Let's be honest, the best folding cell phones are no longer that exciting. It's been more than half a century since the first book-type foldable phone was introduced, and despite more and more players entering the market, they have yet to capture more than 2% of the overall cell phone market share.

What we need is a little excitement, and we may soon see a completely different kind of foldable that will shake things up. We've been hearing rumors about a more advanced foldable phone with a tri-fold screen, and now word is coming in that it may be coming sooner than we thought. [All we know is what the leak source, Digital Chat Station (via Chinese social network Weibo), tells us, and that is that the first "commercially viable" tri-fold smartphone is about to enter mass production.

Other details revealed by Digital Chat Station include claims that this is a "top-spec" device with a crease-resistant screen. The three-fold design also means that it will likely be thicker than a regular foldable phone and may be priced higher. How much higher is unknown, but given that the Galaxy Z Fold 6's starting price just went up to $1,899, this could be an expensive foldable.

Digital Chat Station also noted that the foldable will be better than the manufacturer's "business flagship." However, it is not clear what that business flagship is, nor is it a term I have heard before. Therefore, it does not help narrow down who is in charge.

So who is behind these phones? Foldable phones are primarily Samsung's domain in the West, and we have seen several Samsung concepts that feature a tri-fold display, but that is no guarantee that Samsung is behind this mystery device. Especially given the sheer number of foldable phones that Chinese companies have produced for their home market.

With the exception of Oppo and OnePlus, which have only just emerged, Chinese buyers can purchase foldable devices from most major domestic brands: Xiaomi, Huawei, Honor, Vivo, and TCL. All of these companies have been involved with foldable phones for some time and have produced a variety of interesting concepts over the years, both foldable and non-foldable.

The only question is when this phone will be announced. If this tri-fold phone is already in mass production, it could be announced anytime in the next few months. Since we do not know which companies are involved, we cannot even speculate, but it is possible that such a revolutionary device will appear at CES 2025 in January.