Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 3 review: The first foldable phone under $1,000
Our Verdict
With a $999 starting price, the Galaxy Z Flip 3 is an "affordable" foldable, with a 6.7-inch FHD+ inner display with a 120Hz refresh rate. The outer display is four times bigger and more than durable than its predecessor, simply the iii,300 mAh battery has u.s.a. worried almost the Flip iii'southward longevity.
For
- More than affordable
- Enhanced durability
- Bigger cover display
- 120Hz refresh rate on inner brandish
- IPX8 water resistance
Against
- Brusk battery life
- Tedious charging
- No telephoto lens
- Crease is still noticeable
Tom'southward Guide Verdict
With a $999 starting price, the Galaxy Z Flip iii is an "affordable" foldable, with a half-dozen.7-inch FHD+ inner display with a 120Hz refresh rate. The outer display is four times bigger and more durable than its predecessor, simply the 3,300 mAh bombardment has us worried about the Flip iii'southward longevity.
Pros
- +
More affordable
- +
Enhanced durability
- +
Bigger cover display
- +
120Hz refresh rate on inner display
- +
IPX8 water resistance
Cons
- -
Brusque battery life
- -
Wearisome charging
- -
No telephoto lens
- -
Crease is still noticeable
Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 3: Specs
Price: $999 (128GB), $one,049 (256GB)
Os: Android eleven / One UI 3.one
Inner display: 6.vii-inch Super AMOLED (2640 10 1080)
Outer display: 1.9-inch Super AMOLED (260 x 512)
Refresh rate: 120Hz (inner)
CPU: Snapdragon 888
RAM: 8GB
Storage: 128GB, 256GB
Rear cameras: 12MP (f/one.eight) primary, 12MP (f/two.2) ultrawide
Front camera: 10MP (f/2.iv)
Bombardment: 3,300 mAh
Battery life (Hrs:Mins): 5:43 (adaptive); 6:00 (60Hz)
Charging: 15W wired, 10W wireless
Charger included: No
Size: 3.4 ten 2.8 x 0.63-0.67 inches (closed); 6.5 x two.8 x 0.27 inches (open)
Weight: 6.5 ounces
The Galaxy Z Flip 3 has brought foldable technology down to a more attainable price — it'southward the "cheapest" foldable telephone however at $999. No, a grand isn't cheap, simply the Galaxy Z Flip 3's price allows more people to try out the foldable life than ever before.
Will that lower price win people over to the foldable phone side? The Galaxy Z Flip 3 is besides more durable than its predecessor, thank you to IPX8 h2o resistance. The screen is eighty% more durable and the phone itself sports Gorilla Drinking glass Victus on the outer display and Samsung'southward new Armor Aluminum body. In brusque, the Z Flip 3 is built to withstand more than penalisation than the original Milky way Z Flip, though nosotros still wouldn't drop information technology.
If you're on the fence about which Samsung foldable to purchase, I also encourage you lot to read our Galaxy Z Fold 3 review, besides. And, our Galaxy Z Fold three vs. Galaxy Z Flip iii comparison looks at how the two new foldables differ. And if you exercise pick upwards a Galaxy Z Flip 3 for yourself, brand certain to check out what we think is the first app y'all should install on your Samsung Galaxy telephone.
Based on our testing, one expanse where the Galaxy Z Flip 3 majorly stumbles is battery life. Information technology's not pretty. While the Flip three is a very expert foldable phone for the most part, it'south not quite great. Read on for our Galaxy Z Flip three review.
Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 3 review: Release appointment and toll
The Galaxy Z Flip iii is available now. The 8GB/128GB base of operations configuration runs $999, but there'southward a 256GB choice, too, for $1,049.
Samsung also announced the Galaxy Z Flip three Bespoke Edition, which is a customizable phone for $1,099. You have 49 possible color combinations between the frame, front, and back. You can also subscribe to the Bespoke Upgrade Intendance plan, which lets you lot trade in your Flip 3 for a dissimilar color combination whenever you want. You besides get a year of Samsung Care+. Simply head over to the Bespoke Studio to go started.
Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 3 review: Design and immovability
Samsung took durability seriously with the Galaxy Z Flip 3. The screen is at present 80% more durable than the one constitute on the Galaxy Z Flip and Galaxy Z Flip 5G, thank you to a new moving picture. Gorilla Drinking glass Victus covers the 1.9-inch outer display and Samsung constructed the phone's frame from its Armor Aluminum material. All of that provides enhanced scratch resistance, especially on the cover display.
Combined with the enhanced durability, the Galaxy Z Flip 3 is truly a marvel of modern technology.
