Tag Archives: Foldable

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3

RRP $ 1,799.00

"After three generations of improvements, the Galaxy Z Fold 3 offers better durability, software support and productivity features."

advantages

• Improved screen durability and IPX8 water resistance

• Powerful hardware and features

• Solid rear view cameras

• Ideal for multitasking and productivity

disadvantage

• Still expensive

• Poor battery life

Foldable phones are no longer an expensive toy for first-time users, and the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3 is here to prove it. Let me make it clear that the Fold 3 is still expensive at $ 1,800, but in its third generation of steady improvements, it's finally a functional device that the average consumer can use and enjoy.

Aside from the welcome improvements in durability, the Fold 3 just generally feels more polished. The hinge is less bulky, the screen creases are less obvious, and the Under Display Camera (UDC) is easier to ignore than a punch. There used to be a pretty significant tradeoff in durability and performance in flip phones when compared to mainstream flagships. That is no longer true. After using the Fold 3 as my daily driver for almost two weeks, I don't feel like I'm missing anything important compared to the Galaxy S21, although it still doesn't match the S21 Ultra.

Design and durability

The Fold 3 does not deviate radically from the design language of the Fold 2. Instead, it focuses on refinements to make it a more polished experience both visually and in the hand. In terms of footprint, the size is not drastically different. When opened, the phone measures 158.2 x 128.1 x 6.4 millimeters, with a 7.6-inch main screen – slightly larger than the Kindle Paperwhite in terms of usable screen area. It weighs in at 271 grams, so it's a fair bit heavier than most phones on the market, including the hefty S21 Ultra (227 grams), but certainly a lot lighter than a tablet.

When folded, it becomes a tall and narrow “chocolate bar” phone measuring 158.2 x 78.1 x 14.4-16 millimeters. The thickness is roughly the same as two phones stacked on top of each other, which may seem bulky, but I found it relatively easy to use one-handed as the 6.2-inch cover display is so narrow. Compared to the Galaxy S21 Ultra, reaching across the entire screen with your thumb wasn't a problem – no one-handed mode required.

Ajay Kumar / Digital Trends

When opened, the Fold 3 is a very two-handed device. I keep coming back to the e-reader comparison because that's how you have to hold it – either with both hands or with your pinky finger holding up the lower bezel. All buttons, including the power button / fingerprint sensor and volume rocker, are on the right. This worked fine for unlocking with my thumb as I'm right handed, but I can see left handed people having issues when they can't use the sensor with their middle or index finger.

There are some durability improvements. The biggest one is the IPX8 water resistance. The Fold 3 can now withstand complete immersion in water, and in fact my test device survived a thorough rinse in the sink. This is one of the bigger premium failures that have existed with foldable products, so it's nice to see that they have been addressed. Dust can still be an issue due to the nature of the hinge, so I don't recommend taking the Fold 3 with you for a day at the beach, but Samsung has incorporated "Sweeper" bristles into the hinge so the dust can be forced out when it comes in. There's Gorilla Glass Victus on the deck screen too, and the main screen has screen protector pre-installed, which Samsung says is 80% stronger than before.

This is all welcome news. For those who have followed foldable models for a while, you'll remember that the previous models had problems with dust penetration and screen protector peeling off, causing scratches and other more serious damage to the screen.

When you first set it up, it gives you a pretty extensive list of ways to care for your phone. This includes not pressing down too hard, using only the S Pen Fold or S Pen Pro (with retractable tips), keeping keys and coins in the same pocket with the phone, and not removing the protective film. Fortunately, despite the somewhat ominous list of warnings, I never felt like I had to make it too small.

Adding a sleeve to the Fold 3 also gives it that extra bit of much-needed support and protection. After using the first-party leather case Samsung shipped with the device, I found it a lot easier to hold for gaming, browsing, and general everyday use. Other case options also have an S Pen slot, but it wasn't included.

