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Samsung Electronics’s Galaxy Z TriFold media day at Samsung Gangnam in Seoul, South Korea, on Dec. 2, 2025.

Anadolu | Anadolu | Getty Images

Samsung Electronics on Monday announced the launch of its first multi-folding smartphone as it races to keep pace with innovations from fast-moving rivals. 

The long-anticipated “Galaxy Z TriFold” will go on sale in South Korea on Dec. 12, with launches to follow in other markets including China, Taiwan, Singapore, and the United Arab Emirates, the company said in a press release. 

The phone will be available in the U.S. during the first quarter of 2026, with more details to be shared later, the South Korean tech giant added. The Galaxy Z Trifold will ship as a single model in black with 16GB of memory and 512GB of storage, priced at 3,594,000 South Korean won ($2,449).

With Apple’s expected entry into the foldable segment, Samsung is positioning this device as a multi-fold pilot to reinforce its technology leadership.”

Liz Lee

Associate Director at Counterpoint Research

The device uses two inward-folding hinges to open into a 10-inch display — a tad smaller than the 11th-generation iPad’s 11-inch display — with a 2160 x 1584 resolution.

When its screen panels are folded, the device is measures 12.9 millimeters (0.5 inches) thick — slightly more than the Galaxy Z Fold6 at 12.1 mm and the latest Galaxy Z Fold7 at 8.9 mm.

“Samsung’s first tri-fold model will ship in very limited volume, but scale is not the objective,” Liz Lee, associate director at Counterpoint Research, said in a statement shared with CNBC.

“With competitive dynamics set to shift materially in 2026, especially with Apple’s expected entry into the foldable segment, Samsung is positioning this device as a multi-fold pilot to reinforce its technology leadership.”

A Samsung Electronics Co. Galaxy Z TriFold smartphone on display during a media preview in Seoul, South Korea, on Tuesday, Dec. 2, 2025.

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Lee added that Samsung’s latest product is meant to test durability, hinge design and software performance while gathering real-world user insights before wider commercialization.

The phone’s three foldable panels can also run three apps vertically side by side, and offer a desktop-like mode without a separate display. 

The TriFold features Samsung’s largest battery capacity among its foldable models and supports super-fast charging that reaches 50% in 30 minutes.

TM Roh, who was recently appointed Samsung Electronics co-CEO and head of the Device eXperience division, said the Galaxy Z TriFold reflects years of work on foldable designs and aims to balance portability, performance and productivity in one device.

Samsung was an early innovator of folding smartphones, unveiling its first foldable device in 2019. While the market has remained relatively small, new competitors have continued to enter, including Chinese brands that have proven competitive in both price and dimension.

Visitors try out the Galaxy Z Trifold during Samsung Electronics’ Galaxy Z TriFold media day at Samsung Gangnam in Seoul, South Korea, on Dec. 2, 2025.

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In September, telecommunications giant Huawei announced its second-generation trifold phone for the Chinese market, measuring 12.8 mm thick when folded.

This year has also seen Chinese brands like Honor launch foldable smartphones in international markets. Honor was spun off from Huawei in 2020 in a bid to avoid U.S. sanctions and tap international markets.

Like Samsung’s other recent foldables, the TriFold is rated IP48, meaning it is water-resistant up to 1.5 meters for up to 30 minutes but offers limited dust protection.

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Nvidia CEO to Cramer: Synopsys deal is ‘culmination of everything I showed you’ over the years

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Nvidia CEO to Cramer: Synopsys deal is 'culmination of everything I showed you' over the years

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Why Jim Cramer thinks the AI trade is breaking up

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Why Jim Cramer thinks the AI trade is breaking up

After years of largely trading together, stocks related to artificial intelligence and the data center are starting to move in different directions, CNBC’s Jim Cramer said.

“The Google complex cohort roared while the OpenAI complex got hammered. Meanwhile, the hyperscalers with great balance sheets held up much better than the ones with strained balance sheets,” he said. “Just keep in mind that things change very fast in the AI space, so what was true last month might not necessarily stay true this month or next year.”

