Foldable smartphones are no longer a thing of the future. It’s hard to think that some time has passed since the first Samsung Galaxy Fold. It’s been enough time to see developments, and problems fixed. Issues that plagued the earliest foldable devices are unheard of today. Samsung is pushing the envelope and after months of rumours and suggestions, emerges the new Fold device, the Galaxy Z Fold3. If there was a time to be sceptical of folding device, that time has certainly passed. Let’s see how the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold3 unfolds.
The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold3 launches alongside its smaller sibling, the Galaxy Z Flip 3, a more traditional, vertically aligned device. The more premium Galaxy Z Fold3 has its major advantages, the much larger real estate when fully opened. There are two displays, one on its back that you could use like any other smartphone, but it’s best used for checking notifications or keeping important bits of information handy, or even answering calls. It’s no tiny window-sized screen like we seen on other similar phones; it’s a massive 6.2-inch display! The magnificence truly unveils when you open the device to expose the massive 7.6-inch display. This is as much as most compact tablets and there is a lot you can do with it.
There is more to the screen than meets the eye. Take for example, the display that runs a 120Hz refresh rate, which is significantly higher than the 60Hz standards we are used to. It’s also higher than the 90Hz refresh rate, seen on a lot of upcoming phones. The displays are all AMOLED so it’s great for watching action movies, playing games or browsing through Instagram feeds. There is a certain improvement in contrast ratio that helps the brights and darks in any scene to stand out. This is sorely lacking in most LCD based panels.
The use applications for this kind of screen layout are endless. The large screen could be used to play content on, as one large display, or to run multi-task between apps on those screens. You can have three apps running simultaneously on the large screen. Things get better as you explore apps that have been designed for folding screens. Then, you get the kind of flexibility, and user interfaces typically seen on software designed for PCs and laptops.
The Galaxy Z Fold3 has multiple screens to handle, and that requires a lot of performance. Unlike other foldable devices of the past, the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold3 comes armed with the hardware required to run everything from casual music players, messengers to the latest games, to multi-task, to play high-quality media and more. The processor onboard is based on a 5nm fabrication process, which makes it power-efficient and performant. The Galaxy Z Fold3 also comes with 12GB of RAM. These numbers are mind-boggling by any standards. That’s enough RAM to multi-task the number of apps you can run on all the screens. This is a device you can use for work and play. Samsung even bundles Dolby’s Atmos compliant speakers on the Galaxy Z Fold 3. The sound performance matches the visuals.
Samsung has borrowed features from other of its premium inventions. Take for example, the S Pen, a key component of the Note line-up, is supported with the Z Fold3. With a large, unfolded display, there is so much room to effectively use the S Pen. The S Pen is an optional purchase so make sure you choose one designed for the new Galaxy Z Fold3. You could use the S Pen alongside the large screen to doodle on, to sketch, take notes, edit photos, and create presentations.
While the screen remains the unique feature of the Z Fold3, it is still a smartphone with usable cameras and more. The rear array of cameras on the Z Fold3 include three, 12MP cameras. They include a telephoto lens that lets you shoot distant objects. The wide-angle camera is handy for large group photographs or for wide-landscapes and sceneries. Narrow streets and architecture photography is another possibility with this camera. You can take things several steps further with the ultra-wide camera.
Possibly one of the biggest innovations must be the front-facing camera. On any other smartphone, the camera would be placed on the bezel, or built into the screen with a hole in it. Those days are long gone, as Samsung introduces an under-display camera that doesn’t show on the screen. It’s a 4MP camera but it gets the job done, especially when you realize you’ll be using for video calls. The Fold 3 is among the first phones in the world to ship with this feature. This lets the Fold 3 have a slim bezel surrounding the screen, but also no notch or holes in sight. Video calls on a nearly square display is something else. The screen is nearly twice as wide as any other smartphone. If you are wondering how you might take selfies on a 4MP camera, there is a capable 10MP front-facing camera on the cover.
The Fold’s layout lends itself wonderfully when you’re clicking photos. All the captured photos can be lined up on one screen as you go, and that gives you more control. You can pick, edit and delete photos from the tray on the left screen. Besides the usual array of smart features built around the cameras, there is also a Director’s View that lets you shoot photos from nearly all the cameras at once.
There are three colours to choose from, Phantom Black, Phantom Green and Phantom Silver. The design of the new Galaxy Z Fold3 is like most other smartphones, only a tad thicker. Samsung has made other upgrades as far as sturdiness and reliability goes, by getting it certified for IPX8. This means the Galaxy Z Fold3 is water-resistant, and you can take it around in the rain without worrying about it. Samsung claims they have used their strongest materials for the frame, on the Z Fold3. it’s light, but it’s more durable considering how dynamic this phone needs to be. Even the exterior screen is toughened up, with Corning Gorilla Glass Victus. It’s supposedly four times more resistant to other materials, and it can even withstand drops of up to 2 metres. One of the questions always surround the glass that needs to fold. Samsung says it’s 80 per cent more resilient so you can rest easy.
When a device that’s out of the ordinary shows up, there are always doubts whether the norms, and standards seen in any other smartphone are maintained. Thankfully, the Galaxy Z Fold3 goes one beyond. Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.2 are present, tuned for performance and keeping battery performance. Speaking of battery, the Fold 3 houses a 4,400 mAh battery that can be charged up in no time using the 25W Fast Charging feature. The phone even supports Fast Wirelessly Charging so you do not need to plug in a cable to your phone every time. Samsung did not forget about the fingerprint scanner either; it’s built into the power button.
When you are talking about owning a phone for the future in 2021, it ought to be 5G-enabled, and thankfully, the Fold3 is. As 5G networks get introduced and become mainstream, you can be connected to the web at never-before seen speeds. The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold3 is at the cutting edge of technology, and unlike flagship smartphones, it goes far and beyond. A large screen, all the nifty features and performance all packed into one device, there is nothing in the market that compares to it. Looking for a refined, foldable smartphone experience to last years? Look no further than the Samsung Z Fold3, and you should see more about it at a Reliance Digital store near you, and online at reliancedigital.in.
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