Introduction
Samsung's foldable smartphones are going from strength to strength. The Galaxy Z Fold 3 is the third iteration of Samsung's first foldable device. It's also the most versatile yet. The company has made some serious improvements to the device's durability and performance.
The company has also introduced new software experiences to enable Galaxy Z Fold 3 users to extract the maximum benefit from this unique form factor. The Galaxy Z Fold 3 also happens to be the first foldable smartphone with support for the S Pen.
Design
Retaining the familiar in-folding design, the Galaxy Z Fold 3 is made from Armor Aluminum. The company says this is its “toughest strongest aluminum frame” yet. This is also the first Samsung foldable that's water resistant. The IPX8 certification means that the device can be submerged in up to 1.5 meters of water for up to 30 minutes.
The IP rating doesn't bring dust resistance, though. However, the hinge includes nylon bristles on the inside in order to sweep away dust from entering the critical components. The camera cutouts at the back have been redesigned to appear more consistent with Samsung's other flagships.
Displays
Since its data showed that Galaxy Z Fold 2 users were using the cover display as much as they were using the internal display, Samsung made the 6.2-inch 2268×832 pixel resolution Infinity-O cover display 29% brighter compared to the Galaxy Z Fold 2.
The internal 7.6-inch 2208×1768 pixel resolution Dynamic AMOLED 2X foldable display has a new protection film that's 80% stronger and the panel itself is 29% brighter compared to the predecessor. Both panels have a 120Hz refresh rate.
The internal panel is quite unique in that it's the first foldable panel that Samsung has created with an Under Display Camera. It's also the first with a foldable digitizer that enables the S Pen to be used with the Galaxy Z Fold 3.
Specifications
The Galaxy Z Fold 3 is equipped with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 chipset with 12GB of RAM. It's available with 256GB and 512GB of storage. There's no microSD card slot for external expansion. The handset includes stereo speakers and a fingerprint sensor mounted on the home button.
The 4,400mAh battery supports fast charging at 25W. The battery is actually a little smaller than that of its predecessor, as the Galaxy Z Fold 2 had a 4,500mAh battery. There's support for 5G, NFC and UWB.
Cameras
The camera setup includes a 12-megapixel f/1.8 primary sensor with Dual Pixel autofocus and optical image stabilization. There's also a 12-megapixel f/2.2 ultra-wide camera as well as a 12-megapixel 2x f/2.4 telephoto camera.
There's a 10-megapixel camera on the cover display. The foldable display includes Samsung's first Under Display Camera. It's a 4-megapixel camera that stays out of the way when you're not taking photos or in a video call.
Software
The Galaxy Z Fold 3 comes with Android 11 out of the box in addition to One UI 3.1.1. There's not a whole lot in the way of new features. Samsung has made some optimizations to enable the software to take better advantage of the foldable display.
Much like Samsung's recent flagships, the Galaxy Z Fold 3 is supported for three Android OS upgrades. It will also receive security updates for up to four years after it hits the market. Android 12 One UI 4.0 was the first major update for the device after it was released. Samsung rolled it out in December 2021.
This is also one of the first few devices to receive the WhatsApp feature that finally makes it possible to transfer chats from iPhone to an Android device.
Price and Availability
As we exclusively revealed a few months ago, the Galaxy Z Fold 3 has indeed been launched at a lower price than the Galaxy Z Fold 3. The Galaxy Z Fold 3 starts at $1,799. Phantom Black, Green and Silver colors. August 27, 2021 is the release date of the Galaxy Z Fold 3. Despite having support for the S Pen, the device doesn't come with one. The S Pen for the Galaxy Z Fold 3 costs $49.99.