Displays and multimedia

None of the panels on the Fold 3 is too short. When folded, the 6.2-inch cover display has a resolution of 2268 x 832. It supports a refresh rate of 120 Hz like the main screen that was not on the Fold 2. I've mainly used the cover screen to take photos with the rear camera, navigate Google Maps, take calls, and get quick notifications on the go.

The increased refresh rates make using the deck screen smoother and more responsive, even though you're mostly using the main screen for multimedia. The only thing the deck screen doesn't support is the S Pen, which makes sense since the deck screen is narrow and quite a bit smaller than the main screen. Whenever you try to type on it or tweet on it, the keyboard is cramped and most of the time I left the main screen open to do something intense.

The main screen is where all of the action takes place. When the phone is unfolded, you get a large and bright 7.6-inch screen with a resolution of 2208 x 1768, which equates to a crisp 374 pixels per inch. It's AMOLED and supports HDR10 + so the colors are saturated and saturated, with the dense, inky black the panel is known for. The phone reaches a peak brightness of 1200 nits so I could use it in the park on a bright summer day without any problems. Both the deck screen and the main screen provide excellent visibility in direct sunlight.

Watching videos, playing games, and surfing the web are all a treat on the main screen. Games like Genshin Impact and Asphalt 9 looked incredible on the sleek and vibrant 120Hz display. They also filled the screen perfectly on startup, no adjustment required. The larger screen real estate was especially handy with Genshin Impact as it was much easier to use the various controls without blocking any part of the screen with my fingers.

The crease is there and visible, but it can easily be ignored when there is content on the screen. The only time I really noticed it was when the screen was off and the light was reflecting off the blank screen. The same applies to the Under Display Camera (UDC). While there is a noticeable pixelated grid, especially on a white background, it's easy to forget and a lot less annoying than a pinhole camera when it comes to drawing attention to it.

Andy Boxall / Digital Trends

Playing on this phone is an absolute pleasure that is enhanced by its sound. I rarely have strong feelings about phone speakers as they tend to be hit or miss, so I was blown away by the robust sound of the Fold 3's stereo speakers. They are located at the top and bottom of the control panel that contains the phone cover screen. So when you turn the phone over for games and videos in landscape mode, you can hold it so your hands aren't covering the speakers.

The result is a rich sound that is well balanced across lows, mids and highs. It's a lot noisy without being tinny and I never felt the need to reach for my headphones, which is more than can be said of most phone speakers. It won't compete with quad speakers on Samsung's own tablets like the S7 and S7 +, but it can still hold its own.

Not everything was perfect out of the box. I couldn't avoid letterboxing YouTube videos, and while it is possible to adjust the screen to force it to fill in, it does cut off content on the sides so this isn't a real solution. Despite these issues, I was still pleasantly surprised that most of the apps I used were either optimized for the Fold 3 by default or could be forced to fill the screen by enabling them in Labs (Netflix and Instagram were the main culprits).

A productive powerhouse

Much of the Fold 3's value comes from its extra screen space and the customized Android 11 software that supports it. You can have multiple apps open, run them side by side in split view, or run up to three in resizable windows. Fair warning: many of these features are considered experimental and you will need to dive into labs to enable them. So don't be surprised if it doesn't work right away.

As soon as you have put it into operation, the possible uses are many. In my case, it was possible to watch a video or livestream while taking notes or using Google Maps to navigate and still be able to text a friend when I arrived. It's even possible to pull up a keyboard on one half of the screen and type things in Microsoft Word or Google Docs, almost like an old-school slider.

By adding the taskbar and edge panel, you get something that is close to a desktop experience and gives you access to frequently used apps at all times. You can also pin them together with App Pair so that they both start together in split-screen view, drag and drop content, and move and resize windows as you wish. It comes as close to a laptop as you will get it with a phone, and since it supports Samsung DeX, you can get a true desktop experience by connecting wired or wirelessly to monitors, TVs, and laptops.

