Samsung has just released their latest foldable phones into the market, including the Galaxy Z Flip3 5G.
The foldable phone is not something new – feature phones have had this for years. But the idea of a foldable high-resolution screen that spans the whole length of a smartphone was something unimaginable until just a couple of years back. Samsung introduced the concept and refined its offerings over the years, finally landing at this version.
The Galaxy Z Flip3 5G has everything you expect from a high-end phone, including the 5G technology that is part of its name – a shame I couldn’t really test it with 5G during the time I had it here for review, seeing we entered a covid lockdown just after it landed, and I hadn’t had the chance to visit areas with the 5G coverage.
Other than this, I used the phone – a lot. It is available in four colours, namely cream, black, green and the lavender model I had here.
The big feature here is the technology that makes it foldable. Measuring only 72 x 86 x 17 mm when folded and weighing 183g, the phone is small and light enough to fit in pockets without sticking out. When fully open the Galaxy Z Flip3 5G measures 72 x 166 mm.
The hinge is covered with the same aluminium used in the frame, while both front and back are covered with Corning Gorilla Glass Victus, making it scratch and damage resistant
All applications will work without any change on the full screen, but some might add special features to be used when the phone is only half-open. For example, you can have long video calls using Google Duo by simply placing the phone on a table – the bottom half will have controls and the top half will have the other party’s video.
Even If the app doesn’t support those split screens, Samsung has a Lab option available so you can try it and see how it goes.
Similarly, you can use the Galaxy Z Flip3 5G as a very steady video camera by simply placing it on a flat surface. Even better, when taking photos your subjects can see themselves on the external display next to the rear camera.
There are two cameras. The 10-megapixel front camera (selfie) is built under the screen, which works well, and it is practically unnoticeable after a while. The main rear set incorporates a 12-megapixel ultra-wide camera (F2.2) and a second 12-megapixel wide-angle camera (F1.8) with optical image stabilisation, tracking AF, 10x digital zoom and support for 4K (30/60 fps) HDR10+ recording.
The 1.9-inch 26 x 512 pixels (302 ppi) external display, called Cover Screen, also shows notifications, music playlists and other widgets, so you don’t have to open the phone to check these out – Even so, Samsung says the phone has been tested to withstand up to 200,000 open and close folds.
The 3300 mAh dual battery is smaller than those found in other larger phones but it seems to last pretty well, and support both wireless charging and reverse wireless charging.
Another new feature of the Galaxy Z Flip3 5G is the IPX8 rating. This means the phone is now water-resistant. Sure, you don’t want to go swimming with it but you will worry less if there is an accidental drop into a pool of water during your walks.
The Samsung Z Flip3 5G has a single SIM slot but it supports eSIM, so you can have two separate accounts and numbers on your phone.
The 6.7-inch 2640 x 1080 pixels (425 ppi) AMOLED front screen is bright with beautiful colours. Because of the phone dimensions, it has a 22:9 ratio. Even better, it supports 120 Hz refresh rates, making it super smooth when scrolling through long lists or menus.
One feature I really enjoyed using was sharing the phone screen with my computer via Microsoft Your Phone app. The app works with other phones, but currently, only Samsung devices allow you to access their screen remotely from your computer. Very cool.
With 8 GB RAM and a modern 64-bit Octa-Core processor the Galaxy Z Flip3 5G performance surprised me as I was not expecting it to be as fast – and functional - as it is.
