Samsung says the world is not ready for the tri-fold smartphone yet (but they can absolutely make one)

Samsung’s confidence is running high after the well-received launch of the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip, which has quickly made the Motorola Razr an old memory again.

The natural question was to ask what comes next, and for some, it is the tri-fold smartphone, for which Samsung has several patents.

“Technologically, we are capable of designing phones that fold even more times, but what’s more important than the folding technology itself is the kind of value to be offered for consumers,” Roh Tae-moon, president and head of Samsung’s mobile division, told the Korea Herald.

Roh did not feel the market was however ready for such a device.

“It’s also important to have an ecosystem for sufficient content and services before releasing more foldable variants,” he said. “We can release new foldable phones at an opportune time when there are enough services available on those phones and provide needed values for consumers.”

In many ways a dual-hinge, Z-shaped smartphone is the perfect form factor, delivering an exceptionally large screen which nevertheless allows the device to fold into a standard smartphone shape, with a large front-facing screen (unlike the Samsung Galaxy Fold for example, which only has a tiny screen on the outside) while still having a protective casing at the back, leaving the fragile screen no more exposed to damage than current handsets.

Keep an eye on this space however as Samsung does envision future folding devices with even bigger screens coming in the future.

“I envision a future of foldable devices in which people will easily carry around large-size screens in accordance with their needs and the screens are folded (no matter how many times) in any sizes that they want,” Roh said.

Via SamMobile