Since having taken the world by storm as the first smartphone brand to release a foldable smartphone, Samsung's Galaxy Z series has made a comeback this 2021 with its latest Galaxy Z Fold3.
Designed to work like a phablet, this is a Godsent for those who wish to have a more portable powerhouse smartphone with tablet capabilities.
With its popularity ever-growing among Malaysians, we've got the chance to review the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold3.
This review is brought to you by our video editor - Umar
Table of Contents
Specifications
- Processor: Snapdragon 888 5G, Octa-core
- Display: 7.6-inch Infinity Flex Display, 120Hz, HDR10+
- Cover Display: 6.2-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X, 120Hz
- Memory: 256GB/512GB ROM + 12GB RAM
- Rear Camera: 3x 12MP
- Front/Selfie Camera: 4MP (Under display camera technology) + 10MP
- Battery: Li-Po 4400 mAh, non-removable, fast charging 25W
- Connectivity: USB Type-C 3.2, Bluetooth 5.2, NFC
- Audio: Stereo speakers
- OS: Android 11, One UI 3.1.1
- S Pen support
- Built with Armor Aluminum
- IPX8 water resistance
Built
Right off the bat, the Samsung Galaxy Fold3's design is well-thought-of and is optimally build compared to any folds before this. Its build is smaller and slightly lighter than the older ones. But it's still built like a tank thanks to being made with a new aluminium alloy called Armor Metal - a military-grade metal.
In terms of the hinge movement, it's snappy and when unfolded, and actually feels like a proper tablet. Impressive as that's something that’s pretty hard to achieve.
Also finally available to this generation of the foldable smartphone is water resistance capability with an IPX8 rating which is very impressive considering the hinge design. What's a slight letdown is that this is not at all rated for dust resistance, so be careful around sand, dust or any tiny particles that could get in.
Meanwhile, you've got a USB type C port at the bottom along with bottom facing speakers and mic, while the top has another pair of speakers and mic. There's also the power button which doubles as a fingerprint sensor, along with a volume control on the right, and a dual sim-card slot.
Overall, we like the design of the Fold3.
Display
Moving on to the display(s), which is the biggest star and the most nerve-wracking feature of the fold.
There's basically 2 panels: an outer 6.2” Cover Screen and an inner tabletesque 7.6” Infinity Flex Screen. They both are Dynamic AMOLED 2x panels with a 120hz refresh rate.
When unfolded into the tablet format, the front camera is an under-display front-facing camera, so you're getting a full screen with little to no interruptions. The screen itself is about 29% brighter than the last generation's, which is welcomed as this aspect was a complaint by many in its predecessor - the Fold2.
Looking closer at the camera, it actually isn’t fully hidden. In fact, you can still see it if you really go closer. Otherwise, it is a lot easier to blend in giving the illusion of a full display.
All in all, the display is truly immersive, as expected of Samsung. Everything about its edge to edge screen has great contrast, colours and clarity.
Folding Experience
This foldable smartphone has been marketed to perform just like a regular smartphone when folded closed but transforms into a tablet when folded open. Sounds straightforward, no? A problem we found with this is, using it closed wasn't the most pleasant experience.
While the cover screen on the Fold3 is much better than the previous generation's, but it's not the most comfortable experience. For starters, the narrow screen aspect is not what we fancy, and we don't see ourselves using this mode for more than just looking at notifications, reply to texts, set alarms etc.
Moreover, it's quite a tall display, making it hard to reach icons at the top edge with one hand. Watching videos on it is nothing great either due to the narrow dimensions. To add, the typing experience on it is quite poor, as we made a lot of typos and misclicks. The whole user experience when it's closed just feels cramped.
Not to mention, using it this way, the phone will feel a lot thicker in your hands due to the folded panels.
Overall, most users with normal-sized hands may find the closed-mode pretty awkward, mainly on the display compared to what we’re used to on regular smartphones.
Battery
The battery on the Galaxy Z Fold3 is a 4,400 mah battery, which is fine. But pairing that with multiple 120hz displays will cause this little guy to run out of juice really quick. So you'll need to watch out when using it in tab mode, as you’ll be running out of battery significantly fast with that larger and more demanding screen size.
That aside the crease on here is no better or worse than last year. It’s very noticeable but still perfectly useable, so it's just something you'll need to get used to.
One thing that could've been better? When carrying out certain activities such as viewing videos in unfolded display mode, due to the nature of a video format, there will be extra screen space around the videos. We find this a waste of space.
S Pen
A quick look at every Samsung tablet's and note series' best friend; the S Pen.
As mentioned, the Fold3 is essentially a foldable tablet that can be used as a smartphone, so there's stylus support. But even that are comes with its own problems.
For starters, the S Pen will need a carrying case as there's no slot to house it on the Fold3. Moreover, the additional cost to get the S Pen since the Fold3 doesn't come with it. Overall, the whole idea is not really well thought out. Just because there's support for the S Pen, this part feels lacking and doesn't provide much extra benefit to fully justify buying the stylus separately.
Camera
On to the cameras.
The camera setup isn’t terrible by any means. But when you take into account the price you're paying, it's natural to expect pro-level for the setup. Unfortunately, we found that the cameras are far from that.
At the very least, you're getting the same experience as you would with the Samsung Fe 2020 which is a midrange device.
Further analysing the cameras; we’ve got a triple 12MP camera setup at the back which consist of an ultra-wide, wide and a 2x telephoto lens. Meanwhile, the cover display front camera is a 10MP camera and are perfectly capable of recording 4K video at 60fps.
In terms of quality, the images this device churns out are pretty standard; very comparable to the Samsung Fe 2020 or the S20. Thankfully, the video is quite clear with nice HDR, contrast levels and exposure. The back cameras are also capable of recording in HDR10+.
On that under-display camera, it's just, ok. While it's nice that you get this possibility of an under-display camera, but the 4MP camera just produces terrible contrast and colours. Images look pixelated with videos being able to record only at 1080p resolutions at 60fps.
At this point, you might as well use the cover camera or even the back cameras for your selfies and videos or photos as they are just much better.
Now we know everything sounds bad, but that’s not the case at all. It's definitely the best you can get on a folding display right now.
Performance
Under the hood, you’ve got a total of 12GB of RAM and either 256GB or 512GB storage. The phone is powered by Snapdragon 888 which is top of the line. Lucky for all of us, the Galaxy Z Fold3 Does very well for the likes of multitasking and gaming.
Moreover, Samsung's new UI makes everything fluid and easy to get a good smartphone experience.
Of course, productivity on here is the biggest win on this foldable device. We truly think highly of its multitasking capabilities and it deserves more recognition because there are so many customizable ways of using it to get the maximum output possible. You can work on 3 windows at once easily with this device!
Conclusion
To quickly put it, for the price of a bit more than Samsung's other flagship which is the Galaxy S21 ultra, you're getting some downgrades from the Z Fold3.
For starters, the thickness and weight are almost of 2 phones, with a slight downgrade on the battery life and camera system. The cover screen mode experience is also a letdown for the price.
BUT, the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold3 is an incredible folding phone that offers great productivity capabilities. That bigger tablet-sized display is a win as it fits right into your pocket. Not forgetting, multitasking and gaming is a breeze on this thing!
All in all, the Z Fold3 is worth it for those who purely want a productivity tool without needing to rely on an actual tablet or even a laptop.
However, if you want to see true flagship pro performance in every single field such as the camera, battery, smartphone-mode usage (when in cover mode), don't expect this device to fulfil that desire.