Samsung may launch a Tri-Fold device this year, the S23 FE isn't happening
Another week, another contradictory rumor regarding the death or resurrection of the mythical Samsung Fan Edition line. This time around, it's bad news - apparently the Galaxy S23 FE isn't happening after all.
That may be sad and all that, but on the other hand, the same source brings us an incredibly intriguing flip side to this rumor. The Korean company is said to be working on a "Tri-Fold" device, and this "might finally ship this year". That's the prototypical "big if true" news, since for the past few years we've basically had single-hinge foldables.
This promises to be a dual-hinge, three-part foldable, akin to a couple of concepts showcased by Samsung Display at CES back in January. There are no more details about this one right now, but it's been a while since an entirely new form factor joined the mobile world, so we're excited. There's also the fact that this device still involves folding, and that's basically a solved issue at this point.
So while the form factor itself might be new, the fact that it's an expansion (both literally and figuratively) of an already existing one means there is here the potential for it to forego all of the usual issues that arise when something completely new comes to the market for the first time - it's just an extra hinge and a a more complex screen to be used in this case. New, yes, never done before, also yes, but not completely out of left field.