The Samsung tri-fold phone might launch this year, but only in Korea and China

The Samsung long-rumored tri-fold phone is finally taking shape—but don’t hold your breath for a global release. Based on new GSMA database findings, Samsung is planning to launch the foldable only in South Korea and China, at least for now.

Earlier leaks mentioned “Q7M” as the internal codename for Samsung’s tri-fold device. Now, we’ve got confirmation that the official model number is SM-F968, with regional variants SM-F968N (Korea) and SM-F9680 (China). These were spotted in the GSMA database, which adds weight to their legitimacy.

Interestingly, Samsung hasn’t linked the phone to its usual Galaxy W branding, often reserved for ultra-premium China-exclusive devices like the W25. This suggests Samsung might be treating the tri-fold phone as a standalone experiment rather than part of its traditional lineup.

So far, there’s no trace of a global variant. There’s no “SM-F968B” or “U” model (the usual identifiers for international and U.S. models). If Samsung planned to bring this device worldwide, it likely would’ve registered those by now. But nothing’s surfaced. That doesn’t mean it’ll never go global, but right now, this looks like a regional release aimed at testing the waters in markets more open to experimental form factors.

Samsung typically brings GSMA-listed devices to market within 6–7 months. That would place the tri-fold’s launch sometime around October 2025, give or take. With Huawei and Xiaomi already pushing their own multi-fold devices, Samsung probably doesn’t want to be late to this next foldable frontier, even if it means limiting availability at first.