Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 3: Why you should buy it (and why you can skip it)

Samsung Milky way Z Flip iii: Why y'all should buy it (and why yous can skip information technology)

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 3 reasons to buy and skip

(Paradigm credit: Tom's Guide)

The Galaxy Z Flip 3 has arrived, virtually 18 months later on Samsung introduced the original flip phone-style folding handset. And on the surface, non much seems to accept changed.

While the Milky way Z Fold iii seems to have gotten some substantial enhancements — it'south the phone that added S Pen support and now features an under-display photographic camera — the Galaxy Z Flip 3 feels a lot similar its predecessor. Similar the flip phones of onetime, y'all open up upward the Galaxy Z Flip to reveal a larger screen — the aforementioned 6.7-inch display you lot'd find on the original Flip. The phones even counterbalance the same and are about the same size, requite or take a 10th of an inch.

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold three vs Galaxy Z Flip 3: What's the divergence?
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But look a little closer, every bit nosotros did for our Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 3 vs. Galaxy Z Flip comparison, and yous'll find some meaning improvements — enough to where you might be considering this new foldable. We're still testing out the Milky way Z Flip three, only we've found plenty of reasons that support buying this updated flip phone... every bit well every bit a few reasons to perhaps wait a scrap before taking the plunge.

Milky way Z Flip 3: reasons to buy

It's less than $1,000

Folding phones are expensive, which is i of the big reasons they've yet to be embraced by a mainstream audience. The original Milky way Z Flip toll nearly $i,400 when it debuted, and even later on price cuts, a 5G version of the foldable phone yet cost every bit much as the Galaxy S21 Ultra, the well-nigh expensive model in Samsung'southward flagship lineup.

Samsung conspicuously wants more people to purchase foldable phones as it took a pair of scissors to the Z Flip's price. You tin can buy a Milky way Z Flip 3 for $999, making this the start foldable to cost less than $i,000, if merely by a cent. Yes, $999 is still a lot to pay for a phone, merely the Milky way Z Flip 3'due south price is at least trending in the right management.

The outer display is bigger and more than useful

It was easily to overlook the outer brandish on the original Milky way Z Flip — it was just i.1 inches, after all. That's large plenty to see an incoming call, the name of someone sending yous a text message or the appointment and time, but not much else. Samsung fifty-fifty said that i.1-inch strip could double as a viewfinder for selfies, provided yous had a very constricting definition of the discussion "view."

The Galaxy Z Flip 3 makes no such compromise, with a 1.ix inch outer brandish. That may non seem that much bigger, but trust united states, the extra space makes a world of difference. Now you can run into more than information with those incoming messages, and even the viewfinder feature gives you a more complete expect at what you're capturing. It's a better design altogether that makes using the Milky way Z Flip 3 that much easier.

The interior display's meliorate, too

The Galaxy Z Flip 3's interior brandish may be the same size as the phone that came before it, just that doesn't mean Samsung reused the exact same panel. This AMOLED screen features a faster refresh rate, adjusting its speed to up to 120Hz. The original Fold had a more conventional 60Hz refresh rate.

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 3 hands-on review — (Image credit: Tom's Guide)

We've talked upwardly the merits of fast-refreshing displays since they became a fixture on premium phones, but information technology bears repeating here. A 120Hz refresh rate makes tasks like scrolling run more than smoothly — important when the device is as key to a phone'due south experience as it is on the Z Flip. And the fact that the refresh rate adjusts based on your activity can assistance preserve battery life, which could bear witness to be crucial for a reason which nosotros'll get to in a moment.

The Galaxy Z Flip 3 is more durable than ever

Await, it doesn't feel natural bending a display in half. The original Milky way Z Flip dealt with that trouble by introducing a layer of ultra thin drinking glass to the phone's display, making things experience a little more rugged. Even so, the phone'southward blueprint didn't exactly inspire enough conviction to assist foldable devices get mainstream.

