Samsung is reportedly losing money on each Galaxy Z Trifold it sells
Samsung isn't waiting until economic conditions are ideal to start selling its TriFold foldable phone.
Well, now we know why Samsung is only selling the new Galaxy Z TriFold in limited markets. According to a new report, the company is selling its groundbreaking new foldable at a loss.
In fact, Samsung reportedly isn't even trying to profit off of each Galaxy Z TriFold phone it sells just yet.
A new report from Korean publication The Bell (via 9to5google) indicated that Samsung is selling the device, which recently launched in the company's home country, at a loss. In South Korea, the TriFold retails for 3,594,000 won, or roughly $2,500 USD, making it the most expensive phone in the company's portfolio by a pretty considerable margin. Still, Samsung is reportedly losing money on each unit sold, raising the question of how future TriFold phones might be priced going forward.
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“This is a special edition product, so rather than selling it in bulk, we prepared it so that those who want it can try it out,” said Samsung Electronics Korea Vice President Lim Sung-taek at a Z Trifold launch event, according to a translated version of The Bell’s report. “There were various issues, such as the memory price, but we made a grand decision to reduce it and achieve this difficult price.
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Currently, a global memory shortage driven by the AI boom has left critical RAM hardware components in short supply, as Mashable has reported previously.
While it's unusual to sell a product like this at a loss, there is precedent in the world of luxury tech devices.
Products like high-end video game consoles, for example, have been sold at a loss in the past, with the idea being that they'll remain on the market long enough for parts and manufacturing costs to eventually decrease, and the manufacturer will find other ways to recoup those losses in the meantime. Still, $2,500 is a lot of money for a phone, so if Samsung is losing money even at that extremely high price point, one has to wonder what the phone would actually cost if it were designed to make a profit from day one.
At any rate, U.S. customers don't have to worry about this for a little while longer. The Galaxy Z TriFold is slated to launch stateside in the early months of 2026, and it'll probably be expensive here, too.