Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 3 review: the first mainstream foldable phone

That was my honest initial chemical reaction when I got to use the original Z Flip stopping point class, and one year late, I ’ megabyte calm as amazed that we have a mod clamshell phone that easily fits in a pouch and that I can flip to open and slap exclude to end a phone call. Just like the good old times The Galaxy Z Flip 3 that I ’ ve been using in the past few days is all about ex post facto vibes, from the cream color translation that reminds me of the color of plastics used in electronics in the 90s to the hale foldable military action. If you want a cool earphone that besides happens to be vastly different from the me-too onslaught of smartphones out there, the Z Flip 3 is decidedly among the first things that come to mind.And Samsung has now dropped the price to a direction more fair $ 999, still premium flagship territory, but not crazy expensive as the original Flip that cost closely $ 1,400. The price gets you all the advanced flagship internals, and this being an Android telephone, means Qualcomm ’ s most mighty Snapdragon 888 chip coupled with 8GB of RAM. It besides gets a few authoritative fixes, the most crucial one being a 4X larger and now actually useful Cover Screen up front, last, a 120Hz main display, better loudspeakers and waterproofing ! While Samsung hasn ’ thymine compromised on television camera quality, you don ’ t get a zoom lens like on the S21 Ultra. And the biggest compromise might merely be the small letter by Android standards 3,300mAh battery inside this phone. even the compact ( and cheaper ) Galaxy S21 ships with a 4,000mAh cell, and that barely lasts a day.So… with exhilaration and a few concerns, let ’ s dive bravely in this gamble called the Galaxy Z Flip 3 and see if Samsung can convince the global that the future of the smartphone is … well, a foldable smartphone !

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The main display on the Z Flip 3 is technically a 6.7-inch riddle, but in reality it ’ s not quite adenine bad as that numeral suggests. It is, however, extra tall with an unusual 22 by 9 expression ratio ( a half of that screen door is about a public square at 11 by 9 ). One consequence of that is that you get bigger black bars while watching videos on YouTube and besides in Instagram/Facebook stories.The other thing to mention here is THE CREASE. not much has changed about it : it ’ s hush very much there. Unlike the furrow on the sibling Fold 3 model, this one is not as visually intrusive, but since it ‘s right in the middle in the way of your scroll, you get to touch it identical frequently and it is noticeable. I besides tried pushing with my finger a moment harder around that more vulnerable area in the center, and it felt pretty uncompromising, but at the end of the day, it ‘s still one irritation that fair comes with a modern foldable phone.As for filmdom quality, this is your distinctive high-quality Samsung AMOLED panel : 1080p Full HD solution, beautiful colors, excellent screening angles and gorgeous deep blacks. Oh, did we mention it supports 120Hz freshen rate now ? It is a around-the-clock deviation with the choppy 60Hz of the master Fold, and if you care about fluent interfaces, you will appreciate this upgrade a lot.

The telephone besides comes with a pre-applied screen defender and unlike the cartilaginous feel sieve defender on the original, this one feels much like the kind of screen protectors people normally put on their smartphones and in about a week of use, it did n’t form any bubbles. still, Samsung does not recommend you remove it and if you happen to damage it, the company recommends you go to a avail center to get a new screen defender installed. tied though the new glass is tougher and everything, we did not dare remove the screen defender and you probably should n’t remove it excessively.

Galaxy Z Flip 3 Cover Screen

Here is what you can do with the Cover Screen: We have to besides mention the now 4X times larger Cover Screen. The bantam display on the original Z Flip was a joke : it would lone show a depart of a presentment, you ’ d have to wait for it to scroll to read it and on top of that, the screen would actually dim before you could read the whole thing. The cover screen on the Z Flip 3 is 1.9 inches in diagonal ( v 1.1 ” on the original, but the numbers hera are a bit misinform, it ’ s a bigger difference in actual screen area ) .Here is what you can do with the Cover shield :

  • tap it once to see the time, date and battery level
  • tap it twice or press the power button to turn it on fully. I’ve set it to show a different cute animal every time, and I insist this is the best way to use it (admittedly, you can set it to show the hour in another time zone, show an analog clock, or a different type of animated character)
  • swipe down from the top to adjust its brightness and quickly change your phone between sound, vibrate and mute modes
  • swipe to the left from the main panel to get to a few panels of widgets: your music controls, the weather, your calendar, alarms, a voice recorder and a few more
  • swipe to the right from the main panel brings you in notification land where you can tap on a particular message to expand it and read the whole thing right on the tiny cover screen

therefore much cooler than on the original Flip !

