Samsung just picked up a(nother) prestigious innovation award on account of the Galaxy Z Flip 3. Namely, the foldable flagship has been named as Time Magazine's “Innovation of the Year” for 2021. Or rather, one of its innovations of the year; as is always the case, this annual award encompasses 100 products across the technology sphere, in total.
While the recipient pool size might diminish Samsung's accomplishment, the honor hasn't been extended to any other smartphone this year. Which just goes to show how difficult it is to innovate in the maturing smartphone sector nowadays. Yet Samsung did it all the same.
More specifically, the Galaxy Z Flip 3 has been named as one of the biggest innovations of the year in the consumer electronics segment. Alongside way quirkier products like the modular Framework Laptop and Paper Shoot Camera.
Is the Galaxy Z Flip 3 truly a greater achievement than the Galaxy Z Fold 3?
Time Magazine's reasoning for the award also doubles as an explanation for why the publication overlooked the Galaxy Z Fold 3. Officially, the honor is meant to underline how Samsung finally “nailed” the portability of classic flip phones with modern tech. Unofficially, the answer can be surmised as “nostalgia”. Not that we're skeptical about the prospects of modern flip phones. But it's difficult to argue that the Galaxy Z Flip 3 is somehow a greater technological achievement than the Galaxy Z Fold 3.
Either way, just hours before officially making Time's shortlist, the Galaxy Z Flip 3 also bagged a CES 2022 design award. Or rather, its Bespoke Edition did. And as for the Innovation of the Year awards, Samsung also earned two honorary mentions this time around; one for the Eco Remote, and another one for the QN90A Neo QLED 4K smart TV.
