The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3 is here and many are calling it the first properly good foldable phone. But is it worth the asking price? Let’s take a look at some Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3 reviews from around the web…
Whatever your bank account looks like, $1799 is a lot of money to drop on a phone. But that’s how much the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3 costs – and Samsung reduced the price this year too. The phone itself, while unique and innovative, is almost $800 more than Apple’s iPhone 12 Pro.
It also makes excellent Android phones like the OnePlus 9 Pro and Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra look cheap. The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3 now comes with S-Pen support too, although you’ll have to buy it separately (which is a bit rich, considering how much the phone costs).
Inside, the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3 brings with it plenty of updates. You have Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 888 CPU, 12GB of RAM, and either 256GB or 512GB of storage. You don’t get SD card support or a headphone jack. But it does have IPX8 water resistance, a first for Samsung’s foldable phones.
With overall performance, the Galaxy Z Fold 3 scored impressive results in GeekBench, scoring 3,418 on the multi-core portion of the test and 1,107 on single core. That’s about the same as the Galaxy S21 Ultra but nowhere near the iPhone 12 Pro Max (4100/1600). And that’s pretty significant given how much this phone costs.
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3 Reviews
The Galaxy Z Fold 3 looks like the best foldable phone yet, with a more durable design and S Pen support, and the multitasking features are even better. You need a case to store the stylus and the cameras are not upgraded, but overall the Galaxy Z Fold 3 looks very promising for power users.
Tom’s Guide
The optimization problems that still bug the Fold intermittently are now on the software side rather than hardware, and Samsung says that a lot of those will be fixed by the time the Z Fold 3 is in the consumer’s hands.
For the user, it all depends on if that large, luxurious screen is worth that compromise – and how long such compromises will even exist. Foldable phones may still go the way of the 3D TV, and having only used it a week it’s hard to judge the long-term cultural impacts of this relatively new product.
Independent
Not everything about it is perfect. For some, the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3 5G will still be too pricey. For others, it’ll still be a bit too chunky. You might also find the under-display camera underwhelming, while the crease could still get in your way. There are definitely some areas that Samsung can improve on here.
Despite having a few downsides, the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3 5G is still the best folding phone out there right now. It will boost your productivity on the go, give you more immersive gaming on the main screen and it’ll be great for streaming video on long journeys. The super-long battery life is a major plus-point too.
T3
Not everything about it is perfect. For some, the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3 5G will still be too pricey. For others, it’ll still be a bit too chunky. You might also find the under-display camera underwhelming, while the crease could still get in your way. There are definitely some areas that Samsung can improve on here.
Despite having a few downsides, the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3 5G is still the best folding phone out there right now. It will boost your productivity on the go, give you more immersive gaming on the main screen and it’ll be great for streaming video on long journeys. The super-long battery life is a major plus-point too.
Sam Mobile
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3 Reviews: Wrapping Up?
What’s the takeaway here? Pretty simple really: every one that got the phone early was nice about the phone. But no one is claiming that this type of phone is either capable or likely to take over from traditional phones like the iPhone 12 or Samsung Galaxy S21.
I get that the design is novel and that it is effectively two devices in one, but it still costs $1799 which, for a phone, is crazy expensive. For the same money, you could buy a Mac mini and a relatively impressive 4K monitor and probably have enough change left over for a mechanical keyboard.
Or, you could buy the OnePlus 9 Pro and use your saved money to invest in crypto or something. Given all of the above, it would appear that despite Samsung’s best efforts the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3 is still a niche device, a device that will ONLY be bought by a select few consumers, just like the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold and the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 2.
But if you do fancy picking yourself up a piece of very special technology because, whichever way you slice it, this phone is very special, then Three in the UK has some of the best deals for it right now – you can save 50% on all contracts for the phone right now.
And the network is throwing in a free S-Pen too.
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3 Specs
- Price: $1,799 (256GB), $1,899 (512GB)
- CPU: Snapdragon 888
- RAM: 12GB
- Storage: 256GB, 512GB
- External display: 6.2 inches (2268 x 832) 120Hz Adaptive
- Internal display 7.6 inches (2208 x 1768) 120Hz Adaptive
- Rear cameras: 12MP wide (f/1.8); 12MP ultrawide (f.2.2, 123-degree FOV); 12MP telephoto (f/2.4, 2x optical zoom, 10x digital zoom)
- Front camera: 10MP (f/2.2)
- Under-display camera: 4MP (f/1.8)
- Battery: 4,400 mAh
- Charging: 25W (charger not included)
- Size: 6.2 x 2.6 x 0.56 to 0.62 inches (closed); 6.2 x 5 x 0.25 inches (open)
- Weight: 9.55 ounces
Expert Buying Tip
Any tech product is usually pretty expensive. Samsung’s are no exception. And it doesn’t matter whether you’re talking about its phones, TVs, home appliances, or smartwatches – they’re all pricey.
But did you know Samsung has a great finance program, whereby you pay 10% of the phone’s RRP upfront and then spread the rest of the cost over 12 months interest-free? It’s pretty cool. And you can even switch phones after 12 months if you want!
Check out all the details here.
Richard Goodwin has been working as a tech journalist for over 10 years. He is the editor and owner of KnowYourMobile.
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