The Galaxy Z Flip 3 is The Best Foldable to Buy

After a month with the new Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 3, I can finally go over some of the things I love about the device, some that I don’t like, and why I think the Z Flip 3 is the better foldable purchase.

Samsung recently launched its third generation of foldable devices, the Galaxy Z Flip lineup, and the Galaxy Z Flip 3 brings some major improvements to the table. The all-new Galaxy Z Flip 3 features an upgraded design with a larger cover display, a more durable construction, and a new 120Hz refresh rate display on the inside. It also features Qualcomm’s flagship Snapdragon 888 chip and several new software features to help you make the most of the foldable display. Best of all, it’s a fair bit cheaper than its predecessors.

If you’re planning on getting the Galaxy Z Flip 3, here’s everything I like about the device.

Design and Build

The Galaxy Z Flip 3 is a beautiful phone, it is also a bit more compact than its predecessor. However, it features more noteworthy design changes. For starters, the device now has a significantly larger cover display next to the rear-facing dual-camera setup, this is way more useful than what was on the Galaxy flip 2.

The Galaxy Z Flip 3 also has the new Armor Aluminum chassis, which Samsung claims is their strongest aluminum frame yet. It features Gorilla Glass Victus on both halves of the back panel, and it even offers IPX8 certifications for water resistance. On top of that, the Galaxy Z Flip 3 also features a new protective film on the foldable display that is 80pc more durable than the previous models

Displays & Audio

The Galaxy Z Flip 3 packs the amazing 6.7-inch FHD+ Dynamic AMOLED panel on the inside which has a 2640 x 1080p, a pixel density of 425 PPI, and a peak refresh rate of 120Hz with adaptive refresh rate support. The 6.7-inch AMOLED main display is sharp and vibrant, giving all of your photos, videos, and apps a chance to shine.

The display on the new Galaxy Z Flip 3 is also an AMOLED panel that measures 1.9-inch diagonally with a resolution of 250 x 512p and a pixel density of 302 PPI. Thanks to the additional screen real estate, the phone can now display up to four lines on the outer screen. In addition, Samsung has included a couple of handy widgets like Spotify, notification support, and customization options for the outer screen.

The Galaxy Z Flip 3 features stereo speakers with Dolby Atmos support tuned by AKG and as repeat readers know, having no stereo speakers set up right now on a phone is a deal-breaker for me.

Also Read: Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3, Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 3 Availability and Price in Kenya

Performance & Camera

The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 3 packs Qualcomm’s flagship Snapdragon 888 chip. The 5nm octa-core chip features one Kryo 680 prime core (ARM Cortex X1-based) clocked at 2.84GHz, three Kryo performance cores (ARM Cortex A78-based) clocked at 2.4GHz, and four Kryo 680 efficiency cores (ARM Cortex A55-based) clocked at 1.8GHz. The SoC is paired with 8GB of RAM and 128GB or 256GB of UFS 3.1 storage.

I certainly didn’t encounter any slowdown or hitching whatsoever in my time testing it.

Samsung gives the Z Flip 3 a dual-camera setup consisting of a 12MP f/1.8 main camera and a 12MP f/2.2 ultra-wide camera. For selfies, the device features the same 10MP f/2.4 camera as its predecessor, which is housed within a hole-punch cutout on the inner display.

The main 12MP shooter offers Dual Pixel Auto-focus, optical image stabilization (OIS), HDR10+ video recording, and Tracking AF support. The 12MP ultra-wide camera has a 123˚ Field of View, and it doesn’t offer OIS or AF capabilities. The 10MP selfie shooter also misses out on OIS and AF functionality.

The device comes with a full suite of software-enhanced photo tools, encompassing everything from nighttime photography to portrait mode, and even AR doodling.

I ran a night camera test on Twitter vs the OPPO Reno6 and Xiaomi Redmi Note 10 Pro and it won.

What I don’t Like

The base storage on the Galaxy Z Flip 3 is 128GB which is a little bit on the lower side for the asking price, you can also get up to 256GB only with the device which is a bummer.

It is super hard to open the Z Flip 3 with one hand if not impossible, I feel like the nostalgic feel would demand you smoothly and quickly open and shut the phone with one hand, no?

Using the Z Flip 3 as a regular phone, fully unfolded, means that you’ll constantly thumb over a very noticeable groove running horizontally across the exact center of the display, you can also clearly see the disconnect while using the phone, while MKBHD says you’ll grow into it, I didn’t.

The Z Flip 3 also packs a piddly little 3300mAh battery, and I will not lie to you this did not make it a full day with heavy usage.

The mediocre battery would be easier to swallow if Samsung had paired it with fast charging speeds, but the 15W charging here is slow by Android standards. There is 10W wireless charging though, and slow 4.5W reverse wireless charging for other devices, however, using either form of wireless heats the phone up.

I love the Galaxy Z Flip 3, there are drawbacks and you’ll know if those are dealbreakers for you, if not, I think the Z Flip 3 is the best foldable out right now.

I will not go over all the specifications, you can see them below:

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 3: Specifications

Specification Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 3
Build
  • Corning Gorilla Glass Victus on the back
  • Armor Aluminum frame
  • IPX8 water resistance
Dimensions & Weight
  • Folded: 72.2 x 86.4 x 17.1mm ~ 15.9mm
  • Unfolded: 72.2 x 166.0 x 6.9mm
  • 183g
Display
  • Outer display:
    • 1.9-inch Super AMOLED
    • 250 x 512; 302 PPI
  • Inner display:
    • 6.7-inch FHD+ Dynamic AMOLED 2X
    • 2640 x 1080; 425 PPI
    • 120Hz adaptive refresh rate
SoC
  • Qualcomm Snapdragon 888
    • 1x Kryo 680 (ARM Cortex X1-based) Prime core @ 2.84GHz
    • 3x Kryo 680 (ARM Cortex A78-based) Performance cores @ 2.4GHz
    • 4x Kryo 680 (ARM Cortex A55-based) Efficiency cores @ 1.8GHz
  •  Adreno 660 GPU
RAM & Storage
  • 8GB RAM
  • 128/256GB UFS 3.1 storage
Battery & Charging
  • 3,300mAh dual-cell battery
  • 15W wired charging
  • 10W wireless charging
  • 4.5W reverse wireless charging
Security
  • Side-mounted fingerprint sensor
  • AI face recognition
Rear Camera(s)
  • Primary: 12MP f/1.8, Dual Pixel AF, OIS
  • Ultra-wide: 12MP f/2.2, 123° FoV
Front Camera(s) 10MP f/2.4
Port(s) USB Type-C
Audio
  • Stereo speakers
  • Dolby Atmos
Connectivity
  • 4X4 MIMI, 7CA, LAA, LTE Cat.20
  • SA/NSA 5G (Sub6/mmWave)
  • Wi-Fi 6
  • Bluetooth 5.1
  • NFC
Software One UI based on Android 11
Colors
  • Phantom Black
  • Cream
  • Green
  • Lavender
  • Gray
  • White
  • Pink
  • Thom Browne edition

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