Can Samsung come on top of Huawei with the Galaxy G Fold tri-fold?

Phone Arena

2 days ago

Huawei, baby.
– You, outraged at my shenanigans.
True that: I really do find the Oppo Find N5 – the virtual successor to the OG masterpiece OnePlus Open (OnePlus and Oppo are joined at the hip, their devices share components more often than not) – to be an amazing piece of technology. People are astonished by its 4.2mm thin (when unfolded) chassis, but I don't care that much about super thin phones.
The Oppo Find N5. | Image by PhoneArena
Instead, I'm fascinated by the Find N5's extreme toughness and fierce elegance, its potent chipset (inside, there's the top-shelf Snapdragon 8 Elite silicon), its 5,600 mAh battery (hey, that's more than what my non-folding flagship's cell offers) and its overall performance: reliable, premium, incredibly cool. But, at the end of the day, I don't need it. Did you see that? Did you see what I just did? I praised a phone, I explained how thrilled I'm with its specs, I almost said how it's second to none in my heart. And yet, I said: no, thank you, I will not buy you. I'm a stable person who makes the correct financial decision.
The ability to refrain yourself from buying things just because you happen to like them very much is great, and I do recommend meditating on it. As I said, because they have what nobody else has: the Huawei Pura X. That's a foldable, but unlike anything else you've seen:
Image by PhoneArena See?That's a flip-style phone that opens sideways to a 16:10 aspect ratio, 6.3-inch display. So clever. So practical.Before you accuse me of not getting the Huawei Pura X right – and you'll be right, up to a point – let me assure you: I'm aware of the Pura X's shortcomings. That's not a standard phone, software-focused speaking. It comes on Huawei's own Harmony Next OS, so it doesn't support Android and iOS apps that people outside of China generally use. The phone itself will probably never be released outside its home country.
Why, then, do I see it as a better option for me and my needs compared to the Oppo Find N5, the Galaxy Z Fold 6, or Motorola's cool Razr models? It's because of that 16:10 aspect ratio and the clamshell form factor. Being a flip phone, the Pura X offers me far better pocketability, while providing a large – both tall and wide – inner display.I like large displays: say, you've just come back from an exotic trip and you want to show some pictures and videos to your friends. A regular non-folding phone – even if it's a 6.8-inch beast – just doesn't cut it. Being a slab, candy bar-like device, the non-folding phone comes with a far narrower display and those wonderful photos you've captured just can't be seen that well on such a small display.Taking a laptop or a tablet is out of the question, as I hate backpacks, bags, purses – I have pockets, thank you very much. Enter the Huawei Pura X.I don't intend on using it as anything more than a cool, large, foldable extra display to watch (and edit – why not?) photos and videos. An extra phone that doesn't take extra space in my pockets.
– You, outraged at me once again.
Hey, that's your money, remember? Joking aside, book style foldables are a great option as well, but they do take much more space (when folded) than a clamshell one. That's precisely why I won't be getting a book style foldable any time soon. Plus, they're twice (or more) as expensive, so… yeah.So far, no foldable can come close to the camera power of dedicated camera-centric flagships like the Xiaomi 15 Ultra or the Oppo Find X8 Ultra. And since I value cameras above all in a smartphone, that kind of explains why I'm not getting the Pura X or the Oppo Find N5 (expensive or not) for a daily driver.But, as great as the Pura X is, I can't deny that Samsung could very well make Huawei sweat in some months time precisely on the foldable front.At a point in the future, many of us will rock tri-foldables like this one:
Image by PhoneArena So far, this is the only commercially available tri-fold on the market, the Huawei Mate XT. It's a fascinating device that has its share of shortcomings, but its debut is now written in history.
Apple and Samsung are also reportedly developing tri-folds of their own. Recently, I argued that while Samsung's tri-fold seems flawed, at least it's innovation (even if it's a Huawei comeback). Now, it seems that Samsung is on the right track and could very well produce a tri-fold of its own that could enchant many. The latest report hints at such a possibility: Samsung Galaxy tri-foldable's RAM and processor leak Samsung's upcoming Galaxy G Fold is shaping up to be one of the company's most ambitious and impressive smartphones to date. As a tri-foldable device, it could represent a major leap forward in design and engineering – yeah, it should come months after Huawei's revolutionary Mate XT, but it's still something.What should set the Galaxy G Fold apart is its powerful hardware. Unlike the Galaxy S25 series, which continues to ship with 12 GB of RAM, the G Fold is expected to come with 16 GB of RAM as standard. It's said to run exclusively on Qualcomm's Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset, and this piece of silicon is a beast on its own. Much better than the Kirin chipset in the Mate XT.
While the G Fold's innovative design and premium specs (judging from rumors right now) mark it as a standout device, it's not without trade-offs. Battery capacity and charging speeds could remain a weak point, echoing the same limitations seen in Samsung's other foldables. The phone may feature a 4,400 mAh battery – relatively small given its size – and will likely charge slowly compared to other flagship phones.
Image by PhoneArena I really hope this 4,400 mAh rumor doesn't hold true, because it would be a shame, so to say. Come on, Samsung, 5,000 mAh is not that hard of a task! The original Mate XT packs a 5,600 mAh cell, albeit with an inferior Kirin chipset that's not as power-efficient as the Snapdragon 8 Elite.
But, in the end, the reality is that the majority of people (outside of China) will probably go with the Samsung tri-fold – even if it has a 4,400 mAh. The well-known Galaxy and One UI ecosystem, the unlimited access to the whole plethora of Google services (yeah, the Mate XT doesn't fully support those), and the peace of mind that you're getting a Samsung (some people are actually afraid of getting "exotic" brands"): these are major selling points. The upcoming One UI 8 is designed precisely with foldables in mind – system animations and screen elements should look amazing on all Galaxy foldables.That almost sees like a clear win for the upcoming Galaxy G Fold (minus the battery). Unless the upcoming Huawei Mate XT 2 turns out to be a beast out of this world.
The plot thickens, ladies and gentlemen.