You can also choose the app behavior for the title screen and decide which apps can still be displayed when the main screen is closed. I turned it on for most apps, although it was most important for Google Maps as I could still get directions after closing the main screen. There's also Flex mode, which allows apps to adjust themselves when you bend the screen. A good example is YouTube, where bending the screen at an angle to keep it upright places your video at the top and the comments area at the bottom. All of this helped make the Fold 3 feel like a seamless device, with software designed and optimized for it.

The productivity potential is increased by using the S Pen Fold Edition or the S Pen Pro. It is important that you only use one of these options as they will have a retractable tip if you press too hard – other S Pen models will damage the screen. Although neither is included, I received an S Pen Fold with my test device and was able to use it for recording and sketching. I'm not a great artist, but being able to pull out the S Pen and seamlessly jot down a quick note, reminder, or shopping list was incredibly convenient. However, that brings me to the one disadvantage. While having a bigger screen to use the S Pen is fantastic, there is no space to plug it in after you use it. So you'll either need to put it in your pocket or buy a case that has a slot that can accommodate it.

The productivity potential is increased by using the S Pen Fold Edition or the S Pen Pro.

Or you can do what I did and take the Fold 3 to a press event to take notes but forget the S Pen at home. It's been happening more often than I'd like to admit, which is the main reason the Fold 3 doesn't offer the same experience as the Note, in my opinion, even if it's much better in terms of screen real estate. Maybe as soon as I get my hands on a Fold 3 S pen sleeve, I'll feel different.

Performance and hardware

Under the hood, the Fold 3 has hardware that matches the best flagship phones on the market. It is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 processor and has 12 GB of RAM and 256 GB / 512 GB of storage. There is no microSD card slot, which is a shame. So if you're a big power user like me, you'll want the bigger memory configuration.

I ran it through several benchmark tests that you can see below and it performed brilliantly. Multitasking is fluid and responsive, there were no slowdowns or app crashes and, as mentioned, it also mastered demanding games like Genshin Impact and Asphalt 9: Legends without any problems. In terms of graphics performance, it was an average of 87% better than other devices on the market.

Benchmarks:

• PCMark performance: 14,460
• PCMark battery life: 9 hours, 20 minutes
• Geekbench (single / multi-core): 1,113 / 3,431
• GFXBench Aztec: 19fps
• 3DMark: 5,647

All of this is great, but you will notice one spec that isn't that hot, which is the 4,400 mAh battery, which is slightly smaller than the Fold 2. The PCMark battery test took 9 hours, 20 minutes to drain 20%, which corresponds to a little more than an average working day term. I usually had to fill up in the evening to keep going. A one hour session of Genshin Impact and some surfing could easily eliminate 20% of the charge.

On the flip side, the phone supports 25 watts of fast wired charging and 11 watts of fast wireless charging, so it was easy to quickly charge using one of the many Samsung Fast Wireless charging stands and adapters I scattered around my home. These aren't included though, so you'll need to buy your own if you want to take full advantage of the speed.

Connectivity is as good as you'd expect. The Fold 3 supports 5G, Wi-Fi 6e, NFC and has Bluetooth 5.2. I had no problem taking and making calls, surfing the city on 5G, and connecting to accessories like the Galaxy Watch 4 and bluetooth headphones.

A camera on each side

The camera functions are not changed compared to the Fold 2. On the back, the phone has three 12-megapixel (MP) cameras: a primary sensor with optical image stabilization (OIS), a telesensor for 2x optical zoom and OIS and an ultra-wide angle for 123-degree recordings. All three cameras take great photos. The images are sharp, have a lot of detail and minimal noise. As is typical of Samsung cameras, colors tend to be jazzed up a bit in terms of saturation, but I like this look.

The rear sensors have more challenges in low light, cloudy, and nighttime settings, but still do quite well. There is some noise with close-ups and the occasional blurring, but for the most part, things come across clearly. However, the ultrawide sensor loses some sharpness and clarity, especially in low light, and is more prone to softness and noise, likely due to the lack of OIS. This also applies to the S21 Ultra, so I won't judge the Fold 3 too harshly for that.

