I did the math: You absolutely should not buy the $2,900 Galaxy Z TriFold

Samsung has finally announced US availability details for the Galaxy Z TriFold. Samsung’s first tri-folding smartphone will officially hit store shelves on January 30, and if you want to buy one for yourself, it’ll set you back $2,900.

No, that’s not a typo. The Galaxy Z TriFold costs $2,900 in the United States, making it the most expensive smartphone you can buy in the country.

The TriFold is a fascinating device, but spending that much on a single foldable is outrageous. In fact, for less than the price of the TriFold, you could buy an entire ecosystem of Samsung devices. I priced out a few different options, and each one shows just how overpriced the TriFold really is.

1. The Ultra Samsung ecosystem

My first ecosystem build starts with the Galaxy S25 Ultra. What it may not have a fancy folding design, it has just about everything else you could ask for in a flagship Samsung phone — including the same Snapdragon 8 Elite chip as the TriFold, the same 200MP primary camera, and much better secondary camera sensors. You also get a big 6.9-inch display that’s excellent for gaming or watching movies, and it’s housed in a chassis that weighs almost 100 grams less than the TriFold.

An Ultra phone deserves an Ultra smartwatch, so let’s pair the Galaxy S25 Ultra with the Galaxy Watch Ultra. You should also get a pair of high-end earbuds, so let’s add the Galaxy Buds 3 Pro to the mix. And for those times when you need a really big screen to work or waste time on, you’ll be using the Galaxy Book 5 360 laptop — a fully-fledged Windows PC with a 15.6-inch AMOLED touchscreen, 30+ hours of battery life, and an Intel Core Ultra 7 processor.

With current sales pricing at the time of publication, the pricing for everything works out as follows:

• Galaxy S25 Ultra (on sale for $1,050)
• Galaxy Watch Ultra (on sale for $530)
• Galaxy Buds 3 Pro (on sale for $200)
• Galaxy Book 5 360 (on sale for $940)

The grand total? $2,720.

To be clear, this gives you Samsung’s highest-end non-folding smartphone, a flagship smartwatch, top-of-the-line earbuds, and a killer Windows laptop for $180 less than the price of the Galaxy Z TriFold.

2. Five gadgets for the price of one

The main benefit of the Galaxy Z TriFold is the flexibility it offers — carrying a 10-inch tablet for work and play in your pocket, in the same general form factor as a “normal” smartphone. But I have another solution.

The TriFold is first and foremost a smartphone, so let’s start there. The Galaxy S25 doesn’t have as impressive cameras or as long battery life as the S25 Ultra, but it packs otherwise great specs into a comfortable, compact handset. If its 6.2-inch screen isn’t big enough for watching YouTube or playing CoD: Mobile, you’ll do that on the Galaxy Tab S10 Lite and its 10.9-inch display.

That’s great for content consumption, but what about being productive? When you need to reply to emails, work with spreadsheets, or anything else, you’ll do so on the Galaxy Book 4 Edge — a Snapdragon X Plus-powered Windows laptop with a 15.6-inch display and a full-size keyboard. When you really want to soak in a good movie or TV show, you’ll be able to do so on your 75-inch QLED TV. Oh, and you’ll get a Galaxy Watch 8 smartwatch for good measure.

The price for all of those gadgets? Here’s the breakdown:

• Galaxy S25 (on sale for $720)
• Galaxy Tab S10 Lite (on sale for $280)
• Galaxy Book 4 Edge (on sale for $640)
• 75 Inch Class QLED Q7F (on sale for $698)
• Galaxy Watch 8 ($350)

That brings us to $2,688. That’s $212 less than the TriFold for five gadgets instead of one — a smartphone, tablet, laptop, TV, and smartwatch. Those devices combined offer infinitely more functionality than the TriFold will ever be capable of, and to get all of them while also saving over $200 compared to buying the TriFold is almost unbelievable.

3. A Samsung foldable (and more) for a lot less

We’ve already made two solid ecosystem builds, but I can hear someone typing in the comments right now: “I still want a folding phone!” Okay! Let’s get you a folding phone.

As shiny and new as the Galaxy Z TriFold may be, the Galaxy Z Fold 7 is still an exceptional foldable. In fact, for most people, it’s likely a far better purchase than the TriFold. The Fold 7’s 8-inch inner display, while not as large as the TirFold’s 10-inch panel, is still outstanding. The Fold 7 is more durable, has nearly identical specs across the board, and is significantly more comfortable to hold and carry thanks to its dramatically thinner and lighter design.

The Fold 7 is a great Samsung gadget that pulls double-duty as your phone and tablet, but it can’t replicate the functionality of a smartwatch or earbuds. So let’s get some to go with it! We’re going to pick the Galaxy Watch 8 Classic (my personal favorite Samsung smartwatch) and the Galaxy Buds 3 Pro.

• Galaxy Z Fold 7 (on sale for $1,600)
• Galaxy Watch 8 Classic (on sale for $400)
• Galaxy Buds 3 Pro (on sale for $200)

While this doesn’t include as many devices as our first two options, it still gets you a high-end Samsung foldable, a flagship smartwatch, and earbuds. And for a final price of $2,200, you’re saving $700 compared to buying the TriFold alone. Not too shabby.

4. The futuristic route

If you’re considering buying the Galaxy Z TriFold, it’s probably because you’re a tech enthusiast who likes to be at the precipice of the tech world. The TriFold is one of the most technologically advanced foldables we’ve ever seen, but at the end of the day, it’s still just an Android phone — and many folks believe the future of consumer tech lies beyond smartphones.

If you want to experience that future today, I’d argue for skipping the TriFold and buying the Galaxy XR: Samsung’s latest augmented reality headset, and one of the first devices powered by Android XR. The Galaxy XR isn’t for everyone, but if you want a glimpse of how Android looks and feels in augmented reality, Samsung’s headset is currently the best way to experience it.

You’ll still need a phone to accompany your fancy AR headset, and for this build, I picked the Galaxy Z Flip 7 to scratch that foldable itch. And for good measure, let’s throw in a pair of Galaxy Buds 3 FE, too.

• Galaxy XR ($1799.99 at Samsung)
• Galaxy Z Flip 7 (on sale for $900)
• Galaxy Buds 3 FE (on sale for $130)

The total price for a cutting-edge AR headset, foldable flip phone, and wireless earbuds? $2,830 — $70 less than the TriFold.

Samsung almost certainly never intended the Galaxy Z TriFold to be for everyone; this is a phone for tech geeks with a lot of expendable income. The TriFold will find its audience and, hopefully, help Samsung build an even better TriFold 2 down the road.

But even if the TriFold looks like the device for you, think about how else you could spend your money. $2,900 is a heap of cash, and as outlined above, it can go a whole lot further than a single new foldable.