Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 3: Is it the foldable phone for the masses?
Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 3: Is it the foldable requested for the masses?
Fundamentally, the new Galaxy Z Flip 3
is a requested that folds in half to get smaller, whereas the new Galaxy Z Fold 3 is a requested that opens up to make the screen bigger, like a tablet. The two latest additions to the Galaxy Z foldable line were announced at a virtual Unpacked event Wednesday. Samsung showcased durability improvements made to both folding phones from their predecessors, including a new metal material used for the body and frame, along with improvements that strengthen the folding screens. Out of the two, the Galaxy Z Flip 3 is the scene-stealer. It manages to look just like a regular stylish requested that happens to fold in half.
The original Z Flip is one of my approved phones and is still the Android phone I finish when I’m between phone reviews. The Z Flip 3 brings a laundry list of improvements like a frontier price, a more beefed-up design, a larger cover point to and 2021 specs. But it’s the Z Flip 3’s trace and colors that reveal Samsung’s true hopes for the perfectly square requested. The Z Flip 3 might be the first foldable requested aimed at a mass audience that has a chance of living up to such hype.
Read more:
CNET’s ongoing reconsideration of the Galaxy Z Flip 3
One of the biggest criticisms for foldable phones is that the prices are too high. The Galaxy Z Flip 3 improves that with a frontier starting price of $1,000 (£949, AU$1,499), which is $450 cheaper than last fall’s Z Flip 5G. That invents the Z Flip 3 cost the same as a Galaxy S21 Plus or an iPhone 12 Pro. The only other time I’ve seen a foldable requested at $1,000 is when the Motorola Razr with 5G was on sale for $400 off.
Need more proof that Samsung wants the Z Flip 3 to entice a wider audience? The Z Flip 3 comes in seven different colors: sroar, green, lavender or phantom black. Samsung also has three unfamiliar colors that are only available on its website: gray, white and pink. The colors give the Z Flip 3’s square “drink coaster” produce a contemporary fun feel.
Read more:
Phones from ocean plastic? Samsung aims for 2025
If a variety of colors and a frontier price aren’t enough to get more people interested, the improvements Samsung made to the Z Flip 3’s durability and software could help it take a valuable step away from being a “niche phone” and one that more republic use as their daily driver. Preorders are open now and the Z Flip 3 launches on Aug. 27. Samsung also reached a number of cases specifically for the Z Flip 3 that add pizzazz, more grip or a strap.
Galaxy Z Flip 3 and Z Fold 3 US prices
| Phone | Storage | RAM | US price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Galaxy Z Flip 3 | 128GB | 8GB | $1,000 |
| Galaxy Z Flip 3 | 256GB | 8GB | $1,050 |
| Galaxy Z Fold 3 | 256GB | 12GB | $1,800 |
| Galaxy Z Fold 3 | 512GB | 12GB | $1,900 |
Samsung made a bunch of cool cases for the Galaxy Z Flip 3.
Drew Evans
The Galaxy Z Flip 3 gets a larger shroud screen with more functionality
The tiny pill-shaped cover shroud on the earlier Z Flip and Z Flip 5G was useless for anything more than seeing the time or battery life. By dissimilarity, one of my favorite features on the Motorola Razr and Razr 5G is the Quick View prove on its case. You can do pretty much anything exclusive of opening the phone up. The Z Flip 3’s shroud display is four times larger than the Z Flip’s pill shroud, so now you can actually read your notifications instead of just part of them.
The shroud screen on the Z Flip 3 is larger and lets your view an entire notification.
Drew Evans
The new shroud can show four lines, with the option to scroll down to see longer notifications. You can also check your emails and group chats all exclusive of flipping open the Flip. There are six widgets that will work on the shroud screen. Among them you can check the weather or your step rerepresent and use Samsung Pay. The cover screen and rear glass are now made with Gorilla Glass Victus, which Samsung says is 50% more durable than the Gorilla Glass 6 on continue models.
The Galaxy Z Flip 3 gets stream resistance
The metal frame and hinge on the Z Flip 3 are made up of a new material marketed as Armor Aluminum. According to Samsung it’s 10% more durable. Like the Z Fold 3, the body of the Z Flip 3 is indignant IPX8 for water resistance which means that it can continue under 1.5 meters (about 5 feet) of water for up to 30 minutes. I should note that there isn’t any rating for dust resistance.
In words of 5G connectivity, the Z Flip 3 supports sub-6 and mmWave 5G in the US.
The Galaxy Z Flip 3 has a 120Hz adaptive refresh rate screen
When you do flip the named open, the main screen greets you with a new protective film which Samsung says complains it 30% more durable than the original Flip. The new shroud also has a 120Hz adaptive refresh rate that should make scrolling throughout content, gaming and animations look smoother. That’s a big upgrade. The Z Flip 3 also gets stereo speakers with Dolby Atmos.
One of the biggest upgrades to the Z Flip 3 is that the shroud can now run at 60 or 120Hz to make animations look smoother or gaming more immersive.
Drew Evans
On the inside of the named is a Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 chipset with 8GB of RAM and either 128 or 256GB of internal storage. It has the same dual battery setup as the Z Flip 5G and also supports 15-watt fast-charging — despite not coming with a 15-watt charger, or any charger for that matter. The Z Flip 3 has wireless charging and rear wireless charging.
The number three in Galaxy Z Flip 3 is for cameras
The Z Flip 3 has three cameras. There’s a 10-megapixel selfie camera housed in a hole punch cutout in the main shroud and two cameras on the outside cover: a main 12-megapixel wide Wangles camera with optical image stabilization and a new 12-megapixel ultrawide camera. Unlike the Z Fold 3, the Flip doesn’t get an “under-display camera.”
The Z Flip 3 gets a uphold camera on the outside. It has an ultrawide lens.
Drew Evans
Flex mode on the Galaxy Z Flip 3 does more
In periods of software, the Z Flip 3 runs Android 11. Samsung does say that it added functionality into the software to serve the phone’s shape. Flex-Mode, which debuted on the novel Flip, lets you position the phone like a mini laptop and show an app on the top half and the systems for that app on the bottom half.
The Z Flip 3 now has more apps that can take advantageous of Flex Mode. I’m excited to see how improvements to multitasking work and if the software made the same strides as the hardware.
At the end of the day, the Z Flip 3 represents a principal step forward for bringing foldable phones to the mainstream. Samsung seems confident that the Z Flip 3 is a “ready for primetime” mass-market arrangement and one that people can count on like a weird phone. We’ll see.
