Samsung's folding smartphones have grown up with the 3rd generation. The Galaxy Z Fold 3 is characterized by a more robust structure and for the first time comes with an IPX8 certification against water. Instead of a new note, the Fold now also supports the S-Pen stylus. Samsung has reduced the price by 150 euros.
The first foldable smartphone with IPX8
Foldable smartphones from Samsung should no longer compromise on traditional devices such as the Galaxy S. This applies above all to the resilience of smartphones, with which the 1st generation of these smartphones became notorious at the very beginning of the entry into the foldable era. The Fold 3 comes with even smaller gaps around the hinge and for the first time also defies water, including temporary submersion. The IPX8 certification signals that water is no longer a problem, but dust cannot yet be repelled. Grains of sand between the displays should be avoided anyway.
More resistant display film
The chassis is still made of aluminum, but is now called “Armor Aluminum”, which stands for a stronger alloy that is 10 percent more resistant or stiffer than in the Fold 2 (test) and is supposed to repel scratches better. Samsung still covers the foldable OLED panel with a factory-applied protective film that, according to the manufacturer's recommendation, should not be removed. This is once again more robust, which Samsung estimates with an improvement of 80 percent, but without giving details of the test procedure. A grease-repellent coating, as found on many smartphones with normal cover glass, is still not included, as it turned out a few minutes after the smartphone was first tried out.
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The camera sits under the display
Apart from the overall noticeably more solid overall appearance, the inner screen, which still measures 7.6 inches and displays 2,208 × 1,768 pixels at 120 Hz, but is now supposed to be 29 percent brighter, has a special feature: the camera installed under the display. If the first fold came with a huge notch at the top right and the fold 2 with a “punch hole”, Samsung is now hiding the selfie camera behind the panel. Samsung has halved the pixel density in this area, which is particularly noticeable in light content, but less noticeable in darker content and no longer noticeable in black. This new generation of under-display cameras currently only has 4 megapixels, compared to 10 megapixels before. Accordingly, the quality suffers, as a comparison with the camera of the external display shows. The rear cameras for wide angle (with OIS), ultra wide angle and telephoto with double magnification (with OIS) correspond to the specifications of the previous year with 12 megapixels each.
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Samsung has revised the outer OLED display so that this panel now also works with adaptive 120 Hz. After the outer screen was criticized for being much too small in the first fold and the discrepancy in terms of refresh rate was criticized in the second fold, Samsung is now creating parity here too, which is reflected in a smoother operating experience. The control for refresh rate and brightness is always done centrally for both screens.
S Pen for folding instead of a new note
The last point that is new for the screens is operation using the S-Pen stylus. There will be no new “Note 21” this summer, officially the device is taking a break, but the series has not been discontinued, assures Samsung.
For the Fold 3, the manufacturer has developed the optional “S Pen Fold Edition”, which measures 132 mm and weighs 8 g and can be accommodated in a likewise new cover with a matching compartment on the back along the hinge. The stylus has been designed so that if the pressure is too strong, the tip springs into the pen instead of damaging the display. As an alternative, Samsung has recently started offering a larger “S Pen Pro” that measures 171 mm and weighs 14 g. Samsung says the larger stylus is better for drawing because it looks more like a regular pen. The S Pen Pro can be used not only on the Fold 3, but also with earlier Galaxy devices, including tablets. There is a new button for copy-and-paste processes that works across devices, provided the same Samsung account is used.
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Android gets a taskbar
Samsung has also improved the software so that the large inner screen can be used more effectively for multitasking. In addition to minor optimizations in the app display, the big innovation is a taskbar that is designed to minimize the switch to the start screen and to accelerate the switch between different apps. At the start of the smartphone it is an experimental function that has to be activated in the “Samsung Labs”.
Snapdragon 888 delivers more power
Under the hood, the Snapdragon 888 from 5 nm production provides more power for multitasking. This year, too, only processors from Qualcomm and no Exynos chips will be used in the foldables worldwide. The SoC with RDNA-2 graphics unit should only be presented later in the year and possibly celebrate its premiere in the “Galaxy S22”. Numerous other smartphones such as the OnePlus 9 Pro (test) show what the Snapdragon 888 is capable of. The fast Prime Core based on the Cortex-X1 and the faster Adreno 660 GPU stand out in particular. Samsung always pairs the SoC with 12 GB of RAM and 256 GB or 512 GB of non-expandable storage. The chip is also used to process all mobile communications standards including 5G and dual SIM via two physical or one physical nano SIM card and one eSIM.
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Starting price is 150 euros lower
The overall package measures 158.2 × 67.1 × 14.4 – 16.0 mm when closed and 158.2 × 128.1 × 6.4 mm when opened, with a weight of a slightly reduced 271 g. In Germany, the Fold 3 can be pre-ordered in the colors Phantom Black, Phantom Green and Phantom Silver starting today at a price of 1,799 euros (256 GB) and 1,899 euros (512 GB) with the Galaxy Unpacked. That's 150 euros less than last year for the same memory size. The regular sales start is scheduled for August 27th. Pre-orderers receive a 200 euro exchange bonus and a purchase value of up to 800 euro even if the display is broken for an old device as an advance deduction in the shopping cart. All buyers receive one year of Samsung Care +, which covers accidental damage, including replacing the screen, the back cover and water damage.
Technical data of the Galaxy Z Fold 3 at a glance
1,899.00 euros (512 GB) 1,949. 00 Euro
ComputerBase has received information about this article from Samsung under NDA. The only requirement was the earliest possible publication time.