Samsung Unveils Galaxy Z Fold 3: Here’s What To Know

The foldable phone will add S Pen support for the first time while offering improved durability, business-friendly features and a lower starting price.

The Future Of Foldables

Samsung is continuing to refine its approach to foldable phones—an area where the company has been a pioneer, but still remains a fraction of the larger smartphone market. On Wednesday, Samsung unveiled its next candidate for bringing foldables to more users, including businesses, with the Galaxy Z Fold 3. The device—which opens to have a tablet-size display, like its predecessor the Fold 2—gets a range of updates including first-ever support for an S Pen stylus, improved durability and enhanced performance. Samsung executives said that they’re also targeting the B2B market with the Fold 3, contending that businesses—including SMBs—are ready for productivity-focused foldables. Perhaps the biggest move of all aimed at generating more interest is the price reduction on the foldable phone, bringing the Fold 3 well below the $2,000 price tag that the Fold 2 has carried.

In the following slides, we’ve rounded up the details you need to know on Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold 3.

Display and Design

Like the Fold 2, the Galaxy Z Fold 3 features a 6.2-inch cover screen when folded, and a 7.6-inch main screen when unfolded. In terms of upgrades, Samsung has doubled the refresh rate on the cover screen, to 120Hz, matching the refresh rate of the main screen. Both screens include vibrant AMOLED display technology and high resolution, with 387 pixels per inch on the cover screen and 374 ppi on the main display.

Another enhancement on the display is the elimination of a camera notch at the top of the display. Samsung says it achieved this with an “under display” camera and AI-based image processing, which allow the camera to see through the display while providing full visibility of the content on the screen.

The form factor has gotten a minor tweak on the Fold 3, with the device slightly thinner (at 0.63 of an inch thick vs. 0.66 of an inch) and lighter (at 0.6 of a pound vs. 0.62 of a pound) than the Fold 2.

Other design improvements include a thinner hinge that does not stick out as much as on the predecessor model, Samsung said.

S Pen

As Samsung continues to bring its S Pen to more Galaxy devices—most recently making the Galaxy S21 Ultra compatible with the stylus—the Galaxy Z Fold 3 is the next to get S Pen support. Which makes a lot of sense, given that the device folds open to have a sizeable 7.6-inch display that would seem ideal for note-taking, sketching and navigating using a stylus.

Samsung is offering options for two different styluses that will work with the Galaxy Z Fold 3 (and will be sold separately). They are the S Pen Fold Edition and larger S Pen Pro, which will work with any Galaxy device that supports a stylus and includes gesture controls. Neither pen can be stored inside the device.

Durability

With the Galaxy Z Fold 3, Samsung said one major of focus is on durability, as the company seeks to reduce the trade-offs that users must accept when going with a foldable device. In one of the major moves, Samsung is bringing water resistance to the Galaxy Z Fold 3 for the first time. The device will feature an IPX8 rating, meaning it can survive for up to half an hour in water as deep as 5 feet (suggesting it should be fine with a little bit of rain, too).

Other upgrades on the Fold 3 include the use of a stronger type of aluminum on the frame and hinge, enabling a 10-percent improvement on durability. Additionally, the phone’s foldable display will feature Corning’s Gorilla Glass Victus as well as a new protective film—resulting in an 80-percent improvement to screen durability for the Fold 3.

CPU, 5G And Other Specs

The Galaxy Z Fold 3 will be powered by Qualcomm’s speedy, eight-core Snapdragon 888 processor and a sizeable amount of RAM at 12 GB. Two storage options will be offered—with 256 GB and 512 GB models available. The foldable phone will also support both types of 5G connectivity—the more prevalent sub-6GHz as well as the higher-speed 5G variant, known as mmWave.

For the camera system, the Fold 3 will have a triple-camera system on the rear—12 megapixels apiece—as well as 10-megapixel cover camera and a 4-megapixel under-display camera.

Samsung did not provide an estimate on battery life for the Fold 3, but disclosed that it will feature a battery capacity of 4,400mAh—which for comparison, is below the 4,800mAh battery on the Galaxy S21 Plus.

Business and Productivity Features

With the Galaxy Z Fold 3, Samsung is making a bigger push to win business customers with a number of productivity and B2B-focused capabilities in the device. The launch of S Pen support is aimed in part at providing new productivity options to users, while the device also enables multi-tasking for users with the available multi-window view. In a video provided to media, Samsung executives touted business use cases for multi-window productivity in fields such as financial services, legal and health care. And with the device’s Flex Mode option, users can attend a video meeting on the top screen while using the bottom screen to follow notes, for instance, Samsung said in a news release. For easier navigation between apps, the Z Fold 3 adds a new taskbar for switching apps without needing to go back to the home screen.

The Fold 3 also features a “deep integration” with Microsoft productivity apps, the company said. For instance, a dual-pane mode for Microsoft Outlook on the Fold 3 provides a desktop-like experience, allowing users to read an email while previewing other emails on the side, Samsung said.

Additionally, the Galaxy Z Fold 3 comes with support for Samsung’s DeX, allowing users to pull up an Android desktop on an external screen that is powered by the Fold 3.

Price and Availability

As mentioned, Samsung is seeking to broaden its potential customer base for the Galaxy Z Fold 3 by reducing the pricing from the first two models in the series, which had each carried a roughly $2,000 price tag. While the Fold 3 is by no means going to be a modestly priced device, it’s now $200 cheaper with a starting price of $1,799.99. The Fold 3 will be available to pre-order on Aug. 11 and will be shipping on Aug. 27.

For the S Pen styluses that will work with the Galaxy Z Fold 3, the S Pen Fold Edition will be priced at $49.99 and the S Pen Pro—which works with any S Pen-capable Galaxy device—will cost $99.99.