Galaxy G Fold render
(Image credit: Android Authority)

It's been rumoured for several months that Samsung might be working on a tri-fold phone to rival the Huawei Mate XT Ultimate Design. Until now there hasn't been many details available, but a recent beta version of Samsung's One UI 8 operating system contains an animation of a triple-panel foldable phone. The graphic is used to demonstrate NFC chip function, and while it's a highly simplified illustration, it does show some revealing details about the phone's design.

It looks as though the phone would fold inward, with the rear, externally-facing surfaces consisting of a left panel containing the camera island, a central panel housing an external cover display, while the right panel would likely have no exterior function as it'd be enclosed by the other two panels when the phone is folded.

Samsung Galaxy G Fold render

(Image credit: Android Authority)

Currently dubbed the Galaxy G Fold, the graphic does somewhat resemble the tri-fold prototype Samsung exhibited at Mobile World Congress earlier in the year. In another animation, we can see a warning message displayed on the main screen when the panel containing the camera island is folded first. This is likely due to the two hinges being of different sizes in order to allow the phone to fold up neatly. This would mean the non-camera panel wouldn't have a large enough hinge to enable it to wrap around the camera panel, thereby leaving the screen vulnerable to breaking if the panels were folded in the wrong order.

Samsung Galaxy G Fold render

(Image credit: Android Authority)

Samsung's first tri-fold phone could be officially revealed in just a couple of days time, with the next Samsung Galaxy Unpacked event scheduled for July 9th.

Story credit: Android Authority

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Ben Andrews

Ben is the Imaging Labs manager, responsible for all the testing on Digital Camera World and across the entire photography portfolio at Future. Whether he's in the lab testing the sharpness of new lenses, the resolution of the latest image sensors, the zoom range of monster bridge cameras or even the latest camera phones, Ben is our go-to guy for technical insight. He's also the team's man-at-arms when it comes to camera bags, filters, memory cards, and all manner of camera accessories – his lab is a bit like the Batcave of photography! With years of experience trialling and testing kit, he's a human encyclopedia of benchmarks when it comes to recommending the best buys. 

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