Samsung’s first three-piece foldable phone, the Galaxy Z TriFold, which caused a sensation in the technology world, failed to demonstrate the expected durability in robustness tests. In extreme tests conducted by the popular technology channel JerryRigEverything, the device lagged behind the company’s seventh-generation dual-piece model, the Galaxy Z Fold 7.
Galaxy Z TriFold Fails to Satisfy Bending Test
In the reviews, the phone’s structural integrity suffered significant damage under stressful conditions such as heat, pressure, and bending. In particular, the foldable OLED screen and outer panel suffered permanent damage when exposed to lighter heat, with pixels burning out. The easily scratched plastic panel on the back and the metal frame’s inability to withstand sharp objects revealed the phone’s physical weaknesses.
Shiftdelete.netThe hinge system, the most critical part of the device, failed the dust and sand test. After heavy sand was poured onto the hinges, friction and creaking noises began to emanate from the mechanism during folding.
In the final stage of the durability test, the bending test, the Galaxy Z TriFold shattered under reverse pressure. The phone’s screen pixels tore and completely darkened, while a significant crack occurred along the antenna line on the body. The device’s frame, called Armour Aluminum, was found to be significantly less durable than the Galaxy Z Fold 7 due to its extremely thin design.
Samsung states that the Galaxy Z TriFold is designed for everyday use and is durable up to 200,000 folds. However, independent tests have shown that the hinges started making noise after the 61,000th fold and lost their mechanical resistance around the 144,000th fold.
These results, while far exceeding the conditions a normal user would encounter, demonstrate the engineering risks inherent in the triple-fold mechanism. The fact that the Galaxy Z Fold 7 passed the same tests without structural failure shows that the new generation tri-fold design still has a long way to go in terms of durability.
