LIVE THE FLIP LIFE
‘With two Z Flips before it, Samsung’s 2021 flip-style foldable phone is aptly called the Galaxy Z Flip3 5G. A big part of the Galaxy Z Flip3 5G’s appeal is its launch price. At $1,398 and $1,498 (128GB and 256GB, respectively), they are a steep reduction from the initial Z Flip’s $1,998.
Another important upgrade is its 1.9-inch 512 x 260 pixels resolution Super AMOLED Cover Screen. Samsung rotated the dual cameras and flash by 90°, using the freed up space to park a secondary panel
that is four times larger than the old Flips. The size increase also made it more practical (and easier) to use features like widgets, Quick Shot, Dual Preview, and improved notifications handling.
Accessing Samsung Pay from the Cover Screen is a little different but no less convenient now. To use Samsung Pay without unfolding the phone, simply wake the Cover Screen, swipe up, and verify your identity via the sidemounted sensor. Do note that only the default card shows up in Cover Screen, so if you want to pay through a different card, you’ll still need to unfold your Z Flip3.
The Main Screen (6.7-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X Infinity Flex Display) sits at FHD+ (2,640 x 1,080 pixels resolution), with 120Hz adaptive refresh rate now offered on the device. While the display’s name is a mouthful, it does mean that the Z Flip3 5G’s foldable Main Screen supports HDR10+ content, has 100% DCI-P3 coverage for colours, and a bunch of features for a more comfortable eye exposure. These perks are expected in any flagship handset, but we do wish it was at least 1440p.
Is the crease visible? Yes, mostly. The Z Flip3 5G’s crease disappears if you’re staring at it squarely, but the viewing angle tolerance is roughly 5 to 10 degrees before you can see the line across the main screen.
In my experience, the crease doesn’t severely affect videowatching habits. But, it’s still not an ideal display experience.
The new protective film layer on the foldable panel is 80% more durable to scratches than its predecessor, the rear plates also now use Corning Gorilla Glass Victus, and the phone itself is built using a new Armor Aluminium that Samsung claims is 10% tougher than Galaxy Z phones before.
If you’ve used an older Flip or Fold, you’ll notice that the film layer on the primary screen leaves tiny scuffs when you’re too rough with it. It would seem the new protective layer works. We have used the Flip 3 5G on a daily basis for about a week before finishing this review, and the phone’s display has stayed relatively new - something we couldn’t say for the Fold2.
The phone’s IPX8 water resistance offered peace of mind when used during a drizzle. However, we are not confident it can withstand spilled
coffee, sea water, or your pet’s drool very well. Also, the “X” in its IP rating means it’s not certified for dust resistance.
If you’re hoping to unfold the phone with one hand, too bad. The previous Z Flip phones didn’t accommodate for that, and the new Z Flip3 5G uses the same CAM mechanism for its durability.
We should also commend Samsung for making the main cameras as flushed as possible. On the older Flip, it had a raised housing rim
WORTHY OF MAINSTREAM FLAGSHIP STATUS, WITH ADDED CREATIVITY AND FUNCTIONALITY FROM ITS FOLDABLE DESIGN.
for its front cameras, but on the Z Flip3 5G, it’s a neat, minimal pair of lenses, with no excessive bumps to ruin the phone’s aesthetics.
The Z Flip3 5G has two rear 12MP shooters and a 10MP selfie camera. On paper, they are identical to the previous Z Flip 5G and performance similar as well, but there are tangible experience improvements brought about by design changed, such as the larger Cover Screen.
The phone offers dual stereo speakers - one bottom-firing that’s positioned next to the USB-C port, and the other being frontfiring, and shared with the call speaker up top. While its audio balance is better than mono or single-firing speakers, the two speakers are not on par with each other as the call speaker is noticeably softer in our experience. We suspect it’s configured for portrait handheld mode, instead of the conventional landscape-oriented left-right stereo we’ve come to know and use. There’s also Dolby Atmos support but it’s oddly toggled off by default.
As a Samsung flagship handset, the Android 11 operating system has Samsung’s proprietary One UI interface. It’s congruent with One UI found on the Galaxy S21 series, but it still comes with minimal bloatware, like the Samsung Global Goals app.
The Galaxy Z Flip3 5G offers a hidden Taskbar shortcut that’s useful if you wish to open two
tabs in the two halves of the display respectively. Unlike the Galaxy Z Fold3’s Taskbar, the one on Z Flip3 5G cannot be pinned.
Driving the new Samsung Galaxy Z Flip3 5G is the Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 with 8GB of RAM. For most of our benchmarks, it performs similarly to other SD888 flagship phones, and Samsung’s own Exynos-powered Galaxy S21+.
The Z Flip3 5G has a 3,300mAh battery, clocking in just under 10 hours in our tests, which is improved from the first Z Flip, but relatively shortlived next to other 2021 flagship devices.
The phone also supports 15W fastcharging and 10W wireless charging, just like its Galaxy S and Galaxy Note counterparts. Our third-party 40W fast-charging wall plug saw the foldable taking 57 minutes to reach 50% charge, and 124 minutes to go from 0% to 100%.
Why did we use an unrelated charger? That’s because Samsung didn’t include a charging adapter in the box, much like how Galaxy S21 series devices also didn’t have one.
If you’ve been holding out on getting Samsung’s flagship flip-style foldable phone, the Galaxy Z Flip3 5G makes an amazing entry point into these handsets. It’s also a viable (maybe even seductive) candidate for users who want a new experience if they’re moving on from an older flagship smartphone.