Technologies

A New Era of Foldables: Samsung’s Galaxy Z TriFold Is Coming to the US Early Next Year

This triple-display foldable will first arrive in Korea later this month.

After months of teasing a triple-display foldable phone, Samsung is gearing up to launch what it’s calling the Galaxy Z TriFold — because foldables with just one hinge are so last year.

The phone is slated to become available first in Korea on Dec. 12, and will then launch in other locations including China, Taiwan, Singapore and the United Arab Emirates. It’ll arrive in the US in the first quarter of 2026. Samsung hasn’t shared a US price for the trifold, but Reuters notes it’ll cost 3.59 million won in Korea, which converts to around $2,440.

To get this caveat out of the way: A trifold phone doesn’t actually fold three times. Rather, devices like the Z TriFold have a main screen with two hinges, allowing the phone to fold into three sections. They appear to be more of a hybrid between a phone and, when unfolded, a tablet. The Z TriFold boasts a 10-inch display when unfurled and a 6.5-inch cover display.

«The company’s decade-long experience in foldable category innovation inspired Galaxy Z TriFold’s uniquemulti-folding form factor, which uses an inward-folding design to protect the main display,» Samsung said in a blog post. «The foldingmechanism has been precisely engineered for easy opening and closing, with an auto-alarm alerting the userof incorrect folding through a series of on-screen alerts and vibrations.»

A Galaxy of features comes together

The Galaxy Z TriFold appears to borrow elements from two of its siblings: the Galaxy S25 Edge and the Galaxy Z Fold 7. Both phones are impressively thin, with the Edge measuring 5.8mm and the Z Fold 7 measuring 4.2mm thick when unfolded.

The Z TriFold goes one step further. It’s just 3.9mm thick «at its thinnest point,» Samsung says. Reading the fine print reveals that measurement excludes «the camera and the preinstalled protective film.» The thickest panel is the center one, which measures 4.2mm. The panel with the side button is 4mm thick. Still, that should all help to reduce bulk when the three screens are stacked shut on top of one another.

The rear triple-camera system includes a 200-megapixel wide-angle camera, similar to the Galaxy S25 Ultra, S25 Edge and Z Fold 7. There’s also a 12-megapixel ultrawide and 10-megapixel telephoto camera. For selfies, you’ll find 10-megapixel front-facing cameras on both the cover and main screens.

Like Samsung’s other premium phones released this year, the Z TriFold is powered by a custom Snapdragon 8 Elite processor. It also has a 5,600-mAh three-cell battery — a nice upgrade over the 4,400-mAh battery on the Galaxy Z Fold 7. Samsung notes this system «has been placed ineach of the three panels of the device for balanced power delivery and all-day endurance.» The phone supports 45-watt super-fast charging.

Unlike Huawei’s Mate XTs trifold, which unfurls into a Z shape, Samsung’s trifold has panels that fold inward, more like a pamphlet.

The Z TriFold has two different-sized hinges, «creating a smoother, more stable fold despitevarying weight and components across the device,» Samsung notes. This also helps to reduce the gap between the screens. The titanium hinge housing «resists wear over time,» and the phone’s Advanced Armor Aluminum frame should also help with durability, while preventing the screens from touching when folded shut.

The Z TriFold borrows another trait from the Z Fold 7: an IP48 rating. That means the phone can be submerged under 1.5 meters of water for up to 30 minutes and is protected against solid particles larger than 1 millimeter, but not against dust. Meanwhile, Google’s Pixel 10 Pro Fold boasts an impressive IP68 rating for water and dust resistance.

Samsung’s triple-display foldable has Corning’s Gorilla Glass Ceramic 2 on the front, while the back is made of ceramic-glass fiber-reinforced polymer.

Why would someone buy the Galaxy Z TriFold?

So what’s the point of a phone that unfolds into a giant 10-inch display? Samsung says the Z TriFold is ideal for multitasking.

«Users can use the screen with endless versatility — they can create across three different portrait-sized apps side-by-side without interruption, resize apps inmulti-window to view the most important information clearly, or hold it vertically when reviewing documents forimproved focus,» the company notes.

Samsung also says a wider screen can be good for watching movies and TV shows. And if you’re watching a YouTube video, you can simultaneously read the comments on the neighboring display. Samsung notes that «minimized creasing on the device keeps content seamless anduninterrupted.» That’ll be a crucial element.

The phone’s AMOLED cover and main screens have a refresh rate up to 120Hz. The cover display boasts a peak brightness of 2,600 nits, while the main screen features a peak brightness of 1,600 nits.

The Galaxy Z TriFold will arrive with Android 16 and One UI 8. It’s not yet clear how much the phone will cost in the US, but given the Z Fold 7’s $2,000 starting price, it’ll probably be a pretty penny.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Mini Crossword Answers for Saturday, Feb. 21

Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for Feb. 21.

Looking for the most recent Mini Crossword answer? Click here for today’s Mini Crossword hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Wordle, Strands, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

Need some help with today’s Mini Crossword? It’s the long Saturday version, and some of the clues are stumpers. I was really thrown by 10-Across. Read on for all the answers. And if you could use some hints and guidance for daily solving, check out our Mini Crossword tips.

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: Tips and Tricks for Solving The New York Times Mini Crossword

Let’s get to those Mini Crossword clues and answers.

