175: Galaxy Z Trifold vs. Apple’s Foldable iPhone

Welcome back to The MacRumors Show. How’s it going?

Good. We’re at the end of the year and Apple’s quiet, but there’s plenty to talk about.

Don’t bail when you hear Samsung. They’ve shown a phone that folds twice into a 10‑inch tablet, and I’m told it should reach the U.S. in early 2026.

This is the first mainstream tri‑fold from a major brand. It launches in South Korea first with no U.S. date until next year.

Unfolded, it’s about iPad Air size and can run three portrait apps side by side, or flip into an e‑reader style. It’s more like three phone screens than the square feel of a book‑style foldable.

The idea of a pocketable phone that becomes an iPad‑ish tablet is wild. Who’s asking for that extra fold, and does this push Samsung further ahead while we wait for Apple’s foldable?

I’m skeptical. That extra step adds friction and bulk, and two hinges mean more to go wrong. It’s impressively thin at around 3.9 millimeters in places, but durability is a real question versus a regular tablet.

Closed, it’ll feel thick. I’d still use it like a normal phone most of the time and open it for the big tasks maybe twenty percent of the day. That’s how I’d want any foldable to work—slab first, tablet second. You?

Same. The outer experience matters most. Early Samsung folds struggled there, though they’ve improved. A zig‑zag stack of layers may still feel odd in hand with pockets of air between panels.

Specs quick hit: a 6.5‑inch cover screen that opens to a 10‑inch display, plus a warning if you try to fold it the wrong way.

That makes sense with asymmetrical hinges. One side has to account for the thickness of the other panel.

Hinges are way better than first‑gen, but two hinges still worry me long term. It’s about 3.9 millimeters at its thinnest, roughly 4.2 elsewhere, and has a 5,600 milliamp hour battery. Could they have gone bigger?

Probably not without making it thicker. There’s a lot inside: five cameras total with two front‑facing and three on the back, which eats space.

Meanwhile Apple’s foldable is rumored to skimp on cameras. Samsung’s tossing in five here, and Apple might barely give us two. Does that drive you nuts?

It does. Apple’s camera strategy has favored wide and ultra‑wide for years, but most people I know barely touch the ultra‑wide. A telephoto is more useful for many everyday shots, and rumors say the fold won’t get it.

Same. The telephoto gets far more use for me. I’ll shoot ultra‑wide at higher resolution and crop sometimes, but it still doesn’t look like a true telephoto.

That’s the issue. Apple may think one great wide camera is enough if the rest feels premium. That’s the iPhone Air playbook, and it didn’t land with everyone. A foldable that’s pricier than a Pro but offers fewer cameras is a tough sell.

I’ll still buy it if the software makes the bigger screen compelling. It won’t outsell a standard iPhone, but it should do better than the Air simply by being unique.

Price is the gut punch. The latest estimate is about two thousand four hundred dollars to start, creeping toward Vision Pro territory after storage bumps. At that level, it needs annual updates.

Are we sure it’ll be yearly?

iPhone cycles matter for chips and resale, especially at the high end. I’d be shocked if Apple left it on a slower cadence.

Samsung’s flagship fold is one thousand nine hundred ninety‑nine dollars today. Is an Apple premium of around four hundred dollars justified if features are missing?

A small premium, maybe. But if Samsung gives you three rear cameras and Apple charges more without a telephoto, that’s a deal‑breaker for me, ecosystem or not.

Even the first Galaxy Fold had three cameras on the back. Why can’t Apple cram them in?

Likely battery trade‑offs. Rumors point to roughly five thousand four hundred to five thousand eight hundred milliamp hours on Apple’s foldable. Apple may be prioritizing endurance over a full camera set.

Naming? I don’t see Apple using “Fold.” iPhone Ultra feels more Apple.

I agree. They’ll pitch it as the most premium iPhone, not define it by the hinge.

Software has to carry this. Do we get proper iPad‑style multitasking, split view, slide over, maybe a desktop mode when plugged into a monitor?

iPad Mini‑level multitasking can feel cramped, so I hope for a tailored system. It should run iPad apps when unfolded, and I could see Apple nudging developers at WWDC to package iPhone and iPad builds together.

A DeX‑like mode would be huge. If an iPhone‑tablet hybrid could power a monitor with a keyboard and trackpad, that’s a real reason to pay up.

Stage Manager on an unfolded iPhone with external display support seems plausible at this price. There have even been whispers about iPhone and Stage Manager before.

What about half‑fold tricks and the crease? Some claim Apple’s solved it with a “virtually no crease” design. Do you buy that?

A barely‑there crease would be impressive, but total elimination is unlikely in version one. Apple will spotlight hinge engineering and a subtler crease. Maybe a couple half‑fold features, but not a gimmick parade.

I still want one killer software reason beyond “it gets bigger.” Also, Samsung Display supplies Apple—how do they keep hinge secrets safe?

The hinge is the secret sauce, and that’s Apple’s. Samsung Display and Samsung Electronics are separate entities, and this work is tightly controlled.

The tri‑fold is fascinating. I can’t wait to try it and see if the extra fold really improves the experience. Is this too gimmicky for you, or are you in? We don’t have a price yet, but it’ll be high. With any luck, Apple’s fold arrives within the next year. Let us know what you think, and we’ll catch you next week.