Samsung Galaxy Z Fold3 and Z Flip3 hands-on review

 It has been a road paved with leaks and teasers but we've finally made it to the Unpacked destination, where the latest Samsung foldables were waiting for us. They have a pair of watches and TWS earbuds with active noise cancellation to keep them company, but let's not get ahead of ourselves.It has been a road paved with leaks and teasers but we've finally made it to the Unpacked destination, where the latest Samsung foldables were waiting for us. They have a pair of watches and TWS earbuds with active noise cancellation to keep them company, but let's not get ahead of ourselves.

If you've been following closely, then you should know what the Galaxy Z Fold3 5G and Z Flip3 5G are, what they bring and even how much they cost. We're going to go over all of that in this hands-on, but also give you our first hand impressions from Samsung's folding marvels.

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold3 5G

The Galaxy Z Fold3 5G is the star of the show. It's more of a refinement of the Galaxy Z Fold2 5G, than a monumental leap forward, aiming to put any remaining fears about the durability of foldable phones to bed and become a true daily driver in the eyes of a far wider audience.


For starters we finally have element resistance, which is a must-have for many. It's not the complete IP68, but rather an IPX8, which means it should withstand immersion up to a meter and a half, but isn't dust-tight. Samsung Galaxy Note loyalists will surely appreciate the S Pen support as well, while photography hopefuls may end up disappointed by the largely unchanged camera.

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold3 5G specs at a glance:

  • Body: Folded: 67.1x158.2x16mm-14.4mm; Unfolded: 128.1x158.2x6.4mm, 271g; Glass front (folded), plastic front (unfolded), glass back, aluminum frame, IPx8 water resistant.
  • Display: 7.60" Foldable Dynamic AMOLED 2X, 120Hz, HDR10+, 1768x2208px resolution, 18:22.5 aspect ratio, 374ppi; Cover display:, Dynamic AMOLED 2X, 120Hz, Corning Gorilla Glass Victus, 6.2 inches, 832 x 2268 pixels, 24.5:9 ratio.
  • Chipset: Qualcomm SM8350 Snapdragon 888 5G (5 nm): Octa-core (1x2.84 GHz Kryo 680 & 3x2.42 GHz Kryo 680 & 4x1.80 GHz Kryo 680); Adreno 660.
  • Memory: 256GB 12GB RAM, 512GB 12GB RAM; UFS 3.1.
  • OS/Software: Android 11, One UI 3.5.
  • Rear camera: Wide (main): 12 MP, f/1.8, 26mm, 1/1.76", 1.8µm, Dual Pixel PDAF, OIS; Ultra wide angle: 12 MP, f/2.2, 123˚, 12mm, 1.12µm; Telephoto: 12 MP, f/2.4, 52mm, 1/3.6", 1.0µm, PDAF, OIS, 2x optical zoom.
  • Front camera: Under display camera: 16 MP, 1.0µm, 4MP binned photos, under display; Cover camera: 10 MP, f/2.2, 26mm, 1/3", 1.22µm.
  • Video capture: Rear camera: 4K@60fps, 1080p@60/240fps (gyro-EIS), 720p@960fps (gyro-EIS), HDR10+; Front camera: 4K@30fps, 1080p@30fps, gyro-EIS.
  • Battery: 4400mAh; Fast charging 25W, Fast wireless charging 11W, Reverse wireless charging 4.5W.
  • Misc: Fingerprint reader (side-mounted); NFC; Bixby natural language commands and dictation, Samsung DeX (desktop experience support), Samsung Pay (Visa, MasterCard certified), Ultra Wideband (UWB) support.

Compared to its predecessor, the Galaxy Z Fold3 5G is a bit lighter (11g), and with slightly reduced overall volume (the thickness of the unfolded phone has been reduced by 0.5mm). Its screens have retained their resolution and diagonal, but are now both adaptively refreshing up to 120Hz (the Galaxy Z Fold2 5G's cover display was locked at 60Hz). The 7.6-inch is reportedly 29% brighter than the Galaxy Z Fold2 5G's screen thanks to what Samsung calls 'echo square technology'.

The Galaxy Z Fold3 5G has gotten tougher, too. Like its predecessor, it employs Gorilla Glass Victus to the glass cover display, but the aluminum used on the body is 10% stronger than before. Samsung calls it Armor Aluminum and says it's the strongest it has put on a phone.The inner display is still plastic, but uses a new protective film, which is reportedly 80% more durable, which should help alleviate scratches and let you go longer between changes.

Speaking of the S Pen, the Galaxy Fold3 supports two of those - S Pen Fold Edition and S Pen Pro. The former is lighter (8g) and smaller, and lacks Bluetooth, while the Pro is bigger and heavier (14g) and supports Bluetooth and device switching (the Pro works with the Galaxy Z Fold3 5G, Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G, Note20 series, Galaxy Tab S7/S7+ and the Galaxy Book Pro and 360). The S Pen Pro has a built-in USB for charging, an LED indicator and supports both Air command and Air actions, so you can snap images on your Galaxy using the pen.




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