The Flip 3 too sports IPX8 water resistance. That means you don't need to worry about dunking information technology, though neither I nor Samsung would recommend that. We were not able to exam the water resistance in our easily-on fourth dimension with the phone.
The cover display is probably the biggest change introduced to the Milky way Z Flip 3'southward design. That'southward four times larger than the Galaxy Z Flip's 1.1-inch outside strip, meaning that you'll meet much more information than earlier.
The Galaxy Z Flip 3 comes in four colors: Cream, Green, Lavander, and Phantom Blackness. The lavander really stood out to u.s.a. in our hands-on, truly communicable the eye and exemplifying the Flip 3's focus on style. Samsung will as well offering Grey, Pink, and White colorways exclusively on its website. I'thou testing the Foam model and information technology's very beautiful in its subtlety. The polish end is too really pleasing, considering how slippery the original Galaxy Z Flip was.
Another large Galaxy Z Flip 3 upgrade involves the phone'due south stereo speakers, which got loud plenty that we had to turn down the volume in our hands-on session to avoid drowning out nearby conversations. Fifty-fifty when I was listening in on a Tom's Guide meeting, the speakers even so managed to impress me with their clarity. Suffice to say, the Flip 3's sound system is much improve than the original Flip'due south.
The chief appeal of the Galaxy Z Flip 3 beyond its more attractive toll remains how pocketable the device is when folded up. When closed, the phone is simply 3.4 x 2.8 x 0.63-0.67 inches, meaning it can fit in most any pocket.
Opened up, the phone measures half dozen.5 ten two.viii x 0.27 inches, still making for a phone that fits easily in the hand. And at a mere 6.five ounces (merely similar its predecessor), the Galaxy Z Flip 3 is piece of cake to take with yous anywhere.
Overall, Samsung slimmed downwardly the Flip 3 always and then slightly. The original Flip measured 6.6 x 2.9 x 0.28 inches when opened and 3.four x ii.ix 10 0.61-0.68 inches when closed. Although the new phone is the same weight, it'due south a smidge thinner and taller. Combined with the enhanced immovability, the Galaxy Z Flip three is truly a curiosity of modern engineering science.
Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 3 review: Displays
When you unfold the handset, the Galaxy Z Flip 3 sports a six.7-inch Super AMOLED display. The 2640 ten 1080 resolution combined with the 120Hz refresh rate made for a truly cute viewing experience. Scrolling was silky smooth with the Flip 3, showing off Samsung's truthful brandish prowess.
When closed, the 1.9-inch touchscreen lets you command music, check the weather, and even take selfies. (The touchscreen doubles as a viewfinder.) Simply double press the ability push button to launch the photographic camera and you're gilt. This is a huge comeback over the Flip's tiny outer display, making the Flip 3 more than usable when information technology's closed (and thus saving battery life, theoretically).
Compared to the original Flip, I immediately loved the Flip 3'southward new embrace display. Information technology's incredibly versatile and useful, allowing y'all to interact with many major phone functions (and more if y'all mod information technology) without opening the device up. By far, it'due south my favorite Flip three feature outside of the folding itself.
However, ane affair that carried over from the original Flip is the pucker across the middle of the interior display. It'due south nevertheless quite noticeable when you curlicue over it, even though you may non encounter it all the time. The image distortion is specially visible in direct sunlight or in apps that apply light manner. The visible crease is past no means a deal-breaker, simply if you were hoping for something more subtle this time around, you might be disappointed.
The Galaxy Z Flip 3's inner displays reproduced 102% of the sRGB and 76.iv% of the DCI-P3 color gamuts. That's actually less saturated than the iPhone 12 Pro'due south 115.half-dozen% sRGB rendering. However, the Milky way Z Flip three has worse better color accuracy with a Delta-East score of 0.32 compared to the iPhone 12 Pro'south 0.28. (0 is perfect in this test.)
Samsung Milky way Z Flip three review: Cameras
On the camera front, they're unchanged from the original Flip. On the back, you get a 12MP (f/1.8) broad-bending shooter and a 12MP (f/two.2) ultrawide 1. The selfie camera is 10MP with a f/ii.iv aperture. And at that place is notwithstanding no telephoto lens on the Galaxy Z Flip 3, unlike other $999 phones such equally the iPhone 12 Pro — which I chose to employ for the following photograph comparisons.
The Flip 3 has its work cut out for information technology if it's going to go caput-to-head with 1 of the all-time photographic camera phones you tin buy. And permit'due south not forget that the Galaxy S21 has a telephoto lens and that Samsung works some impressive magic with its those lenses. The Galaxy Z Flip 3'southward camera improvements come down to software, offer enhancements to portrait style and indoor photography.
