Raymond Wong

Tech

Trying $10,000 worth of Galaxy Z Fold 3 and Z Flip 3 foldable phones

Samsung’s got new foldables. I held them all. $10,000 of new foldable phones. I’ve never felt more alive.

Holding a stack of four Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 3 foldable Android smartphones

Not to flex or anything, but this is me holding a stack of Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 3 foldable phones worth a total of $4,000 — $1,000 each.

And this right here? It’s $5,400 of Galaxy Z Fold 3 devices.

Let’s talk about these new Samsung foldables because they’re kinda tight.

Evan Rodgers

The Galaxy Z Flip 3 is easily the more adorable of the two foldables. Besides tightening the design for a better in-hand feel, it’s made of 10% stronger aluminum; the protective film on the foldable screen is 80% more durable; there’s IPX8 water resistance; and the hinge is thinner and the gap narrower.

Solid upgrades to durability

Check out these sick cases!

Most noticeable of all is the cover display, which is now way larger.

It comes in four colors and all of them are to die for. The matte black is a whole other level of stealth, though.

Galaxy Z Flip 3 Specs:

※ 6.7-inch FHD+ Dynamic AMOLED 2X foldable display / 1.9-inch Super AMOLED cover display

※ 120Hz refresh rate

※ Snapdragon 888 chip

※ 8GB of RAM

※ 128GB of 256GB of storage

※ 3,300 mAh battery (fast wired and wireless charging)

※ 5G, Wi-Fi 802.11ax, Bluetooth 5.1

※ Stereo speakers

※ IPX8 water resistance

It’s got two rear cameras (12-megapixel main and 12-megapixel ultra-wide) and one hole-punch selfie camera inside (10 megapixels).

From my brief hands on, the Z Flip 3 looks and feels solid. The lower $1,000 price versus the Z Flip’s original $1,380 is also far more approachable.

Then you’ve got the big boi: the Z Fold 3.

The Z Fold 3 has all the same upgrades as the Z Flip 3 including the lighter metal body, more durable and scratch-resistant foldable screen, IPX8 water resistance, and narrower gap.

271g

The Z Fold 3 is 11 grams lighter than the Z Fold 2.

Besides the slimmer triple-camera system (12-megapixel wide, ultra-wide, and telephoto), the form factor is largely unchanged. There are a few refinements, but nothing groundbreaking.

A huge screen viewfinder never gets old.

Galaxy Z Fold 3 Specs:

※ 7.6-inch QXGA+ Dynamic AMOLED 2X foldable display / 6.2-inch HD+ Dynamic AMOLED 2X external display

※ 120Hz refresh rate

※ Snapdragon 888 chip

※ 12GB of RAM

※ 256GB of 512GB of storage

※ 4,400 mAh battery (fast wired and wireless charging)

※ 5G, Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.2

※ Stereo speakers

※ IPX8 water resistance

You can write on it!

What is noteworthy is support for the S Pen — two of them to be exact. I said in my Z Fold 2 review that Samsung should add a stylus and they did! Take your pick of the S Pen Fold Edition (non-Bluetooth) or the S Pen Pro (Bluetooth). The only downside is that they’re sold separately.

I tried it out and it’s as responsive as on a Galaxy Note.

Of course, the real test will be how well the foldable display holds up to being poked and scribbled on long term.

Also different: The inside selfie camera is underneath the foldable display instead of a hole punch as on the Z Fold 2. It’s not quite invisible...

And the 4-megapixel resolution is not the sharpest.

Samsung’s made some more optimizations for to the software. Stuff like more app support in the different modes and the ability to pin the Edge panel like a Windows task bar.

$2,000 was a crazy sum of money to spend on the Z Fold 2. The Z Fold 3 starts at $1,800. It’s still a lot, but you’re also getting a taste of the cutting edge future, today. We’ll have a full review soon. For now, I gotta say these foldables have me 🤤.

🆒 Galaxy Z Fold 2 review: The foldable you want at the price you don’t ⫸⫸⫸

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