It seems that Samsung might be getting ready to expand its list of the best smartphones, and the upcoming device is pretty unexpected. According to a new leak, Samsung is preparing a tri-folding phone to challenge the Huawei Mate XT, and it might be coming as early as this year — and it’ll be a more compact version of it, too.
The leak comes from Digital Chat Station on Weibo. While this is normally a trustworthy source, we should still take the following with a grain of salt, as Samsung itself hasn’t confirmed the existence of such a device.
The leaker said that Samsung is Huawei’s biggest competitor in 2025 when it comes to the folding screen market. Huawei’s Mate XT, launched last year, was an innovative take on the folding screen design. The display folds three times. The phone is still pretty fresh, but a few months later, it still remains the only phone with that design. Not for long, says Digital Chat Station.
Samsung is reportedly working on a first-gen device called Galaxy G Fold. It’s unclear whether Samsung will adopt the exact same form factor as Huawei here, but the screen is said to be at 9.9 inches in diagonal length. The leaker also confirms that it’ll be a tri-screen phone, so it sure sounds like a rival to the Mate XT.
The so-called Samsung Galaxy G Fold is said to break cover in 2025, and Notebookcheck says that it might hit the shelves alongside the Galaxy Z Fold7 and the Z Flip7. If we do see it this year, it’s worth noting that it’ll be a more compact option than the Huawei Mate XT, seeing as the Huawei device has a 10.2-inch screen as opposed to the rumored 9.9-inch display on the Samsung Galaxy G Fold.
Such a device, if released, will undoubtedly cost a pretty penny. It’ll also be released in small numbers, with the leaker noting limited availability for the experimental Samsung phone.
Google Play is borrowing one of the Nintendo Switch’s most useful little tricks. A new Sidekick tool called Playbacks captures a short clip after something interesting has already happened, sparing players from running a screen recorder throughout an entire game.
Playbacks is part of Google Play Store v53.8 and keeps saved clips on the phone. Google first announced it earlier this month, but the new Play Store update marks its arrival for players. Anyone who has watched a perfect win vanish because the record button came too late already understands the appeal.
Samsung’s scandal over its Game Optimizing Service, or GOS, has returned with a bill attached. South Korea’s Fair Trade Commission has tentatively fined the company 20.1 billion won, or about $15.1 million, over gaming claims made for the Galaxy S21, Galaxy S22, and Tab S8.
The regulator says Samsung promoted the devices as gaming powerhouses without disclosing that GOS placed preset CPU and GPU limits on certain demanding games. Samsung disputes that conclusion, calling GOS a legitimate way to manage heat.
Apple's next cheaper iPhone could get a brand-new processor while keeping its most stubborn display compromise. Digital Chat Station tips the iPhone 18e for a 2027 release with a 2nm A20 chip and a 6.12-inch OLED screen still limited to 60Hz.
The rumored camera setup includes a single 48MP rear camera and a possible 24MP selfie camera. There's new hardware to consider, but buyers hoping Apple would extend that upgrade generosity to smoother scrolling could be disappointed.