Foldable phones really feel like they’ve matured at this point with the introduction of the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3 5G. Samsung’s latest foldable smartphone builds upon bigger screens the Galaxy Z Fold 2 introduced while adding welcome improvements like 120Hz adaptive displays, an under-display camera, and improved durability. Meanwhile, added S-Pen support also basically makes this phone a replacement for Samsung’s Note series, much to the chagrin of phablet fans.
Year over year, the Galaxy Z Fold 3 5G looks strikingly similar to last year’s model. In fact, the only thing that’s changed externally with the latest version is a slight camera bump. Opening the phone reveals the new under-display selfie camera that helps cover up the glaring hole punch in the screen from last year. The pixels over the camera aren’t exactly perfect, though, as they’re clearly transparent, and they don’t display the same hue and brightness as the rest of the screen.
Another thing that’s clear about the Galaxy Z Fold 3 is it’s noticeably lighter when you pick it up. I described the Galaxy Z Fold 2 overstuffed ice cream sandwich or candy bar when it weighed 9.95-ounces. The Fold 3 5G is less than half an ounce lighter at 9.56 ounces, but it doesn’t feel nearly as dense or heavy.
You still have the same 6.2-inch and 7.6-inch screens as last year’s model on the outside and inside. Both displays are still at the same resolution of 2268 x 832 for the cover screen and 2208 x 1768 on the inner display. What is different is both displays now offer a 120Hz adaptive refresh rate, making them just as quick as Samsung’s flagship Galaxy S21 Ultra and the latest OnePlus 9 Pro handsets. The Fold 2’s all-screen tablet display seemed amazing except for the fact that it was limited to just 60Hz, and now this upgrade makes scrolling and gaming on the Galaxy Z Fold 3 5G feel that much smoother.
Samsung has also implemented a new Eco display technology that increases brightness by 29% without increasing power consumption. While I didn’t have Samsung’s older foldable with me to compare, the increased screen brightness helped overpower any glare from the sun and studio lights in Samsung’s hands-on space. We’ll have to test Samsung’s power savings claims in our full review and they might ultimately be offset by the Fold 3’s smaller 4,400mAh dual batteries that offer 100mAh less capacity than the Fold 2.
One less visible upgrade on the Fold 3 5G is it’s actually IPX8 waterproof now. That’s a big step up in durability when just a few years ago, Samsung’s first foldable phone was recalled due to dust getting under the screens and peeling screen protectors. Speaking of which, the inner tablet display now features Gorilla Glass Victus, the toughest glass for smartphones yet.
The inner display on Samsung’s previous foldable phones always felt a little plasticky, and sometimes it was even easy to leave marks and indents on the screen protector. But this new screen feels like it’s actually made of hard glass, and it comes at a perfect time as the Fold 3 5G is the first Samsung foldable to support S-Pen.
Typically, Samsung leaves stylus support to its Note series and other flagships but writing on a bigger tablet-shaped display feels even better. There’s just more room to doodle and make bigger notes, and thankfully the Fold 3 5G doesn’t buckle even when I’m drawing a line straight down the crease in the middle of the display.
In terms of specs, the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3 5G comes fully loaded with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 processor, 12GB of RAM, and the option of either 256GB or 512GB of storage. For cameras, you get three 12MP cameras on the back covering the usual ultrawide, wide-angle, and telephoto focal lengths. There are also two selfie cameras with a 10MP sensor on the cover display and a 4MP sensor under the display.
Clearly, there had to be some compromises with the under-display camera, which also led to compromises with the quality of the display over the camera itself. Personally, I can’t see myself doing a video call with the device in tablet mode, so I would have just skipped it altogether and had an uninterrupted inner screen.
Overall, the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3 5G seems like a great step forward for Samsung’s foldable flagship. It even comes at a substantially lower $1,799 starting price compared to the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 2 that started retailing for $1,999 last year. Preorders begin on August 11 and ordering on Samsung’s website includes a $200 Samsung store credit plus a free year of Samsung Care if you agree to a three-year subscription to the service.
Be sure to check out our hands on with the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 3 5G and the rest of our Samsung Galaxy Unpacked 2021 coverage.
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Kevin Lee is IGN's SEO Updates Editor. Follow him on Twitter @baggingspam