Kick things off is this photo of a copse of trees. Both shots are remarkably similar, merely you can run into hints of Samsung'southward tendency to oversaturate colors in the Flip 3'southward photograph. The iPhone kept things more toned downwardly. The resulting prototype isn't as vivid every bit the Flip 3'south, but its colors are more natural and accurate.
To see how both phones handled direct sunlight, I took a picture of some flowers. This is where the Flip 3 noticeably struggled in comparison to the iPhone. The image looks overexposed, with some of the colors washed out. The iPhone 12 Pro handled the sunlight and colors better, lowering the exposure while showing off the flowers' effulgence.
Heading within, this photograph of a Merida statuette was taken later in the day, and then the room isn't as bright. All the same, the Flip 3's paradigm is a bit darker than the iPhone'south. That picture looks a bit brighter compared to the dimmer Flip attempt. The iPhone's shot has more vibrant colors than the Flip'southward.
For portraits, you lot tin immediately run across two different approaches. The Flip three's image is zoomed out more than, adding in more of the background surrounding me, simply I think I adopt the iPhone'due south portrait. Its entire focus is on me and the background in secondary. I likewise like the iPhone's stronger bokeh meliorate, likewise. Samsung withal has some work to do with its portrait mode.
Taking a break from the iPhone 12 Pro comparisons for just a second, I brought out the Galaxy S21 Plus to examination the Galaxy Z Flip iii'due south zoom capabilities. The folding phone has a max digital zoom of 10x, whereas the S21 Plus can crank up to 30x. The S21 also has the Zoom Lock characteristic, which uses AI to stabilize the prototype. I'll let the results speak for themselves on this ane.
Heading back over to the iPhone 12 Pro, hither's a shot at night of my smoker. Right off the bat, y'all tin see the differences. While the Flip 3'southward night shot isn't bad, the iPhone's is clearly amend. Not just is the prototype brighter than the Flip three'due south, but it'southward got more details, too. Samsung'south dark style has improved in recent years, only it still has a means to go earlier it matches Apple's.
I tested the Milky way Z Flip 3'southward selfie capabilities using the front lens on the telephone's display. The differences hither are more subtle than the other images we've looked at, but the Flip three applied some face smoothing to my face up while the iPhone kept my ruby-red complexion. The iPhone's shot is also a bit warmer, which suited the miserably hot and brilliant day. I don't dislike the Flip iii'southward selfie, but I prefer the iPhone'south.
Finally, hither'due south a selfie using the rear cameras with the Galaxy Z Flip 3 closed. Obviously, information technology's a better image than the one from the internal front-facing camera, simply fifty-fifty with the larger cover screen, lining upward the shot properly takes a bit of do. Information technology's really convenient, though.
Samsung Galaxy Z Flip iii review: Video
The Galaxy Z Flip 3 can tape video at up to 4K resolution at 60 frames per second. The end result is crisp and smooth, and looks great. The iPhone 12 Pro is besides able to tape up to 4K lx fps so I used both phones to record a brief walk to test stabilization, microphone quality, and overall visual fidelity.
The Flip 3's video is pretty close to the iPhone 12 Pro's, which is one of the meliorate options for shooting video. Colors in the Flip 3-shot footage were accurate and vibrant, with splendid compensation for the bright daylight. Samsung did a great chore with the Flip 3's stabilization, just the iPhone had meliorate mic quality and background noise isolation. That said, you won't be disappointed with the Galaxy Z Flip 3's video recording capabilities.
Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 3 review: Performance
With a Snapdragon 888 and 8GB of RAM, the Galaxy Z Flip 3 is a powerhouse. It didn't stumble once as I flipped through apps in Flex mode. In brusque, the Flip 3 feels similar any other Snapdragon 888-powered device.
Intensive games like Genhin Bear upon and Asphalt ix play beautifully on the Flip 3. I never noticed whatsoever frame drops. Games that back up college refresh rates like Expressionless Cells also play wonderfully on this phone. Of course, battery life is the just hindrance, which I'll get to in a second.
In Geekbench 5, the Galaxy Z Flip three scored an impressive ii,984 in multicore. That'southward non too far off from the iPhone 12 Pro'south 3,669. Geekbench isn't necessarily 100% indicative of real-world performance, simply it gives an idea of what a organisation-on-chip like the Snapdragon 888 is capable of.
In the 3DMark Wild Life Unlimited graphics criterion, the Flip three managed an average fps of 27.3. Compare that to the iPhone 12 Pro's whopping 51 fps average.
