Hi, this is Wayne again with a topic “Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3 or Flip 3: Which one is right for you?”.
So i’ve been using the galaxy z, fold 3 and the z flip 3 for about a week now – and i couldn’t help but ask myself who are these devices for i’m luke pock with android authority and today we’re going to look at these devices head to head And see which one is best for you. I want to first start off by clarifying that this video is not going to be your stereotypical, hands-on comparison. These devices are very different, so comparing them spec per spec would be a bit like comparing apples and oranges. Rather than doing that, i’m going to give you guys a general overview of both devices and then talk about their individual use cases to help you make an informed purchase decision.
If you’d like to learn more about any of these devices, make sure to check out our full reviews down in the description below, starting with the z-fold 3, this device refines on all of the great things we saw in last year’s z-fold 2, while making a couple Of key quality of life upgrades the z-fold 3 features the latest snapdragon 888 120 hertz on both displays in an ipx8 water resistance rating, but other than that. The form factor in design is very much the same. In fact, the most obvious upgrade might be. The inclusion of the under display camera present on the z-fold 3 and while i’m not sure i prefer it we’ll get to that a little bit later, it’s present shouldn’t go unnoticed. Nonetheless, no the question we really should be focusing on is: who is this phone for? And for that, we’re going to have to dig a little bit deeper, i’ll, be frank! After using this phone over the course of the last week, i’ve wanted to purchase one for myself more and more each day.
The seamlessness and simplicity of this design means the phone is fun and efficient for everyday tasks, such as responding to messages to more complicated ones such as taking notes with the s pen, while in the zoom meeting. As a result, the question of who needs this phone is a lot easier to answer. Quite simply, the phone brings added functionality to a whole host of different areas, which means anyone who needs a powerful multitasking phone and doesn’t want to bring multiple devices will find a great fit in the z-fold 3.. It really is a powerhouse of a device for users who want the absolute largest display in their pocket.
More specifically speaking, both displays on this device are fantastic. The front cover display lets you complete day-to-day tasks when time or convenience is of the essence, of course, using the screen to play mobile games or watch content of any form isn’t ideal due to longer by 9 aspect ratio, which means opening the display is. What really makes this phone shine essentially turning this device from a standalone smartphone into a full-fledged tablet.
This year, samsung is using a new ultra thin glass, which means the device is a bit more durable than last year’s contender users who are worried about pushing the display too hard shouldn’t, as this new glass feels a lot stronger. Of course, there’s the other big elephant in the room, the crease. Now, while i don’t have the z-fold 2 on hand to compare it to at the moment, the crease here is still pretty noticeable off axis.
That said, actually using the device head on results in a much more seamless experience, and i honestly forgot about the crease altogether when watching movies or youtube from there. The design of this phone really feels well thought out and premium this year. The fold 3 features the latest gorilla glass victus in a new anodized aluminum that should make the phone more durable, actually using the device day to day proved to be an enjoyable experience, and the hinge here feels absolutely amazing.
There is no wobble and i’m honestly surprised that samsung was able to fit any waterproofing of any kind into a phone like this. The design also lends itself well to using the phone like a miniature laptop for things like video calls. My only gripe with it might be the fact that there is no place to keep the s pen without using the included case.
Maybe the only other major thing worth mentioning is the battery life. Last year’s z-fold ii featured a slightly larger 4500 milliamp hour battery. While this year, the z-fold 3 features a 4 400 milliamp hour, one on paper, this doesn’t seem like a huge difference, but 100 milliamps could be the difference between a phone that lasts all day and one that barely makes it at first, the battery life on the Z-Fold 3 wasn’t great.
In fact, i couldn’t make it through the end of the first day without having to charge it, but after using the device for a few days, the system did start to adapt to my specific usage on average. I was getting around three to four and a half hours of screen on time with the phone lasting well into the evening. To be honest, it’s not the best battery life experience, but thankfully the phone does charge the decent 25 watts, which makes the battery life experience a little bit more palatable, keep in mind, there’s no included charger in the box, so you will have to buy one. So, what’s the summary here? Well, the galaxy z, fold 3 is clearly a phone meant for the enthusiast multitasker, if you’re a person who wants the absolute largest display that will fit in your pocket and need the extra functionality of two displays. The z-fold 3 is a no-brainer still, the z-fold 3 isn’t without its quirks. The under display camera here is kind of a gimmick and competitors like the zt axon 30 provide a much better experience at a fraction of the cost. Honestly, i prefer the hole punch design of the z-fold 2 because on a white screen, the display camera is distracting. Also, the picture quality of this camera isn’t that great either and suffers as a result. So again, this addition for me really isn’t an upgrade.
