Samsung Galaxy Z TriFold shows hinge fatigue at 144,000 folds in independent test

Samsung’s brand-new triple-folding smartphone, the Galaxy Z TriFold, is at the center of a fresh debate over foldable durability. A South Korean YouTube channel recently livestreamed a brutal “stress test” that pushed the device way past its limits. Since its launch last month, people have been skeptical of the complex dual-hinge design, and while Samsung claims it’s built to last, this independent test gives us a much more realistic – and slightly concerning – look at its long-term health.

Stress Test Shows Early Warning Signs

The YouTube channel OMG_electronics ran an automated eight-day marathon, folding and unfolding the TriFold non-stop. According to a summary by Droid-Life, things started getting weird pretty early. The first hinge began making audible creaks at just 61,000 folds. By 121,000 folds, the second hinge followed suit. By the time the machine hit the 144,000 mark, the hinges had visibly lost their “snap” and started feeling loose.

At that point, the testers noted the phone wouldn’t even stay fully open on its own anymore – it required a bit of a push to keep it flat. The silver lining? The actual screen held up perfectly. Despite the mechanical fatigue in the hinges, the display itself didn’t show any dead pixels or cracks throughout the entire ordeal.

This test is a big deal because it’s our first real-world look at how a triple-hinge system handles extreme pressure. These mechanisms are significantly more complicated than a standard foldable, and that complexity usually comes with more points of failure.

For anyone thinking about buying one, this gives a bit of perspective.

Samsung officially rates the TriFold for 200,000 folds, which is about 100 folds a day for five years. While the YouTube test doesn’t technically disprove that – especially since their automated folding was way more aggressive than a human hand – it does suggest that you might start hearing and feeling “the age” of the phone long before you hit that five-year mark.

Looking forward, these results will probably put some pressure on Samsung to rethink their hinge engineering. Their own Galaxy Z Fold 7 is already rated for a massive 500,000 folds, so the TriFold clearly has some catching up to do. As these three-segment devices move from being “cool concepts” to everyday gadgets, the durability of that hinge is going to be the main thing that wins or loses user trust.