Samsung’s Galaxy Z Trifold Folds Hard in Durability Test

Samsung’s ambitious Galaxy Z Trifold has officially met its match — and then some — thanks to a brutal durability test from popular tech YouTuber JerryRigEverything, whose bend tests have become something of a rite of passage for modern smartphones.

In his latest teardown-style torture test, Jerry (real name Zack Nelson) put Samsung’s first-ever multi-fold device through the usual gauntlet: scratches, fire, dirt, and, of course, bending. While some results were expected, the final outcome was anything but reassuring. In short, the Galaxy Z Trifold completely folded under pressure — literally.

To be fair, foldables have always lived on a delicate edge. But Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold 7 proved last year that modern foldables can be tougher than they look, surviving similar abuse with less damage. The Trifold, on the other hand, tells a different story. With three foldable panels and additional hinge complexity, there’s simply more that can go wrong — and it does.

The scratch and burn tests didn’t reveal anything shocking, aside from a reminder that foldable glass is still fairly soft. Things started to unravel once dirt entered the picture. Pocket sand and debris quickly found their way into the hinges, producing some very unpleasant crunching sounds as the phone was opened and closed. Not exactly confidence-inspiring for a device meant to fold and unfold dozens of times a day.

Then came the bend test — and that’s where the Trifold truly folded like a cheap lawn chair. Applying force in the opposite direction of the folds caused the display to fail almost immediately. Pixels tore, sections of the screen went dark, and part of the hinge visibly snapped. The phone didn’t explode — a low bar cleared after the Pixel 10 Pro Fold famously went up in flames during the same test earlier this fall — but repairs would almost certainly cost a small fortune. Take a look at the result yourself in JerryRigEverything’s video below:

What makes this sting a bit more is that Samsung has heavily touted the Trifold’s hinge durability, claiming up to 200,000 folds. That may still be true under ideal conditions, but as JerryRigEverything’s test shows, outward pressure is a whole different fold game.

Despite all this, the Galaxy Z Trifold remains undeniably cool. After all, Samsung has managed to put out a device that folds twice, while Apple has yet to fold anything at all. Our own hands-on with the device left us impressed by its design and ambition, even if it’s not coming to Canada anytime soon. For now, the Trifold feels like a bold first draft — one that may need a few more folds of refinement before it’s ready for daily life.