Putting Samsung’s $2,899 TriFold To the Test as a Phone, Tablet and Laptop
The company’s experimental new phone can fill in for larger-screen devices, but isn't close to replacing them.
Using Samsung Electronics Co.'s Galaxy Z TriFold is supposed to feel like living in the future, one where you can get by with just one handheld device for most of your computing needs. But after spending a month with the $2,899 device, which recently went on sale in the US, it’s more like an over-engineered experiment on the road to getting there.
Samsung is not the first to dabble in this new hardware form — also called trifolds, with a lowercase — but it’s the only company to debut one in the US. By folding in two places, these cutting-edge devices can transform from a smartphone into a full-size tablet. In the TriFold’s case, you can alternate between a 6.5-inch outer screen and a widescreen 10-inch display that offers better multitasking and productivity features than any conventional phone is capable of.