I do, however, wish Samsung did a act more for continuity here. For model, it makes sense once you ’ ve tapped on a notification on the Cover Screen, that unfolding your telephone from that point means you have the intention of reading or replying to that presentment. however, the earphone doesn ’ thyroxine automatically open the app where the notification came from, but rather opens your home filmdom. This is a adult godforsaken of time and barely doesn ’ t make common sense, and I sincerely hope Samsung gives users this choice.

Galaxy Z Flip 3 Performance

It’s smooth and snappy, but it gets hot easily with even basic tasks

Packed in a bantam motherboard that Samsung has about miraculously fit inside this bantam chassis is the Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 paired with 8GB of RAM. That ’ s reasonably much ace silicon in the Android worldly concern, so you ’ re not missing out on much. International buyers will credibly be felicitous to know that they are besides getting the same processor and not the slightly less knock-down Exynos version ( a motion that Samsung pulls every year with the Galaxy S serial ).
In my use, I ’ ve found this earphone to be crisp and very responsive, but I have besides noticed that it gets quite hot even with basic tasks. Often, the Z Flip 3 would get hot while just watching a YouTube video or while good sending messages on Skype or Facebook Messenger. This has been a bit of a coarse offspring with the Snapdragon 888 chip that we have noticed on other phones as well, and other manufacturers like OnePlus have gone angstrom far as accelerator the chip to ensure proper performance. Yet hush, it is particularly noticeable on the Flip 3.

name

Higher is better

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 3

1104

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip

685

Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra

1081

Samsung Galaxy S21

1043

name

Higher is better

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 3

3404

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip

2428

Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra

3463

Samsung Galaxy S21

3090

name

Higher is better

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 3

40

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip

31

Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra

52

Samsung Galaxy S21

50

If the T-Rex HD part of GFXBench is demanding, then the Manhattan test is downright gruelling. It ‘s a GPU-centric test that simulates an highly graphically intensive bet on environment that is meant to push the GPU to the soap. that simulates a graphically-intensive gambling environment on the screen. The results achieved are measured in frames per moment, with more frames being better .

name

Higher is better

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 3

86

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip

47

Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra

56

Samsung Galaxy S21

98

View all

We will explore this in more detail individually, but sol far we can say that A. this call feels flying, but besides B. it does get a bite warmer than usual. You besides get 128GB of on-board storehouse of the fast UFS 3.1 kind. That ’ mho half the storage valuation reserve from the original Flip, but if that was the price to get to the more low-cost price on the Z Flip 3, we ’ re all in. And nope, no microSD card / expandable repositing on this bad boy .

Galaxy Z Flip 3 Camera

Some changes in processing make a big difference for actual image quality

On the topic of cameras, the Z Flip 3 silent comes with two main cameras at the back. There ’ s a 12MP F2.2 extremist fisheye and a 12MP F1.8 fisheye television camera at the back. interim, a pretty criterion 10MP selfie television camera punches a trap through the display. Mind you, this one international relations and security network ’ t obscure as the one on the Z Fold 3. credibly following year, eh ?

notably missing is a telephotograph of any kind, which was okay death year with the proof-of-concept Z Flip. But you know what ? I ’ m still okay with the Z Flip 3 having no extra television camera features at all ; after all, it ’ second all about the design and the overall experience with this call, and if you ’ re sad that you can ’ deoxythymidine monophosphate zoom that much, just get a Galaxy S21 Ultra and spare yourself the disappointment.
here are some camera samples that should give you a pretty dependable sympathy of what ‘s to expect from the Z Flip 3 ‘s television camera.


Z Flip 3 Z Flip

< Z Flip 3

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Differences in prototype work on the Z Flip 3 against the original are apparent from the beginning : the modern Flip has a bright exposure, but it looks a snatch overexposed while the master has a better controlled dynamic range and overall a more accurate photograph.

Z Flip 3 Z Flip

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sometimes this bright look may appear a bite better, but that ‘s up for debate and we can see that this is not casual, it ‘s a fresh way of image work.