Lastly, the z-fold 3 now costs 17.99 versus last year’s 1999.. It’S a small difference, but a difference. Nonetheless. Okay from there.
Let’S talk about the galaxy z flip 3, so this year there are more changes to the flip line than there were to the fold. For starters, the flip now gets a larger front cover display, which is far more useful than last year’s model. The display now shows widgets that include the weather, a clock, music stopwatch and much much more. It feels a lot like a smartwatch in a lot of ways. Still, probably the most useful feature is the ability to take selfies using the rear cameras which will result in much higher quality photos. The cover display isn’t the only upgraded area either. The z flip 3 also gets the improved gorilla, glass, victus and anodized aluminum updates to the design, as well as the same ipx8 water resistance rating that the fold did again, i’m still absolutely stunned. That samsung was able to do this in a foldable phone, but my favorite part of this design has to be the new hinge.
It feels so premium and high quality and you can literally move the screen to any angle and it will just stay there again. There’S no wobble, which means using the phone as a tripod, is really useful in real life. Opening and closing the phone feels great, and while i don’t have quite the confidence to flip the phone open abruptly each time using the phone one-handed doesn’t feel awkward. Although i still prefer to open it with two, nevertheless, samsung truly has recreated the old-school flip phone feel in a modern form factor.
Now this year, the phone sports, a 120hz display and the latest snapdragon 888 processor, which means viewing content, is incredibly enjoyable and the phone will handle any performance task easily. That is if the battery lasts long enough. Speaking of battery life, the samsung galaxy z, flip 3 ships with a quite small hour battery and unfortunately the performance isn’t great. Due to the new 120hz panel, the smaller cell can’t keep up, and for me the phone barely lasted the full day. To be fair, it largely depended on my day-to-day usage and some days were better than others, but even still, the battery life pales in comparison to the default 3 or even the galaxy s21, and i was averaging about 2 to 3 hours of screen on time. Maximum. Admittedly, because of the smaller battery, you can charge the phone pretty quickly, but there’s no insanely fast charging like we see on the oneplus 9 series a full charge took about an hour and a half and in my testing that’s not amazing, especially considering that standby times On this phone were pretty abysmal from there. Let’S talk about the display again, the elephant in the room here is the crease, and while the ultra thin glass makes for a very durable experience, the crease is almost a little bit more obvious than the z fold.
3.. I’M not sure if it’s the horizontal line instead of the vertical one, but reading text is almost a little bit more distracting towards the middle. That, coupled with the constant feeling of going over the crease with your finger, can make the overall experience somewhat disrupting. Now that might seem like a harsher than normal analysis and on the whole, when using either the z, flip 3 or the fold 3 after using them.
For a few minutes, i forgot about the crease altogether in most scenarios. So then, who is the flip 3 for? Well, like the fold 3 is clearly designed for the enthusiast multitasker. The flip 3 appeals to the mainstream consumer, a lot more. In fact, the big appeal is the design and the price point. The z flip 3 starts at 999, a price that’s finally in line with other flagship devices, and while some of its battery life and cameras don’t compete with other flagships, it quite literally does one thing that no one else can’t it folds. It’S honestly a little bit hard to explain and one of those things that you have to experience in real life for it to make sense.
That said, this phone is for those early adopters who are bored of the flat slab of glass and aluminum. That has proceeded the last decade. Finally, phone designs are starting to become interesting and novel again, and the flip 3 and fall 3 are the first real examples now you’ll notice. I didn’t really cover the cameras on either of these devices and that’s because the systems on both phones are wildly different and that would probably be a whole other video in and of itself. The short of it is the z-fold 3 has the exact same camera system as last year’s full 2 and produces good out-of-the-box images.
The under display camera is pretty bad, but i already talked about that. The z-flip 3 also takes good out of the box images, but isn’t as good as the galaxy s 21 series. That’S all i’ll say if you want a more in-depth comparison check out our article in the link below, on the whole, both the z-fold 3 and the z-flip 3 are the first polished examples of what future of smartphone design will look like, while the z-fold 3 is Geared towards the enthusiast market, the flip 3 competes with other flagship phones while doing something. No one else can it’s this realization that the phone is priced reasonably and competes, which makes the z flip 3 so compelling, and ultimately the purchase decision will come down to what you value most. If you want the most out of your device, then the fold 3 makes more sense. But if you’re that techy, guy or girl, who gets excited about the latest and greatest in technology, then the z flip 3 might be the phone for you.
I’M curious to hear your thoughts about these phones, which one are you excited for and why just let me know down in the comments below that’s going to wrap it up: i’m luke pock with android authority and i’ll catch you in the next article you .