When Samsung launched the original Galaxy Fold back in 2019, I fell in love immediately. It redefined the entire way I thought about smartphones and technology as a whole. Instead of just slab phones, the original Fold showed that phones can be so much more, and a year later the Galaxy Z Fold 2 followed this trend with a host of upgrades.
In the meantime, Samsung launched arguably its most important foldable. The original Galaxy Z Flip heralded the launch of the Galaxy Z foldables branding, the revamped hinge that’s the ancestor to the hideaway hinge found on both the Galaxy Z Fold 3 and Galaxy Z Flip 3, and the idea that foldables were for more than just power users; that they could be used by regular users as well.
With the Galaxy Z Flip 3, there are a few welcome improvements. The biggest improvement, however, is not hardware or software — it’s the price. I’ve been using the Galaxy Z Flip 3 for almost a week now and below you can see the second installment of this ongoing review. A few days back I published the first installment which you can see on page 2 but join me below for the latest installment!
Redefining the smartphone
Since the days of the original Z Flip – and honestly, since the original iPhone – certain phones have had the ability to be head turners. The type of phone that gets everyone talking. The Galaxy Z Flip 3 definitely delivers on its head-turning promise.
Galaxy Z Flip 3 is the conversation starter, the icebreaker. In short, it's the cool thing that gets people talking.
In a way, Samsung has achieved what many thought impossible: redefining the smartphone industry for the next generation. Over at our sister site Pocketnow, Tony wrote today that Apple needs to launch a folding iPhone this year. I’ll take that a step further – the $999 price tag of the Z Flip 3 means that it’s no longer enough to launch a slab at $1,000 or above. Every company either needs to offer a folding form factor or other killer feature at this price or be priced substantially lower.
Samsung has redefined the next generation of smartphones like Apple defined the first generation. Now, the expectations of a $999 phone have completely changed.
A week into this extended review of the Galaxy Z Flip 3, I’ve also realized something. I’m enjoying this phone so much that I don’t actually want to use anything else. The form factor lends itself to several use cases that just feel natural. Below, I’ll cover some of these in more detail as well as other tidbits and musings from the past few days!
Two new ways to take photos
I absolutely love the two new ways you can take photos with the Galaxy Z Flip 3. In part one, I mentioned taking selfies with the cover display and since then, most of my selfies have been taken using the Cover Display. For the most part, it’s absolutely the best way to do it, but there is one caveat.
Over the course of about 50 selfies, about 10% have ended up being blurry. When you’re using the Z Flip 3 with everything on it, there’s a noticeable lag between pressing the volume button for the shutter, and the phone saving the photo. Yesterday, I took a photo with a group, reviewed it where it looked great, and then a minute or so later, it ended up being blurry after the processing. Not ideal but not the end of the world and like any regular phone, you need to ensure that you keep the phone stable when taking a photo.
That blurry selfie using the Cover Display
The second use case for taking photos with the form factor is one I can see so many people using: taking photos with the phone half folded so you can grip the bottom half of the phone. Everyone knows that babies are notoriously finicky to try and take photos of especially when they’re in someone’s arms. Rather than try to hold the phone stable in the traditional sense, you can grip the bottom half of the phone, get closer to the subject and easily take a photo. There’s no loss in quality and most people will absolutely prefer this use case.
Talking of the camera, some of Samsung’s party tricks are still my favorite things to use. Colorpoint lets you take creative photos and be artistic without needing to be an artist. Portrait mode is as good as anything else I’ve used. Like all Samsung phones, the Galaxy Z Flip 3 camera is supersaturated which may not be the most accurate representation of a scene, but the colors are guaranteed to pop meaning it’s far more visually appealing and likely to be better received on social which is where most photos are shared.
Do I miss the telephoto lens from other phones? Yes. I hope the next Flip brings a third camera and rounds off the camera experience. But given the regular iPhone 12 is the most popular of the current iPhone generation, the lack of a telephoto lens won’t be a deal-breaker for many people. Would I rather have the folding form factor or a telephoto lens? Ideally, I’d have both, but I’ll take the form factor over the third lens at this price point. Especially as Samsung’s amazing ultra-wide camera is as great as ever and the camera overall delivers great quality!
Where the Galaxy Z Flip 3 has been falling short
Galaxy Z Flip 5G and Galaxy Z Flip 3 side by side. When folded up, the camera fills the top half of the screen and the controls and shutter button are in the bottom half
I truly wish this was the first-ever perfect phone as it hurts to say that there is anything not great about it, but as we know, nothing is perfect. The biggest question mark from most people over the past week has been battery life and on days one and two it was great, delivering about 15 hours of usage with 5 hours of screen on time. Since I’ve started using the phone heavily, however, the battery life has slowly dropped. Let’s be clear – it still lasts about 15 hours but the screen on time can be much lower depending upon my usage. On one day, there were only 3 hours of screen on time while the other day with a ton of camera usage saw it die within 12 hours.
Galaxy Z Flip 3 battery life good enough for most people but small enough that it might not work for you. Yet, it's on par with the iPhone 12 Pro Max.
The Other area that the Galaxy Z Flip 3 gives me cause for concern is performance. Alongside the camera on the Cover Display which is a bit glitchy at times, the phone occasionally stutters when I’m trying to rapidly switch between apps, or swipe my way to constructing entire walls of text. Some apps are particularly bad on the Galaxy Z Flip 3 but I’m going to put that down to the app developers and not the phone as some of them, such as Asana, are bad on any device, mobile or desktop.
The performance glitches make me think that for heavy users, the 8GB of RAM may prove to be a sticking point. For most users, I have zero doubt that the hardware specs are more than good enough but if you’re a power user, you might struggle on rare occasions. Is that a deal-breaker? For some very vocal people, yes I’m sure it is. But remember – there isn’t a phone out there that won’t struggle under my use cases – I’ve used almost all flagship devices released in the US over the past ten years – so this isn’t a major deal. I highly doubt most users will even experience these slight hiccups in performance, although the camera ones on the cover display will be far more noticeable.
Without a doubt, I’m buying the Galaxy Z Flip 3
I’ve been fortunate that Samsung sent this Z Flip 3 – and the Galaxy Z Fold 3 – over for a short-term review period so we could check it out. While there’s still an installment in this review and the final draft to come, I’m already planning to buy one.
For me, the original Galaxy Z Flip lacked the utility to be my daily driver. The front screen was near pointless and as great as it was, I barely used it after the first week. I can already see that the Galaxy Z Flip 3 will be the device I take out at night with me. The one I take with me when I want a showstopper in my pocket. The ideal companion for a night out when you don’t need the utility of the Galaxy Z Fold 3, and don’t want the big bulky feel of most other phones. To me, that’s a good enough daily use case to buy one. Now the only question is which color Galaxy Z Flip 3 should I buy?
If you’re interested in the Galaxy Z Flip 3, don’t miss out on the best Galaxy Z Flip 3 deals! Do you need a case for the Z Flip 3? Stay tuned for my review of the official ring case for the Galaxy Z Flip 3, but I’ll give you a sneak peek: everyone should buy one! It’s a must-have $30 purchase for every Z Flip 3 owner.
- The Galaxy Z Flip 3 is the first foldable that feels like it was made for the mainstream. At a starting price of $999 it's redefining what is expected from all smartphones, and with several trade-in offers, you can save a lot! Pre-order now and you'll also get credit towards Samsung accessories and more as well!
Continue to part 1!
The post Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 3 Review (Part 2): Redefining the $1,000 smartphone appeared first on xda-developers.
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