Advertisement

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3 and Flip 3 foldable phones first impressions: tougher and cheaper, could they finally make the form factor mainstream?

  • Both models are built with stronger materials all around, while also gaining IPX8 water resistance
  • The Flip 3’s US$999 price tag is particularly appealing, with most flagship slab smartphones costing more

Reading Time:3 minutes
Why you can trust SCMP
1
The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3 (right) and Galaxy Z Flip 3 foldable phones side by side. Photo: Ben Sin

Samsung’s first-generation foldable devices – the Galaxy Fold in 2019 and Galaxy Z Flip in 2020 – were groundbreaking, bleeding-edge devices. Like most consumer technology released to test the market, they were also a bit rough around the edges.

Advertisement
The Galaxy Fold’s successor in 2020 brought a significantly improved product that fixed most of the original’s flaws. Now, with what it is calling its “third generation” of foldable devices, the newly unveiled Galaxy Z Fold 3 and Z Flip 3 (there was no Flip 2), Samsung has added further polish.

In turn, it has addressed consumers’ two biggest concerns – fragility and sky-high prices – making them perhaps the first foldable devices to be ready for mainstream adoption. That’s something Samsung is making a big bet on – it has gone so far as to cancel updates to its popular Galaxy Note series this year to make room for the new Z models.

As before, the new devices are siblings but serve different purposes. The Fold 3 is a tablet with a large, 7.6-inch screen that folds like a book to become a thin smartphone shaped like a TV remote control. The Flip 3, meanwhile, is a standard-sized smartphone with a 6.7-inch screen that closes like a clamshell to resemble a make-up compact.

The Fold 3 supports Samsung’s S-Pen stylus (separate purchase). Photo: Samsung
The Fold 3 supports Samsung’s S-Pen stylus (separate purchase). Photo: Samsung
The Flip 3 comes in two colours. Photo: Ben Sin
The Flip 3 comes in two colours. Photo: Ben Sin
Unlike last year’s Fold 2, which featured a number of eye-catching improvements over the original Fold, both new models offer mostly practical improvements over their predecessors.
Advertisement