Samsung clearly wants to change that with the Galaxy Z Flip 3. The phone uses Gorilla Glass Victus on the outer display and Samsung's Armor Aluminum to incorporate its body. Samsung also claims the interior display is meliorate at fugitive scratches. Plus, the Milky way Z Flip three sports an IPX8 water resistance rating, something missing from the original Flip.

Samsung'south improving the app support

When I reviewed the showtime Milky way Z Flip, I really enjoyed the phone's Flex mode. That allowed y'all to open the telephone role of the manner, using the upper half of the screen as a viewing surface area, while the bottom half doubled as both a base and a control console. It came in actually handy for video calls or turning the Galaxy Z Flip into a tripod for taking still shots.

The trouble was that not every app had been optimized to have advantage of Flex mode. Samsung says information technology's working with more app makers to increment the number of apps that take advantage of its foldable phones, and we hope to see prove of that equally nosotros continue to review the device. Merely information technology's at to the lowest degree promising that this is an area Samsung wants to address.

Galaxy Z Flip 3: reasons to skip

The cameras haven't changed at all

The Galaxy Z Flip 3 features a 12MP (f/1.8) main camera on its back couple with a 12MP (f/two.two) ultra-wide ultrawide shooter. Up front, yous get a 10MP selfie cam on the interior display. If those specs audio similar, information technology's because they're exactly the same equally the cameras included on final year'southward Galaxy Z Flip.

It's non that the cameras on that phone were bad — they got the chore done — but nobody's going to misfile the Galaxy Z Flip with ane of the best camera phones on the market. Nosotros'd assume that goes for the Galaxy Z Flip 3, also.

More than chiefly, it too means that there's no telephoto lens on the the Galaxy Z Flip three, a glaring omission when you compare this device to similarly priced handsets (admitting ones that don't fold).

The battery's the same, besides

If the cameras on the new Galaxy Z Flip model sound familiar, yous'll also recognize the battery, also. Information technology'due south the same 3,300 mAh power pack used in the original. And like its predecessor, the Galaxy Z Flip 3 is limited to 15W charging speeds.

The meaty form of the Galaxy Z Flip ways that the battery can only exist and then big. But given how the original Flip performed on our battery test involving continuous web surfing over cellular, y'all can forgive us for being a footling concerned. The Galaxy Z Flip turned in a time that was below average for a smartphone. Possibly the Galaxy Z Flip iii can surprise us with a more efficient processor, but it does seem like a flaw of the original has gone unaddressed.

The crease in the Galaxy Z Flip 3's brandish remains visible

Some other complaint we had with the first Galaxy Z Flip was a visible crease where the telephone folds. You noticed it in particular when running your finger down the impact screen, and it didn't brand you feel good about spending big bucks on a foldable phone.

Nosotros regret to inform y'all that the crease is nonetheless there on the Galaxy Z Flip 3. And no, the lower price of the phone doesn't make u.s.a. feel any improve about information technology.

More fully featured phones cost merely every bit much

We empathise that we cited the $999 price as a reason to buy the Galaxy Z Flip 3. And it'southward expert news that Samsung managed to drop the cost as much as it did. But for that kind of money, you can beget some premium phones that happen to exist more than capable than Samsung's foldable device.

The Galaxy S21 Plus, some other Samsung handset, too costs $999. Only that telephone features a telephoto lens, a bigger battery and faster charging capabilities. Besides, the iPhone 12 Pro costs $999 also, and it's got some of the best cameras we've seen on a phone in the by year.

At the cease of the day, the ability to fold your phone into a pocket-friendly size may exist reason enough to pay up for the Galaxy Z Flip 3. But exist enlightened that you're giving up some features you lot wouldn't accept to with phones that cost just as much.

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Philip Michaels is a senior editor at Tom'due south Guide. He has strong opinions most Apple, the Oakland Athletics and old movies. Follow him at @PhilipMichaels.