Samsung continues with its strong commitment to folding and have just announced not one, but two new models. It is about the renewal of your previous proposals; the mobile that becomes a tablet and the mobile that folds down to halve its size. We talk about the new Samsung Galaxy Z Fold3 and Galaxy Z Flip3.
The model that concerns us in this case is the Galaxy Z Fold3, the original concept that the brand presented back in February 2019 and that with this they have already renewed three times. The Galaxy Z Fold3 improves in almost everything to its predecessor, let’s see it.
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold3 data sheet
INTERIOR SCREEN | 7.6-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X Infinity Flex Display QXGA + (2208 x 1768 dots), 120 Hz, 374 dpi and S Pen support |
---|---|
OUTDOOR SCREEN | 6.2-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X (2268 x 832 dots), 120 Hz, 387 dpi |
PROCESSOR | Snapdragon 888 5G with 8 cores, 64 bits and 5 nm lithography (2.84 GHz + 2.4 GHz + 1.8 GHz) |
PRINCIPAL MEMORY | 12 GB |
STORAGE | 256 or 512 GB UFS 3.1 |
FRONTAL CAMERA | 10 megapixels, f / 2.2, FOV 80º and 1.22 µm photodiodes |
INTERIOR CHAMBER | 4 megapixels, f / 1.8, FOV 80º and 2 µm photodiodes |
REAR CAMERAS |
|
WIRELESS CONNECTIVITY | 5G NSA and SA, Sub6 / mmWave LTE Enhanced 4X4 MIMO |
OPERATING SYSTEM | Android 11 |
SIM | 2 x nano-SIM and 1 x eSIM |
SOUND | Dolby Atmos stereo speakers |
BATTERY | 4,400 mAh |
BIOMETRIC IDENTIFICATION | Fingerprint sensor and facial recognition |
DIMENSIONS | 67.1 x 158.2 x 16 mm (folded) 128.1 x 158.2 x 6.4 mm (unfolded) |
WEIGHT | 271 g |
COLORS | Phantom Black, Phantom Green and Phantom Silver |
PRICE | From 1,809 euros |
Increasingly robust and resistant
One of the main concerns about folding designs is durability. Nothing is eternal, and less if that something allows us to fold and unfold it. Samsung has been improving the robustness of the Fold and in this generation they bring us a design that mounts an aluminum 10% more resistant, in addition to Gorilla Glass Victus glass covering both sides. By the way, despite having improved all this, it is 11 grams lighter than its predecessor.
Stronger materials, a more robust hinge and water resistance are some of the improvements of this generation.
The Galaxy Z Fold3 continues to bet on the same design that we had already seen. It folds on its vertical axis and has two screens, a smaller outer one and a larger, flexible inner one. The hinge still leaves a small space on the inside when folded, which makes the thickness in this part greater (16 mm and 14.4 mm in the thinnest part).
One of the great novelties of this generation is the arrival of IPX8 water resistance. The Galaxy Z Fold 3 is, together with the Galaxy Z Flip3, the first fully waterproof folding mobile. On the strength of the hinge, Samsung claims that the mobile it can be folded up to 200,000 times without problem.
Fluid screens and with surprise
Like the previous generation, the Galaxy Z Fold3 has two screens, the external and the internal, which is the one that folds. This time both panels have a refresh rate of 120Hz, whereas before we only found this advantage in the interior screen. Both are Dynamic AMOLED 2X and have a density of about 380 dpi.
Inside screen slight crease still visibleAs obvious as it is and if it bothers in use, we will have to analyze it in the review, although in the previous folding models we already saw that this fold ends up going to the background with use.
The inner front camera has been hidden under the screen.
Another novelty of this generation is that the front camera has been hidden under the screen. What they have done is the screen area that covers the lens has a lower density than the rest of the panel, in such a way that it lets in light but at the same time conceals the camera.
Speaking of camera, on the back we find a vertical module with three lenses. The main one is 12 megapixels and has f / 1.8 aperture, Dual Pixel focus and optical stabilizer. It is accompanied by an Ultra-wide and a telephoto lens, both 12 megapixels.
Hello S Pen
Already at the end of last year there was talk that there would be no more Galaxy Note. Support for the S Pen of the Galaxy S21 was the first clue and we can already confirm it since the August event was where the new Note traditionally arrived.
The arrival of the folding in the August event and the support for the S Pen make it clear: we can say goodbye to the Notes.
In case there are doubts, the Galaxy Z Fold3 also has support for the S Pen Fold Edition, specially designed for the flexible screen of the Fold. This model does not have Bluetooth connectivity, so it does not have some special functions that the Note had. However, Samsung confirmed to us that there will be an S Pen Pro that will have this option.
Of course, the Galaxy Z Fold3 still has features like the continuity between screens, multitasking capabilities that allow you to drag files between apps and much more to take advantage of your design.
Power signed by Qualcomm and doubts about autonomy
We can not leave without talking about the technical characteristics of the Samsung folding. How could it be otherwise, mount a level processor, but this time It is not a Samsung Exynos, but a Qualcomm Snapdragon 888. Until now, Samsung reserved Qualcomm chips for the Chinese and US markets, but this time there will be a single version with this chip, at least for now.
At the moment there is no version with Exynos, but a model with Snapdragon 888.
Regarding memory, we have only one option to 12 GB RAM and two storage: 256 or 512 GB UFS 3.1, not expandable with MicroSD. It also has a fingerprint reader under the screen and a facial recognition system.
The battery is 4,400 mAh, a figure that seems a bit fair to us taking into account that we are talking about a mobile with two screens, one of them quite large. We will have to wait for the review, but a priori it does not seem that autonomy is going to be its strong point.
Versions and prices of the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold3
The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold3 will hit stores in three colors, to choose from Phantom Black, Phantom Green and Phantom Silver. In addition, it has two versions depending on memory, 256 or 512 GB. The 256 GB model costs 1,809 euros, almost 200 euros less than the same version of the Galaxy Z Fold2. The 512GB model costs 1,909 euros. It can be booked from today on the Samsung website.