Finally, in the Adobe Premiere Blitz video exam — where the phone must transcode a 4K video to 1080p — the Galaxy Z Flip 3 performed the test in 53 seconds. That'south pretty good, but the iPhone 12 Pro did it in just 27 seconds.
Samsung Milky way Z Flip 3 review: Battery and charging
With a 3,300 mAh battery, the Galaxy Z Flip 3 retains the size of the original Flip'due south battery capacity. This is cause for some concern, since the Flip's battery life wasn't all that impressive. iii,300 mAh is smaller than other Samsung phones, too, including the regular Galaxy S21 with its iv,000 mAh bombardment.
We tested the Galaxy Z Flip 3's bombardment in both refresh charge per unit modes and neither was a good issue. In its adaptive manner, the Flip 3 lasted for just v hours and 43 minutes. In the 60Hz mode, it lasted for a slightly improve 6 hours. I've too heard of other reviewers who got abysmally bad battery life, too. The Flip 3's poor battery life significantly detracts from the phone overall.
The original Flip'south battery life lasted for a disappointing 8 hours and xvi minutes. Patently, at that place's not a lot of room for a big bombardment on the Galaxy Z Flip 3, just in that location's at present a larger outer display and a 120Hz refresh rate on the inner ane, both of which draw more power than before.
Some other letdown with the Galaxy Z Flip three is the 15W max wired charging. The Galaxy Z Fold iii supports upwards to 25W, so I expect charging your Flip will feel slow in comparison. Wireless charging on the Galaxy Z Flip 3 caps out at an even slower 10W.
In our testing, the Galaxy Z Flip 3 recharged from 0% to 22% in 15 minutes, and to 44% in thirty minutes. That'southward non bad per se, but the battery is also smaller than many Android phones nowadays.
Every bit with the Galaxy S21 serial, Samsung won't be including a charger in the box. We're non fans of this decision, either.
Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 3 review: Software and Flex way
The Galaxy Z Flip 3 comes with Android 11 and One UI iii.one out of the box, with an Android 12 update on the horizon. Equally with other Samsung phones, yous can expect three years of platform updates and four years of security patches with the Flip 3. Samsung's update policy has paved the style for better support for Android phones, peculiarly in the The states where its presence is quite strong.
You can refer to our previous coverage of Samsung devices for our thoughts on One UI three.1, but it'due south a very skillful rendition of Android. There are a ton of features and enough of Samsung's design chops to help One UI stand out. In fact, information technology's probably the de facto Android feel for many, many people.
But the star of the show isn't Ane UI itself, simply the software enhancements that Samsung has slapped on to make the Galaxy Z Flip 3 feel useful. Key among those is Flex mode, which significantly bolsters the app user experience where supported.
Flex mode allows you to separate UI elements between the two displays. 1 of the best places to effort this out is in the Camera app, where you can accept the viewfinder on the top display and the shutter controls on the button. Similarly, y'all can video call with the telephone folded at an angle and sitting on a table — that should assist with arm fatigue on long video chats.
Ane complaint with Flex manner on the Milky way Z Flip was that there just weren't that many apps that took advantage of it. YouTube was an exception, letting you lot watch the video on the peak screen and scroll through comments on the bottom i. In fact, when asked, Samsung provided a paltry few apps that support Flex fashion — most of the attending was seemingly on the Galaxy Z Fold 3's multi-screen capabilities.
Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 3 review: Verdict
The Galaxy Z Flip three addresses a lot of our complaints with the original Galaxy Z Flip. Not only that, but the new telephone is fifty-fifty cheaper than the 5G option Samsung released in 2020. A $999 starting price is very attractive to those who might've been on the fence nigh foldables earlier.
That said, you lot can become a Galaxy S21 Plus for $999, which has a telephoto lens and better battery life. Furthermore, the Galaxy S21 is only $799 and it also has a telephoto lens. And the Milky way S21 Fe is hither, besides, with an even lower price tag. And then at that place'due south the $999 iPhone xiii Pro, which is one of the best phones around. In other words, the Flip 3 has a lot of contest and it fails to offer everything that its rivals tin can. Its terrible battery life certainly doesn't assist things.
But the Galaxy Z Flip iii is meant to push things forward, offer something novel versus the glass and metal slabs nosotros're then used to nowadays. However, the Flip three's extremely disappointing battery life gives us interruption, making information technology difficult to recommend this telephone in the end. You'll desire to keep a charger or battery pack with you lot if yous decide to become with the Milky way Z Flip 3. And then there's the long-term immovability to consider — this technology is even so and then new and information technology hasn't thus far proven itself to be reliable long-term.
Source: https://www.tomsguide.com/reviews/galaxy-z-flip-3
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