Samsung seems to be focusing on foldables in 2026 here are 3 possible
reasons why

Date:
Wed, 17 Dec 2025 12:20:11 +0000

Description:
With the Galaxy Z Trifold on the way and rumors of a small upgrade for the Galaxy S26 series, it seems that Samsung is betting big on its folding phones for next year.

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Samsung has had a pretty big year when it comes to smartphones. The Korean tech giant continues to dominate the Android market in Western countries by releasing new phones for every kind of buyer, from the budget A series all
the way up to the super-premium Galaxy S25 Ultra.

Indeed, Samsungs 2025 slab phone releases were consistently very good the Galaxy S25 and Galaxy S25 Plus both earned four stars in our reviews, while the Galaxy S25 Ultra netted an extra half-star for its supremely powerful hardware.

But to be honest, it felt like a less meaningful year overall for Samsungs mainline handsets. Beyond some design tweaks and a more powerful chipset, there wasnt too much new to talk about compared to the Galaxy S24 series before it even the state-of-the-art Galaxy S25 Edge fell out of the
headlines pretty quickly in the shadow of the slimmer, more stylish iPhone
Air .

Indeed, when I think of Samsung in 2025, none of the above phones spring to mind instead, I think of the Galaxy Z Fold 7. The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 is perhaps the biggest phone upgrade Samsung issued in 2025 which bodes well
for 2026's model. (Image credit: Lance Ulanoff / Future)

Samsung went full pelt with its folding phones in 2025. Taking cues from various forward-thinking Chinese phone makers, it bumped the Galaxy Z Fold 7 up from a 7.6-inch to an 8-inch folding display, gave it a more usable 21:9 cover screen, increased the main camera sensor to 200MP, and shaved more than a millimetre off the phones unfolded thickness.

The everpopular Z Flip lineup got some love too, with not one but two new models the flagship Galaxy Z Flip 7 , with a new edge-to-edge cover display, and the Galaxy Z Flip 7 FE , the first FE-labelled Samsung foldable and therefore the first dedicated to achieving a lower price point. Samsung foldables tend to see pretty substantial upgrades year on year, but this generation leapt ahead like none other before it.

And this momentum is set to continue with the upcoming US release of the Samsung Galaxy Z Trifold, the first of the multi-fold devices Samsung teased all the way back at the start of 2025. Ive been following the Galaxy Z
Trifold closely for the last few weeks, and it seems like it could be a real revolution for mobile productivity , entertainment , and design .

Meanwhile, the latest Samsung Galaxy S26 rumors suggest another year of light iterative upgrades for performance, and stagnation in other areas; for example, the base-model Samsung Galaxy S25 and Samsung Galaxy S25 Plus could launch with the same camera system as last year, which would mark four years since the iconic triple-lens setup got an upgrade. Yikes.

In short, it looks like Samsung will continue to put its chips on folding phones in 2026. But why would one of the worlds biggest tech companies put so much stock into its most niche product? The Apple effect The Samsung Galaxy Z Trifold shows continued belief in the folding form factor. (Image credit: Samsung)

The first possible reason is a tried and true Samsung strategy getting the drop on Cupertino. As I discussed in a recent op-ed, Apple is now definitely late to the party when it comes to folding phones , and by releasing the Galaxy Z Trifold alongside another pair of excellent Z Fold and Z Flip phones in 2026, Samsung could be looking to actively put pressure on its long-time rival.

Since folding phones occupy such a small fraction of smartphone sales, this
is more about image than anything else. If Apple releases the long-rumored foldable iPhone in 2026, a backdrop of increasingly robust Samsung foldables and nascent tri-fold tech would, presumably, make it much harder for the American company to make an impact.

However, theres no guarantee of this strategy working. As mentioned, the Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge failed to garner meaningful comparison to the iPhone Air, and Apple diehards are never going to consider a folding phone without
an Apple logo on it. Fewer distractions The standard Samsung Galaxy S25 has the same camera system as the Galaxy S22, released three years earlier (Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)

My next theory is that keeping things steady with the mainline Galaxy S26 lineup and pushing ahead with folding phones could be a response to overall market conditions.

Phone makers and their customers are still feeling the impact of Trumps tariffs, and more recently, the runaway growth of AI has spiked the price of RAM. Throw in rising living costs, and you dont exactly get the ideal environment for expensive phone upgrades.

That might explain a lack of big upgrades in the mainline Galaxy S26 series, as Samsung might seek to keep prices stable amidst rising component costs.
And though it seems counterintuitive, it might also explain a big push on foldable phones.

The Samsung Galaxy Z Trifold is an exciting and conceptually brilliant device
but its also a first-generation effort in a complex new form factor. Id be amazed if a year goes by without reports of some kind of hardware or software issues with the new phone. But early adopters know this is a risk, and will buy the phone anyway so why not get the first generation out of the way in a year when the mainline Galaxy S lineup is less likely to distract would-be buyers?

If I'm a hardcore Samsung fan who buys the very best Samsung phone every
year, I want to be sure that the Galaxy Z Trifold is indeed the very best Samsung phone of 2026. And if the Galaxy S26 Ultra isn't going to be all that special, then Samsung's shiny new multi-fold device despite its inevitable first-gen problems suddenly looks more tempting than it would in a year
where the Ultra makes bigger strides. The quest for innovation The Samsung Galaxy Z Trifold could revolutionize the mobile experience, even if the first generation doesn't sell too well. (Image credit: Samsung)

The third possible reason I can imagine is that Samsung just genuinely believes in folding phones as either an alternative to or the future of traditional slab smartphones, and sees the Galaxy Z Trifold as a part of that vision.

Numbers dont lie: Samsung is the market leader for folding phone shipments worldwide, but the other side of the coin is that folding phone shipments
only account for a small fraction of total phone shipments.

There certainly has to be some serious belief in the form factor to push on for seven generations and debut a new tri-fold form factor, and its unlikely that Samsung expects to sell huge volumes of the Z Fold, Z Flip, and Z
Trifold in 2026, meaning all this R&D progress could be at least partially
for its own sake.

Anyhow, much of the above is based on rumors for now well have a clearer
view of Samsungs strategy when it reveals the Samsung Galaxy S26 lineup, presumably in early 2026. Until then, keep an eye on our Samsung coverage,
and look out for any updates to our list of the best Samsung phones .

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Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/phones/samsung-galaxy-phones/samsung-seems-to-be-foc using-on-foldables-in-2026-here-are-3-possible-reasons-why


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