Mini across clues and answers

1A clue: «Jersey Shore» channel
Answer: MTV

4A clue: «___ Knows» (rhyming ad slogan)
Answer: LOWES

6A clue: Second-best-selling female musician of all time, behind Taylor Swift
Answer: MADONNA

8A clue: Whiskey grain
Answer: RYE

9A clue: Dreaded workday: Abbr.
Answer: MON

10A clue: Backfiring blunder, in modern lingo
Answer: SELFOWN

12A clue: Lengthy sheet for a complicated board game, perhaps
Answer: RULES

13A clue: Subtle «Yes»
Answer: NOD

Mini down clues and answers

1D clue: In which high schoolers might role-play as ambassadors
Answer: MODELUN

2D clue: This clue number
Answer: TWO

3D clue: Paid via app, perhaps
Answer: VENMOED

4D clue: Coat of paint
Answer: LAYER

5D clue: Falls in winter, say
Answer: SNOWS

6D clue: Married title
Answer: MRS

7D clue: ___ Arbor, Mich.
Answer: ANN

11D clue: Woman in Progressive ads
Answer: FLO

Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections: Sports Edition Hints and Answers for Feb. 21, #516

Here are hints and the answers for the NYT Connections: Sports Edition puzzle for Feb. 21, No. 516.

Looking for the most recent regular Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle and Strands puzzles.

Today’s Connections: Sports Edition is a tough one. I actually thought the purple category, usually the most difficult, was the easiest of the four. If you’re struggling with today’s puzzle but still want to solve it, read on for hints and the answers.

Connections: Sports Edition is published by The Athletic, the subscription-based sports journalism site owned by The Times. It doesn’t appear in the NYT Games app, but it does in The Athletic’s own app. Or you can play it for free online.

Read more: NYT Connections: Sports Edition Puzzle Comes Out of Beta

Hints for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections: Sports Edition puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: Old Line State.

Green group hint: Hoops legend.

Blue group hint: Robert Redford movie.

Purple group hint: Vroom-vroom.

Answers for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Yellow group: Maryland teams.

Green group: Shaquille O’Neal nicknames.

Blue group: Associated with «The Natural.»

Purple group: Sports that have a driver.

Read more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here Are the Most Popular Letters Used in English Words

What are today’s Connections: Sports Edition answers?

The yellow words in today’s Connections

The theme is Maryland teams. The four answers are Midshipmen, Orioles, Ravens and Terrapins.

The green words in today’s Connections

The theme is Shaquille O’Neal nicknames. The four answers are Big Aristotle, Diesel, Shaq and Superman.

The blue words in today’s Connections

The theme is associated with «The Natural.» The four answers are baseball, Hobbs, Knights and Wonderboy.

The purple words in today’s Connections

The theme is sports that have a driver. The four answers are bobsled, F1, golf and water polo.

Technologies

Wisconsin Reverses Decision to Ban VPNs in Age-Verification Bill

The law would have required websites to block VPN users from accessing «harmful material.»

Following a wave of criticism, Wisconsin lawmakers have decided not to include a ban on VPN services in their age-verification law, making its way through the state legislature.

Wisconsin Senate Bill 130 (and its sister Assembly Bill 105), introduced in March 2025, aims to prohibit businesses from «publishing or distributing material harmful to minors» unless there is a reasonable «method to verify the age of individuals attempting to access the website.»

One provision would have required businesses to bar people from accessing their sites via «a virtual private network system or virtual private network provider.»

A VPN lets you access the internet via an encrypted connection, enabling you to bypass firewalls and unblock geographically restricted websites and streaming content. While using a VPN, your IP address and physical location are masked, and your internet service provider doesn’t know which websites you visit.

Wisconsin state Sen. Van Wanggaard moved to delete that provision in the legislation, thereby releasing VPNs from any liability. The state assembly agreed to remove the VPN ban, and the bill now awaits Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers’s signature.

Rindala Alajaji, associate director of state affairs at the digital freedom nonprofit Electronic Frontier Foundation, says Wisconsin’s U-turn is «great news.»

«This shows the power of public advocacy and pushback,» Alajaji says. «Politicians heard the VPN users who shared their worries and fears, and the experts who explained how the ban wouldn’t work.»

Earlier this week, the EFF had written an open letter arguing that the draft laws did not «meaningfully advance the goal of keeping young people safe online.» The EFF said that blocking VPNs would harm many groups that rely on that software for private and secure internet connections, including «businesses, universities, journalists and ordinary citizens,» and that «many law enforcement professionals, veterans and small business owners rely on VPNs to safely use the internet.»

VPNs can also help you get around age-verification laws — for instance, if you live in a state or country that requires age verification to access certain material, you can use a VPN to make it look like you live elsewhere, thereby gaining access to that material. As age-restriction laws increase around the US, VPN use has also increased. However, many people are using free VPNs, which are fertile ground for cybercriminals.

In its letter to Wisconsin lawmakers prior to the reversal, the EFF argued that it is «unworkable» to require websites to block VPN users from accessing adult content. The EFF said such sites cannot «reliably determine» where a VPN customer lives — it could be any US state or even other countries.

«As a result, covered websites would face an impossible choice: either block all VPN users everywhere, disrupting access for millions of people nationwide, or cease offering services in Wisconsin altogether,» the EFF wrote.

Wisconsin is not the only state to consider VPN bans to prevent access to adult material. Last year, Michigan introduced the Anticorruption of Public Morals Act, which would ban all use of VPNs. If passed, it would force ISPs to detect and block VPN usage and also ban the sale of VPNs in the state. Fines could reach $500,000.