In comparison shots with the iPhone 12 Pro Max and even the older Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra, the Fold 3 is displaced. The iPhone 12 Pro Max takes more reliable, razor-sharp and color-accurate recordings, while the S20 Ultra and its successor, the S21 Ultra, are unbeatable in terms of pure image quality, especially for telephoto and ultra-wide-angle recordings. While I would have liked a camera system comparable to the S21 Ultra or Note 20 Ultra, it's still a very good set of sensors that most people will be happy with.

The 10 MP selfie camera on the cover is also suitable for quick selfies and copes reasonably well with proper lighting. The 4MP UDC camera on the main screen, on the other hand, doesn't get as hot. Most of the pictures I took with it were muddy, pixelated, or washed out, although Samsung tried to clean up the image with post-processing.

• 1.
  Selfie with UDC camera.
• 2.
  10 MP selfie with cover screen camera on Fold 3.
• 3.
  Selfie with 12MP primary sensor.

In the comparison shots above, you can see the difference between the 4MP sensor, the 10MP sensor and the 12MP rear camera for selfies. The latter is the best option if you are looking for pure quality. The 4MP UDC camera is only suitable for video chatting or when you only need it in an emergency.

Price and availability

The Fold 3 will cost you $ 1,800, which is $ 200 less than the Fold 2 originally. It's still an expensive phone, make no mistake, but the drop in price makes it easier to digest. The phone will be available on all major US carriers including AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon with a variety of installment plans and offers. There are also some nice trade-in options if you have older equipment left over.

Our opinion

The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3 is the best foldable one on the market and a significant improvement over the Fold 2 in terms of durability. After three years of refinement and advancement, I am much less reluctant to recommend the phone to the average user. It offers one of the best gaming experiences I've had on a phone and offers great value for multitasking and productivity.

It offers one of the best gaming experiences I've got on a phone.

That said, it's not perfect yet, with room for improvement in battery life and camera performance. It's also still expensive at $ 1,800, though the price becomes more palatable when you consider the Fold 3 as a possible replacement for your phone, tablet, and e-reader. With that in mind, I think the Fold 3 is worth buying if you are willing to spend the money and you know you will find some value out of the screen real estate.

Is there a better alternative?

Not really. Samsung dominates the foldable market with no other competitors in sight, especially not in the US. The Fold 3's biggest competitor is Samsung's own Galaxy Z Flip 3, but there are some big differences between the two foldable devices.

For starters, the Flip 3 is smaller in both dimensions and screen size, and has a 6.7-inch screen that folds in half. The purpose of the Flip 3 is to use its compact clamshell design to reduce the phone's footprint in your pocket, rather than improve multitasking and productivity. It serves this purpose well, but isn't a real competitor to the Fold 3.

There are rumors of a Pixel Fold in the future, and there are also the Mi Mix Fold and the Huawei Mate X2, but neither is likely to hit markets outside of China. Neither the Moto Razr nor the Surface Duo received many awards, and we had significant concerns in our testing.

Outside of the world of foldable devices, when your primary desire is a big screen and flagship specs, both the Galaxy S21 Ultra and Note 20 Ultra have powerful hardware and S Pen support.

How long it will take?

Samsung has taken care to improve the durability of the Fold 3 by adding IPX8 water resistance, a more durable hinge with sweeping bristles, an improved screen protector for the main screen, retractable tips on the S Pen Fold and Pro, and Gorilla Glass Victus for. added the deck screen. Throw on a case and you won't need much to babysit the phone. If you're particularly concerned, you can invest in Samsung Care + for an extended warranty over the one-year limited warranty and accidental damage protection. The crease can get worse over time, but I would expect the phone to last at least two years, if not longer.

Should you buy it?

Yes sir. The improvements to the Galaxy Z Fold 3 are big enough that I can recommend them to average consumers who aren't early adopters. There are still a few compromises made when it comes to battery and camera performance. So if you value those two things the most, you might be better off with the S21 Ultra. However, for gaming, multimedia, multitasking, and productivity, you won't do any better than the Fold 3.

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