Z Flip 3 Z Flip

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The ultra-wide television camera captures colors that are more tone down in saturation in the green gamut, but the skies have a deeper and more ink-black blue imbue.

Z Flip 3 Z Flip

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The Z Flip 3 decidedly does a much better job exposing for my confront in this portrayal changeable, and this is one example of the bright exposure working to its advantage. Both the Z Flip 3 and the original can alone shoot portrait manner photos with the main camera, but not a 2X zoom view that is typically what you may want for a more flatter, portrayal look.
Z Flip 3 main camera selfie - Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 3 review: the first mainstream foldable phone

Z Flip 3 punch hole camera on main screen - Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 3 review: the first mainstream foldable phone

And yes, you can easily take a selfie using the main television camera on the Z Flip 3 and it actually does look better than a selfie captured with the dedicate front camera on the independent riddle.

Z Flip 3 Z Flip

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At night, using the Scene Optimizer on both phones yields the results you see above. It ‘s hard to find much of a remainder, and interestingly, it was the original Flip that captures more light in that particular case.

Z Flip 3 Z Flip

< Z Flip 3

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Photographing something in a pallidly ignite board yields a decent shoot on the Z Flip 3, but again you get a amazingly exchangeable result on last year ‘s model, so we can not see much of an upgrade in that involve.

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Video quality

While the Z Flip 3 has a apparently unaltered camera frame-up, we can decidedly see some very noticeable differences in video recording quality. The footage on the Z Flip 3 looks — amazingly — very farinaceous and there is a draw of noise even while recording during the day, in bright sunlight. That is foreign and you can decidedly see that 4K video from the original Z Flip actually looks a fortune cleaner. The newer phone besides seems more prone to burning the highlights and active image does n’t seem quite a controlled as on the original. We did n’t notice any major difference in microphone record timbre.

Call and Audio Quality

Samsung has upgraded the audio on the Z Flip 3 : the individual loudspeaker on the original Flip is now replaced with a stereo frame-up ( one bottom firing speaker and another one build up in the earphone ). That ’ s a dear upgrade and comparing the two phones side by side, the newer Flip sounds a bunch richer, with more depth to the sound compared to the decidedly average speaker on the original. hush, in comparison to standard phones such as the Galaxy S21, the Z Flip 3 is not quite there as audio comes out with more aberration. In a nutshell : the Z Flip 3 now has quite properly voice quality, but it ’ s still one small step below most regular flagships in that respect.
And just like on the original Flip, no earphone jack is to be found. Samsung doesn ’ deoxythymidine monophosphate provide earbuds in the box either, so if you want electrify audio, you ’ five hundred want to spend a few bucks extra on a pair of good sounding USB-C buds or on a USB-C to 3.5mm arranger that would allow you to use traditional wired headphones.
In regular voice calls, the choice was top notch. We tested calls with VoLTE and an HD+ icon appeared bespeak especial clearness in calls and we noticed and appreciated the higher fidelity of the call option choice.

Galaxy Z Flip 3 Battery

Slightly better than mediocre, it will last you a full day in most cases, but not more

In my use, I was getting anxious that my battery would run out by evening time. Using the phone from the morning, I would notice the battery would usually drop to around 30% around 5pm with mostly texting and just the occasional video and a few glances at social media. More intense use would likely drain the battery before the end of the day, but with scarce use you could through longer days. What this phone is not is a 2-day champ, you definitely have to top it up every night.

The phone comes without a charger in the box (you only have a cable in the box), so most people would have to plan to spend a bit extra to get a fast charger. The Flip 3 has slightly slower speeds than most top-end Samsung phones: it only goes to 15W fast charging (vs 25W on S21), 10W fast

In practical terms, this means that a full charge via a wire takes around 1 hour and 40 minutes, and a full wireless charge takes around 2 hours and a half.

If you are looking for recommendations on chargers, Samsung’s official 25W charger is our top pick. It’s a bit more powerful than the maximum supported speed on the Flip but you will be future proof for any other Samsung devices that might appear in your household.

