Samsung has christened its third generation of mobile phones with folding displays. The debut of the Galaxy Z Fold3 phablet also comes support for an S Pen for the first time in the series while the clamshell-styled Flip3 brings plenty of flexing display surface for the lowest price offered yet, at least from this company. This refresh also introduces an even clearer divide in sorting out what type of consumer is meant to buy which device.

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These phones have been the subject of much teeth gnawing as fanatics began preparing their pocketbooks, credit lines, and trade-ins to buy themselves a piece of the future, but what exactly does that piece look like? Well, if you read us often and are generally informed about mobile technology, we're going to try and dig past the more obvious and obligatory cruft.

GALAXY Z FOLD3

Cover display

6.7" Dynamic AMOLED @ 2268 x 832, up to 120Hz, 1,500 nits peak

Folding display

7.6" Dynamic AMOLED @ 2208 x 1768, up to 120Hz, 1,200 nits peak

SoC

Qualcomm Snapdragon 888

RAM

12GB

Storage

256GB or 512GB UFS 3.1

Rear cameras

12MP f/2.2 ultra-wide (123°), 12MP f/1.8 main w/ OIS, 12MP f/2.4 telephoto w/ OIS (2x)

Cover camera

10MP f/2.2

In-display camera

4MP f/1.8 (2μm)

Power

4,400mAh dual-cell battery Up to 25W wired charging (Quick Charge 2) Up to 10W Qi wireless charging, 4.5W reverse wireless charging

Connectivity

5G (incl. mmWave), LTE, Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.2 Supports eSIM and/or 2 x Nano-SIM

Peripherals

Fingerprint sensor (capacitive), NFC, USB-C

IP rating

IPX8 (1.5m freshwater submersion for 30 min.)

OS

One UI 3.1.1 w/ Android 11

Dimensions

Unfolded - 128 x 158 x 6.4mm Folded - 67.1 x 158 x 16mm 271g

Colors

Phantom Black, Phantom Green, Phantom Silver

Where a Galaxy Note might have come out around this time any other year, the Galaxy Z Fold3 seems to be the replacement for it. The cover display is bigger and fresher than ever with its new 120Hz refresh rate, but the battery shrinks a tad from last year. Swings and roundabouts, we suppose.

There are two new S Pen designs and neither of them slot into the silo on the Fold3 because it does not exist. As such, they're separate purchases. The so-called "Fold Edition" S Pen costs $50 and is the slimmer and more basic of the two, making way for the $100 S Pen Pro. The Pro, which needs to be charged via USB-C, gets All of The Features™ — things like gesture commands and the ability to simultaneous pair with multiple devices (previous flagship Galaxy phone and tablet models, mainly) for features such as cross-device copy-paste. The Fold Edition pen, without the need to power a Bluetooth connection, will fit snugly into a folio case for the phone. To cater to the relatively delicate display, each stylus's tips are more rounded off than previous S Pens and can react to pressure by slightly retracting.

No, they won't work with the Z Flip3.

The Fold3 features just as many cameras as its predecessor. The four exterior units are more or less the same. You'll find the difference with the new 4MP camera that sits underneath the folding screen — unlike the previous 10MP "punch-out" camera, this sensor needs larger pixels to compensate for panel obstruction.

For the data hoarders, good news: in addition to the 256GB tier, Samsung is bringing back the 512GB option from the original Fold. Pricing starts from $1,799 in the U.S. and is marked at £1,599 and £1,699 in the U.K. The phone comes with a cable in the box, but there's no adapter. We've saved our commentary on that for a short sidecar.

Before moving on, we should note both devices gain some crucial shoring against wear and tear. The new IPX8 rating — meaning your device will still work after half an hour in up to 1.5m of freshwater — is a big change and a big plus. Even bigger is the change to the top substrate on the folding glass from thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) to polyethylene terephthalate (PET). It's a stiffer plastic and should be better at resisting the easy dings the Fold2 and Flip 5G did, but we'll have to see how that translate in doing its primary job: folding. The Fold3 is also clad with Armor Aluminum, boasted to be the strongest Samsung has used on a smartphone by 10%, and Gorilla Glass Victus on its front and back covers.

GALAXY Z FLIP3

Cover display

1.9" Super AMOLED @ 260 x 512, 935 nits

Folding display

6.7" Dynamic OLED @ 2640 x 1080, up to 120Hz, 1,200 nits peak

SoC

Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 or Samsung Exynos 2100

RAM

8GB

Storage

128GB or 256GB UFS 3.1

Rear cameras

12MP f/2.2 ultra-wide (123°), 12MP f/1.8 main w/ OIS

Cover camera

10MP f/2.4

Power

3,300mAh dual-cell battery Up to 15W wired charging (Quick Charge 2) Up to 10W Qi wireless charging, 4.5W reverse wireless charging

Connectivity

5G (incl. mmWave), LTE, Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.1 Supports eSIM and/or Nano-SIM

Peripherals

Fingerprint sensor (capacitive), NFC, USB-C

IP rating

IPX8 (1.5m freshwater submersion for 30 min.)

OS

One UI 3.1.1 w/ Android 11

Dimensions

Unfolded - 72.2 x 166 x 6.9mm Folded - 72.2 x 86.4 x 15.9-17.1mm 183g

Colors

Cream, Green, Lavender, Phantom Black Samsung exclusives - Gray, White, Pink

Following the Z Flip 5G, the Z Flip3 seems like it got a fairly milquetoast upgrade. Yes, the foldy bit does 120Hz now, the cover display is way larger, and the speaker situation has gotten an upgrade, but substantial as they may be, it's the odd corners the phone maker has cut that steal some attention.

Even where components are identical, size complications including talk of thermal envelopes and power consumption don't fully explain why the Fold has certain advantages over the Flip. The former, for example, has Bluetooth 5.2 and Wi-Fi 6E while the latter is a step behind on each front with Bluetooth 5.1 and Wi-Fi 6. The Fold can charge at up to 25W which makes the Flip's 15W look like a joke — funnily enough, both devices can conform to Qualcomm's Quick Charge 2 standard and that's supposed to top out at 18W. Plus, a benefit unique to the Fold is wired video out support via DisplayPort adapter at up to 4K and 60fps. The two of them do lose out on MST (at least in the U.S.), which enabled Samsung Pay to transmit credit card information to swipe readers. One could almost be forgiven for believing that Samsung has its deck stacked wrong.

And yet — and yet — the company has been hellbent on a fundamental ambition to make people pay for a foldable phone. That means customers must be able to afford one. The Flip3 attempts the fulfill that mission by starting at $999 (in the U.K., £949 for 128GB and £999 for 256GB) instead of the Flip 5G's $1,400. The cutesy, Samsung-exclusive "panda" color combos and all of those hedge clippings in the spec column are meant to drive costs down and volume up. Keep in mind that years of R&D and billions of dollars have been poured into iterating expensive foundries to make folding display technology commercially viable and the thing that needs to happen in order to keep that dream alive is growing consumer interest.

This has to be the next piece of the future for your average Joe or Jo. Samsung's already paid for it.

Hey, at least the ring grips and strap cases you can buy look mighty peppy.


Samsung has basically nixed the Z Premiere warranty and service package it introduced last year — to unimpressed critics, might we add — and will instead offer an extra year of support with a Samsung Plus extended warranty. Some individual perks from Z Premiere will still remain.

You can learn more about where to pre-order a Galaxy Z Fold3 or Flip3 as well as where your best deal might come from our companion stories coming up.