Samsung unveiled the Galaxy Z Fold 3 and the Galaxy Z Flip 3 during Unpacked, 11 August 2021.
The Galaxy Z Fold’s third generation is similar to the Galaxy Z Fold 2, but has a few key differences.
Here’s how the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3 compares with the Galaxy Z Fold 2.
The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3 is the first foldable phone that we recommend to people who would normally call themselves ‘early adopters’, yet held off on buying last year’s Z Fold 2 for good reason. Those fence-sitters will be swayed by the new Z Fold 3’s S Pen support, greater durability and water-resistance in an otherwise familiar-looking foldable design with unchanged cameras. It’s still mighty expensive, and therefore not for the average consumer, but it starts at a slightly lower price than its predecessors, making it ideal for those who’ve been looking to buy into the form factor but have been waiting on the sidelines.
Design
Galaxy Z Fold 2: 159.2×128.2x 6.9 (unfolded), and 159.2×68.0x 13.8-16.8mm folded. 282g
Galaxy Z Fold 3: 158.2×128.1×6.4mm (unfolded), and 158.2×67.1×14.4-16mm folded, 271g
Although the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 2 & 3 have similar design characteristics, the Z Fold 3 has a few refinements. The Z Fold 3 also features a sleeker rear camera housing and a more straightforward front panel.
The Z Fold 3 continues the vertically-folding book-style design with a large display at the front and an unfoldable display to the interior. However, the Z Fold 3 also adds IPX8 waterproofing as well as a more robust frame.
The Galaxy Z Fold 3’s under-display front camera is also featured. This makes it more seamless than the Galaxy Z Fold 2’s centralised punch hole camera.
The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3 is designed to convince you that the third time’s a charm when it comes to buying into the future of foldable phones, and without a Galaxy Note 21, there’s a lot of pressure on Samsung to make good on that adage.
Good news: we’ve fully tested the Galaxy Fold 3 for nearly two weeks now, and it’s become the first foldable phone that we can recommend to those who would ordinarily consider themselves early adopters, but who passed up on the first two iterations of Samsung’s foldable, without hesitation.
We’ve been closely evaluating its familiar 2-in-1 design, determined to fold and unfold the 7.6-inch flexible display until we could do it in our sleep in order to properly test its durability.
The result? This version of Samsung’s foldable phone feels stronger than its two predecessors: it’s waterproof this time, while its mini-tablet-sized inner screen withstood our meanest stylus strokes with the new S Pen and S Pen Pro.
S Pen support makes perfect sense on a screen of this size, and it was something that people were clamoring for with the first two Folds. There’s more writing and drawing real estate here than on any Galaxy Note smartphone, yet not so big that it’s inconvenient like a full-sized traditional tablet that has to be stowed in a bag. The Galaxy Z Fold 3 can be closed to half and stuck in a pocket.
It may well change the way you use your phone day to day, especially if you spring for the S Pen and a case to carry it in – unfortunately, the stylus is sold separately and doesn’t tuck inside the phone. That inconvenience will be jarring for long-time Note fans, even if we found the new stylus bigger and easier to use than the Note’s toothpick-sized S Pen.
Also, you’ll need to dial back your camera expectations: this is yet another foldable with cameras that are good, but which lack the zoom-in oomph of the Samsung Galaxy S21 and last year’s Note 20 Ultra. There is one standout camera perk: an under-the-screen camera neatly obviates the need for punch-hole on the more seamless inner display, although the 4MP camera quality loss is noticeable.
The big hook to the Galaxy Fold 3 is its slightly cheaper price compared to the Galaxy Z Fold 2, and, maybe more convincingly, the excellent trade-in deals Samsung is offering in many regions when you pre-order ahead of the official release date.
You’ll still have to learn to ignore the still-noticeable middle crease that’s a part of this inner AMOLED display. But we found that easy, as we quickly became mesmerized by the large screen, and what it offers us in everyday use cases.
We’ve got a lot of joy out of playing games without our thumbs covering up the entire display when reaching for on-screen controls. We also showed off a YouTube video to a group of friends without having to hand over our device and without them having to squint – the Z Fold 3 screen is just that big.
The Cover Display, expanded to 6.2 inches when the Z Fold 2 launched in 2020 due to overwhelming feedback on the Z Fold 1, exhibits the same dimensions here – it’s tight, especially when you’re trying to tap away on the thin keys of the narrow Cover Display keyboard, but at least the screen refresh ratio has been bumped up to 120Hz, matching what we’ve had on the inner display previously.
Battery life
The Galaxy Z Fold 3 battery is 4,400mAh – maybe Samsung packed so much tech into the flexible body that it felt the need to chop 100mAh off of last year’s capacity, which was 4,500mAh.
Power users – the intended market for this phone – will feel the loss. While we could get through most of the day using both screens, if we also enabled 5G and used the camera liberally we’d find ourselves reaching for the fast charger or a Qi wireless charger before the end of most nights.
Here’s what’s complicated about that: there’s no charger in the box with the Galaxy Z Fold 3, so you’ll want to keep your existing charger or buy one separately. It’s a move we also saw from Apple with its iPhone 12 series, and it’s designed to cut down on electronic waste, and it probably doesn’t hurt that all of these much thinner smartphone boxes will save on shipping costs, too.
Buy it if…
You consider yourself an early adopter
This is it. This is the foldable phone that people who consider themselves early adopters have been waiting for if they were hesitant about buying the first two Fold phones (we don’t blame you). If you don’t buy this one, you might have to turn in your early adopter registration card at the next meeting. Sorry, folks.
You’re a note-taker or artist on the go
The S Pen feels all grown up here – it’s a properly pen-sized stylus, and you’ve got a larger canvas to use it on. It doesn’t fit inside this smartphone (you’ll need a case to store it), or come with the phone as it would with a Note, but it also doesn’t feel like you’re holding a toothpick when jotting down important notes or sketching your next digital masterpiece.
You want a big screen for videos and gaming
You’ll come for the foldable magic, but you’ll stay for the 7.6-inch screen, and watching videos and playing games is where the display dazzles. Since most games use on-screen controls, having a mini-tablet allows you to actually see the action on the screen instead of your knuckles.
Don’t buy it if…
You want Samsung’s best camera phone
Samsung has made few camera advancements year-over-year with this phone, and that’s going to feel like a loss for Note 21 Ultra users, who could capture more detail and enjoy 100x Space Zoom photography with that phone. Samsung’s best camera phone remains the S21 Ultra.
You’re not ready for foldable phone revolution
While we can happily recommend the Z Fold 3 to early adopters who’ve held off on buying a foldable phone, this is by no means fit for average consumers. It’s still far too expensive, and it’s impractical for the majority of phone buyers, even if it is the neatest phone of 2021.
You bought last year’s Z Fold 2!
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