You also have support for wireless charging at speeds of up to 15W. Any Qi compatible charger will do, and if you’re looking for a recommendation, we’ve been quite happy using Samsung’s own 15W Wireless Charging stand. Despite all the tweaks to the Z Flip 3, battery size has actually remained unchanged from the original Z Flip. You still have two inter-connected batteries, one in the bed half and one in the upper half, with a combine entire capacitance of 3,300mAh. That is manner below the average for Android standards, but somehow it works out and the telephone can decidedly get you through an average day.In my use, I was getting anxious that my battery would run out by evening time. Using the telephone from the dawn, I would notice the battery would normally drop to around 30 % around 5pm with largely texting and just the casual television and a few glances at social media. More intense practice would likely drain the battery before the end of the day, but with scarce habit you could through longer days. What this telephone is not is a 2-day chomp, you decidedly have to top it up every night.The phone comes without a charger in the box ( you only have a cable in the box ), therefore most people would have to plan to spend a act extra to get a fast charger. The Flip 3 has slenderly slower speeds than most top-end Samsung phones : it only goes to 15W flying charge ( volt 25W on S21 ), 10W debauched wireless charging ( v 15W on S21 ), and 4.5W turn back radio charging.In virtual terms, this means that a fully mission via a wire takes around 1 hour and 40 minutes, and a wax radio mission takes around 2 hours and a half.If you are looking for recommendations on chargers, Samsung ’ s official 25W charger is our top choice. It ’ s a bit more mighty than the maximal digest speed on the Flip but you will be future proofread for any early Samsung devices that might appear in your household.You besides have support for radio charging at speeds of up to 15W. Any Qi compatible charger will do, and if you ’ ra looking for a recommendation, we ’ ve been quite felicitous using Samsung ’ s own 15W Wireless Charging stand.

Conclusion

It’s a one-of-a-kind device and it’s cool, but there are a few problems lurking

I am not a person who is yet a convert to the modern flip phone idea, but I’m extremely curious to experiment with it. From my perspective, the Z Flip 3 is a welcome improvement, but also an incremental step up over the original. I used the original Z Flip for a few hours for comparison sake and found the 60Hz screen situation and the visual stutter with it particularly annoying, and that tiny Cover Screen was just apparently a mistake on the earlier model. The Z Flip 3 fixes those flaws, but doesn’t bring anything new and groundbreaking to the table. And while the design is now water-proof and, I feel, sturdier, it’s still a bit of a chore unfolding this phone with one hand, an action that you’d need to repeat tens if not hundreds times a day. And it doesn’t address any concerns you may have about the mediocre battery life and the lack of a zoom camera.

Ultimately, I will stick with the Flip for a little while and see how it goes. It’s admittedly a fun phone, it’s different and I like that. I still have my reservations about foldable phones that this phone hasn’t quite resolved, but it’s the one I feel I can actually pull off compared to the rather large and unwieldy Z Fold 3, essentially a folding tablet. But that’s just a personal take, and do make sure to see how Samsung has brought big improvements to the indeed, should you get it ? That ’ s a wyrd wonder to answer for a one-of-a-kind device like the Z Flip 3. There is actually no rival in advanced clamshell foldables, and if you like the theme of a folding call ( preferably than a fold pad like the Z Fold 3 ), this is the best about ( again, though, in a world of one ) .I am not a person who is even a change to the mod flip call estimate, but I ‘m extremely curious to experiment with it. From my position, the Z Flip 3 is a welcome improvement, but besides an incremental step up over the original. I used the original Z Flip for a few hours for comparison sake and found the 60Hz screen situation and the ocular bumble with it peculiarly annoying, and that bantam Cover Screen was just obviously a err on the earlier model. The Z Flip 3 fixes those flaws, but doesn ’ thymine bring anything fresh and groundbreaking to the table. And while the design is now water-proof and, I feel, sturdier, it ’ sulfur silent a sting of a job unfolding this earphone with one hand, an action that you ’ five hundred need to repeat tens if not hundreds times a day. And it doesn ’ metric ton address any concerns you may have about the average battery life and the lack of a zoom camera.Ultimately, I will stick with the Flip for a fiddling while and see how it goes. It ’ mho true a fun phone, it ’ south different and I like that. I still have my reservations about foldable phones that this phone hasn ’ t quite resolved, but it ’ s the one I feel I can actually pull off compared to the rather big and gawky Z Fold 3, basically a protein folding pill. But that ‘s just a personal film, and do make certain to see how Samsung has brought big improvements to the Z Fold 3 and its software in our broad review .

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