Today Samsung is having its second Mobile Unpacked event for the year, announcing the new Galaxy Z Flip 3 and the new Galaxy Z Fold 3. It’s a bit unusual event compared to previous years, because this time around and for this year we have won i dont see a new galaxy note device.
The new Galaxy Z devices follow like iterations of their predecessors – the original Z Flip announced in February of last year and Z Flip 5G later in August, and the Z-fold 2 which was also announced around the same time in 2020.
Both devices are obviously characterized by their foldable form factor designs, which Samsung has been iterating on this year, have included new internal hardware components and have generally simply tweaked their functionality over their predecessors. Samsung’s focus on foldables seems to translate into the market generally struggling to differentiate itself from its competition.
| Galaxy Z 2021 Phones | |||
| Galaxy z flip 3 | Galaxy z fold 3 | ||
| SoC | Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 1 time Cortex-X1 @ 2.84 GHz 3x Cortex-A78 @ 2.42 GHz 4x Cortex-A55 at 1.80 GHz Adreno 660 @ 840MHz |
||
| DRACHMA | 8 GB LPDDR5-6400 | 12 GB LPDDR5-6400 | |
| Main display | 6.7 “AMOLED 2640×1080 120 Hz cooling |
7.6 “AMOLED foldable 2208 x 1768 120 Hz cooling |
|
| Secondary display | 1.9 “ 260×512 |
6.2 “AMOLED 2260 x 832 120 Hz cooling |
|
| Cut | Height | 166mm (unfolded) | 158.2 mm |
| Width | 72.2 mm | 74.6 mm (folded) 128.1 mm (unfolded) |
|
| Depth | 6.9 mm (unfolded) | 14.4 mm (folded) 6.4 mm (unfolded) |
|
| Weight | 183g | 271g | |
| Battery capacity | 3300mAh (typical) | 4400mAh (typical) | |
| Wireless charging | Yes | Yes | |
| Rear cameras | |||
| Main | PDAF DP 12MP 1.4µm
f / 1.8 26.8 mm eq. |
PDAF DP 12MP 1.8 µm
f / 1.8 26.8 mm eq. |
|
| Telephoto | – | 12MP 1.0µm
f / 2.4 51mm eq. |
|
| Additional Telephoto |
– | – | |
| Ultra wide | 12MP 1.12µm
f / 2.2 |
||
| Additional | – | – | |
| Front camera | Hold-Punch (Unfolded) 10MP 1.22µm f / 2.2 25.7 mm eq. |
Sub-display (unfolded) 4MP 2.0µm f / 1.8 Hole punch (folded) |
|
| Storage | 128/256 GB UFS 3.1 |
256/512 GB UFS 3.1 |
|
| I / O | Usb-c | ||
| Wireless (local) | 802.11ax (Wifi 6), Bluetooth 5.2 |
802.11ax (Wifi 6), Bluetooth 5.2 |
|
| Cellular | 4G + 5G NR NSA + SA Sub-6GHz | ||
| Special features | Fingerprint sensor under the screen Stereo speakers it rocks |
Fingerprint sensor under the screen Stereo speakers he bends |
|
| Splash, water and dust resistant | IPx8 | IPx8 | |
| Dual SIM | nano-SIM + eSIM | 2x nano-SIM + eSIM | |
| Start the operating system | Android 11 with OneUI 3.1 | ||
| Introductory price | 8 + 128 GB: $ 999 / € 1059 8 + 256GB: $ / 1109 € |
12 + 256 GB: $ 1799 / € 1799 12 + 512GB: $ / 1899 € |
|
Starting with the hardware, the new Galaxy Z devices are now powered by Qualcomm’s new Snapdragon 888 chipset for all global variants of the phones, which should give the phones excellent performance. It’s worth noting that these foldable phones likely have less heat dissipation capabilities than more traditional ‘bar’ style devices, so it will be interesting to see how Samsung handles the increased power envelope of the new SoC compared to the Snapdragon 865. from last year.
The phones come with 8GB of RAM on the Z Flip 3 and 12GB on the Z Fold 3. Storage options for the Flip are 128 or 256GB, while the Fold doubles that to 256GB or 512GB – the two UFS 3.1.
The overall design of the Z Fold 3 hasn’t changed much from the Z Fold 2 – the internal screen is still a 7.6-inch 2208 x 1768 plastic AMOLED panel with the notable feature that it is flexible and bendable. . It also continues the 120Hz refresh rate.
The most significant change on the panel isn’t with the panel itself, but rather the front-facing camera, which now uses Samsung’s very first iteration of an under-screen camera design. The camera sits below the display panel and “sees through” the pixel array, which is now partially transparent to actual pixel emitters. Samsung only uses a 4MP camera module here, but with large 2µm pixels. The pixel density of the area above the camera module doesn’t seem as dense as what we’ve seen Xiaomi showcased on the MIX4, but Samsung is rolling out this tech on a foldable panel first, so there might be larger differences and technical limitations to various implementations.
On the cover of the Z Fold 3, we also see a similar 6.2-inch display, although this year that panel gained 120Hz refresh rate capabilities. The camera used here is of a more traditional punch-hole design. .
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The overall dimensions of the Z Fold 3 are similar to its predecessor, a device height of 158.2mm and a 74.6mm fold that opens up to 128.1mm when unfolded. The thickness of the device is 6.4mm when unfolded or 14.4mm when folded. The phone still remains extremely heavy at 271g, but sheds a few grams compared to its predecessor. Included in this weight is a 4400mAh battery.
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In terms of cameras, the Z Fold 3 does not seem to change anything compared to the real hardware: it is still a 12MP 1.8µm sensor with f / 1.8 as the main module, as we have seen on the S20s and S21. series. There is a 2x 12MP 1.0µm f / 2.4 optic with OIS telephoto module and an ultra-wide 12MP 1.12µm with 13mm / 123 ° FoV optics.
The Z Flip 3 differs from the Fold in that it folds vertically on a more classic flip phone, rather than horizontally like its big brother. Similar to the Z Fold 3, the gen changes this year are rather minor outside of the internal hardware upgrade.
In terms of design and display, this is once again a 6.7-inch 2640 x 1080 panel, but this year it gains a 120Hz refresh rate.
The small secondary screen on the back of the phone has gone from 1.1 “to 1.9” and now has a resolution of 260 x 512, and in general the whole back part of the phone is quite different from the Z Flip 2 as Samsung did. rearranged the two rear cameras in a vertical positioning next to the larger secondary rear screen.
Unfortunately, the camera hardware does not appear to have undergone any upgrades, the main module is still a 12MP 1.4µm f / 1.8 (Galaxy S10 class generation) module and the same 12MP 1.12µm specs on the ultra-wide sensor .
Rather conservative upgrades
In general, this year’s Galaxy Z devices are actually just rolling upgrades over last year’s options. While the Z Flip 3 saw what I would call greater differentiation thanks to the larger secondary display and rearrangement of the camera, the Z Fold 3, beyond the redesign of the camera island, Also can only be really differentiated by the new internal front camera module under the screen.
While the Z Fold 3 remains extremely expensive starting at $ 1,799, the Z Flip 3 starts at $ 999 cheaper, $ 200 less than its predecessor, which could open up the phone to a wider potential audience.
