Move over Samsung – this tri-fold phone has a killer spec sheet

Samsung took everyone by surprise at the July Galaxy Unpacked, by not revealing the Galaxy G Fold. Long rumoured, it was expected we'd get a glance at a new folding phone format from the company, instead we just got the Galaxy Z Fold 7 and the Galaxy Z Flip 7 to raise the best folding phone stakes.

It's not just us taken by surprise - it also looks like phone brand Tecno was also caught up in the hype. The day before Galaxy Unpacked, a convenient "leak" revealed a tri-fold phone from the company called the Phantom Ultimate G Fold.

While Samsung didn't then go on to show off a dual-hinge device, Tecno has now followed through and announced the Phantom Ultimate G Fold. It's a concept phone, for now, which tends to be how Tecno operates, coming up with on-trend devices that grab a few headlines.

So here we have the Phantom Ultimate G Fold, for which Tecno is claiming the "world's thinnest" title. It's 11.49mm thick when closed, but only 3.49mm thick when unfolded. There aren't too many phones in this space to compete with, the Huawei Mate XT being the notable rival, which is 3.6mm when unfolded.

TECNO PHANTOM Ultimate G Fold Concept: the World's Thinnest Tri-Fold with Dual Inward-Folding - YouTube

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Unlike Huawei's version, this device folds inwards, so that large display is protected on the inside, with a separate external display for when it's all closed up. The Huawei device, by contrast, folds like a "Z", so the external display is one third of the internal display - and always exposed.

There's a 9.94-inch display on the Tecno phone, so you're really unfolding a tablet, while there's a triple camera on the rear of the device. The company doesn't seem to be sharing all of the details, but does tell us that there's a 5,000mAh battery powering its device.

It's likely that we won't see the Tecno phone in the flesh until MWC 2026.

What's the latest on Samsung tri-fold phone?

While Samsung didn't reveal its tri-fold phone at Galaxy Unpacked, many believe it's still going to be shown off in 2025. Prior to launch there was a leak that showed some details of the dual hinge mechanism. This leak was from within One UI 8, suggesting that this device does exist.

Furthermore, the leaks haven't stopped - with Galaxy Club discovering the name Galaxy Z TriFold registered in Korea. That might suggest that Samsung is biding its time before revealing this next evolution of folding phones.

Meanwhile, Huawei is preparing to update the Mate XT, with rumours suggesting that it will have a new camera sensor. However, limited availability of the Huawei device outside of China might mean that it isn't a serious rival to Samsung's plans.