- Samsung is reportedly already closing sales of its Galaxy Z TriFold
- Sales will apparently stop first in South Korea before the US.
- Some users are frustrated by this measure, but others knew it would happen
Update, March 18: This story has been updated to include a statement from Samsung.
The original story follows:
After a short three-month lifespan, Samsung has started winding down sales of its Galaxy Z TriFold smartphone, so if you were hoping to get one this year, you may be too late to the party.
Article continues below.
Rumors that the Galaxy Z TriFold could be withdrawn from sale began with a report from South Korean website Donga. It stated that Samsung would end all sales of the Galaxy Z TriFold in South Korea after its final restocking this week, with sales expected to stop in the US, where “sales are planned to continue until the current production volume is exhausted.”
Those rumors were backed up by a March 17 Bloomberg report. A Samsung spokesperson apparently confirmed to Bloomberg that the company would discontinue the Galaxy Z TriFold in the US once it has cleared its remaining inventory.
In a statement, Samsung told us: “The Galaxy Z TriFold was introduced as a super premium device in limited quantities. In Korea, the strong consumer response led to all available units being sold out. Customers in other countries still have the opportunity to purchase the device.”
When Samsung introduced its $2,899 triple-folding smartphone in December last year, it was a huge success and sold out within minutes of its launch due to its revolutionary three-screen folding. So why is Samsung pulling the plug on one of its most innovative devices?
Although some users have openly expressed their disappointment over the death of the TriFold (one called the move “infuriating”), avid tech nerds saw this coming from a mile away.
Although the Galaxy Z TriFold sold out at a very fast rate, this is largely due to the fact that Samsung released it in small batches (apparently the first two allocations were only 3,000 units each). But this was intentional on Samsung’s part, because the tech giant never intended for the Galaxy Z TriFold to go into mass production.
Furthermore, Samsung’s intention for the Galaxy Z TriFold was simply to showcase the level of innovation the company is capable of, rather than producing it with the average consumer in mind. And that seems reasonable, considering that most people won’t want to lug around a 10-inch foldable tablet phone in their daily lives.
However, that’s not the only reason users think Samsung has killed off the Galaxy Z TriFold.
When it comes to production costs, let’s say there’s a reason why Samsung had to add the price tag close to $3,000. The report mentions that industry costs for the Galaxy Z TriFold are sky-high, especially for the device’s core features like DRAM and NAND flash, making it incredibly difficult for Samsung to turn a profit if it is marketed to the casual user.
Despite the inevitable outcome, that doesn’t mean users aren’t upset by Samsung’s decision to abandon one of its most interesting devices. This is largely due to its low availability on the market, with many customers claiming that they never had the opportunity to get one in the first place.
On the other hand, a wave of users have defended the move, given that it was never intended to be a permanent member of the Samsung Galaxy phone family in the first place.
What do you think of Samsung’s decision to stop selling the Galaxy Z TriFold? Are you also disappointed or is this what you expected?
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