He pinpointed a difference in the performance of AI companies linked to OpenAI — like Nvidia, Oracle, Microsoft and AMD — and those affiliated with Alphabet — such as Broadcom and Celestica. He said latter cohort has seen a boost as some investors start to favor the newest iteration Gemini over ChatGPT. Wall Street Street at large is also growing concerned about OpenAI’s massive spending commitments, Cramer continued.

Hyperscalers with strong balance sheets are starting to pull ahead, he continued, noting that companies like Alphabet, Meta and Amazon have the capacity to keep spending big on AI. However, Cramer added, Oracle, CoreWeave and Nebius have more strained balance sheets.

But he warned that the AI space is volatile and said it’s possible another platform will surpass Gemini. Cramer also said he doesn’t want to “paint with too broad of a brush here.” For example, he noted that Nvidia got hit over worries about newfound competition and its ties to OpenAI. However, the AI giant also just reported a blowout quarter with strong guidance and demand for its products still exceeded supply, he continued.

The diversification of the AI trade is a good thing, Cramer suggested, saying it’s positive that investors are starting to think more critically about which of these companies “deserves to be winners.”

“In general, I think it’s actually pretty healthy. I’m never going to root against higher stock prices,” he said. “But there was always something unsettling about the entire AI cohort rallying in lockstep.”

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Apple names former Microsoft, Google exec to succeed retiring AI chief

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Apple names former Microsoft, Google exec to succeed retiring AI chief

John Giannandrea.

David Paul Morris | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Apple’s AI chief is stepping down, the company announced Monday in the most visible shake up yet to the iPhone maker’s artificial intelligence group since launching its Apple Intelligence suite in 2024.

John Giannandrea, who held the position since joining the company in 2018, will be replaced by Amar Subramanya, an AI researcher who most recently worked for Microsoft and was previously part of Google’s DeepMind AI unit, according to his LinkedIn profile.

Giannandrea was a senior vice president and reported to Apple CEO Tim Cook. He will continue to serve as an advisor until retiring next spring, Apple said.

The change comes as experts this year have said Apple has fallen behind its tech peers in artificial intelligence, a tech field that has been reinvigorated since OpenAI launched ChatGPT in 2022.

Apple Intelligence, which was intended to put Apple alongside AI leaders like OpenAI and Google, has not been well-reviewed by users and critics. Earlier this year, one of its most critical aspects, a significantly improved Siri assistant, was delayed until 2026, signaling development challenges.

Subramanya will serve as Apple’s vice president of AI, and will report to software chief Craig Federighi, the company said.

In a statement, Cook said Federighi has already been playing a key role in Apple’s AI efforts.

“In addition to growing his leadership team and AI responsibilities with Amar’s joining, Craig has been instrumental in driving our AI efforts, including overseeing our work to bring a more personalized Siri to users next year,” Cook said in a statement.

Subramanya will lead teams working on Apple’s foundation models, research and AI safety. Other teams previously under Giannandrea will move under COO Sabih Khan and services chief Eddy Cue, Apple said.

Although Apple shares are up 16% in 2025, they have lagged many other big tech companies as investors say the iPhone maker has fallen behind its peers that are investing billions into AI data centers, chips and frontier models.

Apple said in August that it was “significantly increasing” the amount it spends on AI, and Cook has said it’s a “profound” technology. Apple has struck a deal with leader OpenAI to integrate ChatGPT into some of its products, like Siri.

But Apple is playing a different game than companies like Microsoft, Google, and Meta. It’s spending much less on infrastructure for the technology. Apple also prefers its AI to run on its devices, instead of communicating back to more powerful computers in the cloud.

Apple this year also saw Jony Ive, its legendary hardware designer who helped late co-founder Steve Jobs invent the iPhone, sell his startup io for $6.4 billion to OpenAI, with the intention of helping the AI lab release its own hardware.

Analysts say that Apple has built a loyalty moat among its customers since the iPhone launched in 2007, but AI-driven hardware is on its way, with Ive and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman last month saying that they’ve already completed their first prototypes and could reveal them in two years or less.

WATCH: Apple will gain more AI functionality over time, says D.A. Davidson’s Gil Luria

Apple will gain more AI functionality over time, says D.A. Davidson’s Gil Luria

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