The Galaxy Z Flip 3 is officially releasing tomorrow, August 27th. And while you might not have planned to get a foldable this year, anyone in the market for a high-end smartphone should be considering one, anyway. From a technical perspective, it's best to take a look at how the device compares to the Galaxy S21. As that's the newest Samsung flagship sitting in its sub-$1,000 price range.
Just a couple of years ago, few would have expected Samsung's foldable devices to be this refined just three generations in. And yet, looking at how the Galaxy Z Flip 3 fares against the Galaxy S21, not many compromises are required if you want to hop in on the foldable bandwagon right now.
In terms of computing prowess, the Galaxy Z Flip 3 and Galaxy S21 are pretty much identical. Meaning they utilize the Snapdragon 888 chipset and their base models start at 128GB of flash storage and 8GB of RAM. The former is of the UFS 3.1 variety, making it as fast as they come.
Battery-wise, the Galaxy S21 comes out on top with a 4,000mAh cell. As opposed to the 3,300mAh unit sitting inside the Galaxy Z Flip 3. And it actually supports 25W charging, whereas the foldable device is still stuck with 15W tech.
The Z Flip 3 wins if you're looking for the cool factor
If you're big on video content creation, another notable difference is 8K recording support that's only available on the Galaxy 21. Granted, this solution is still in its infancy and the Galaxy S21 can only shoot 8K in 24 frames per second. But at least the option is there.
Looking at raw technical data, the Galaxy Z Flip 3 might be a step behind the Galaxy S21 in low-light photography, as it uses a slightly smaller sensor. Plus, it lacks a telephoto zoom that its counterpart offers. But let's not pretend smartphone zoom lenses stopped sucking while we weren't looking, except if you buy Samsung's Ultra-branded flagships.
Of course, one area in which the Galaxy Z Flip 3 easily comes out ahead of the Galaxy S21 is the display. Which offers a larger pixel count (1,080 x 2,640 vs 1,080 x 2,400) and more real estate (6.7 vs 6.2 inches), resulting in a higher pixel density (426ppi vs 421ppi). That's without even mentioning the foldable thing which, you know, is kind of the main selling point of the device.
Five years ago, this would have been labeled a “phablet” due to how enormous its screen is. And yet its folded physical footprint is smaller than even some of Samsung's earliest Android smartphones. It's pretty much the future of mobile in every display-related sense.
Whether the aforementioned trade-offs and a price tag roughly $200 higher to that of the Galaxy S21 are worth it is up to you. But overall, the differences are rather minimal and if you're going to spend a grand on a new smartphone, you might as well maximize the coolness factor, no?
Samsung
Galaxy Z Flip 3
Samsung
Galaxy S21
General Information
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Model Name
Galaxy Z Flip 3
Galaxy S21
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Model type
Foldable
Bar
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Colors
Cream ()Green ()Lavender ()Black ()
Violet (Phantom Violet)Pink (Phantom Pink)Gray (Phantom Gray)White (Phantom White)
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Announced
2021, August
2021, January
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Released
2021, August
2021, January
Physical specifications
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Dimensions
Folded: 86.4 x 72.2 x 15.9~17.1 mmUnfolded: 166 x 72.2 x 6.9 mm
Bar: 151.7 x 71.2 x 7.9 mm
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Weights
183g
171g
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IP rating
IPX8
IP68
Operating system
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Operating system
Android 11
Android 11
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One UI version
3.1.1
3.1
Networks
-
SIM
Single SIM
Dual SIM model
-
SIM card sizes
Nano-SIM (4FF)
Nano-SIM (4FF)
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Networks
2G3G4G5G
2G3G4G5G
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eSIM support
Yes
Yes
Display
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Kind
Main Display
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Name
Infinity Flex Display
Infinity-O Display
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Technology
Dynamic AMOLED Display
Dynamic AMOLED 2X
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Size
6.7 inch / 170.18 mm
6.2 inch / 157.48 mm
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Resolution
FHD+ / 2640x1080 pixels
FHD+ / 2400x1080 pixels
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Pixel density
425 PPI
421 PPI
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Screen to body ratio
~87.2%
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Refresh rate
120Hz
120Hz
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Kind
Cover Display
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Technology
Super AMOLED Display
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Size
1.9 inch / 48.26 mm
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Resolution
/ 512x260 pixels
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Pixel density
302 PPI
