Huawei is reportedly developing a tri-fold phone The company's chairman, Richard Yu, was spotted holding the device, giving further credence to the idea that it will make an appearance However, making it affordable seems to be a challenge

According to the latest rumor from jasonwill101 of X, the prototype of Huawei's three-fold phone is RMB 35,000 That's about $4,900, or about three times the $1,799 price of Samsung's Galaxy Z Fold 6

Thankfully, the final retail release is expected to be slightly lower, at RMB 29,000, or about $4,000 Still, that's more than double the price of a split folding phone like Samsung's offering or the newly announced Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold

Prototype devices tend to feature early hardware that is difficult to procure, so it makes sense that early versions would be priced higher However, many people struggle to afford the inexpensive foldable phones already on the market Some analysts say that demand for foldable phones is declining, and it is hard to say whether there is room on the market for a $4,000 phone, no matter how cool the gimmick is