Samsung placed a big bet on foldable phones 2 years ago with their first foldable device. This was unfortunately met with initial disappoint due to some serious flaws that rightly forced Samsung to delay the launch and fix issues – thankfully the mostly managed that in a short time. A year later we had the Fold 2 – A foldable device like no other. it was easily met with praise and considered the gold standard for folding devices and more than that, it would considered would of the best albeit expensive phones of the year and without a lot of folding competition.
Folding is clearly going to have a big future in the smartphone world and this year Samsung’s Fold 3 is Samsung next step in Folding devices – aiming to offer some impressive features such as water resistance, better durability, S-pen support, and overall performance increase. Let’s check out the Fold 3 and see how it shapes up.
Here is the full specifications for the Samsung Galaxy Fold 3 5G
- Design: 158.2×128.1×6.4mm, 271g, Glass front (Gorilla Glass Victus) (folded), plastic front (unfolded), glass back (Gorilla Glass Victus), aluminium frame; IPX8 water resistant (up to 1.5m for 30 mins), Stylus support.
- Display: Foldable: 7.60″ Dynamic AMOLED 2X, 120Hz, HDR10+, 1200 nits (peak), 1,768 x 2,208px resolution, 11.24:9 aspect ratio, 374ppi. Cover display: Dynamic AMOLED 2X, 120Hz, Corning Gorilla Glass Victus, 6.2 inches, 832 x 2,268 px, 25:9 ratio.
- Chipset: Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 5G (5 nm): Octa-core (1×2.84 GHz Kryo 680 & 3×2.42 GHz Kryo 680 & 4×1.80 GHz Kryo 680); Adreno 660.
- Memory: 256GB 12GB RAM, 512GB 12GB RAM; UFS 3.1.
- OS/Software: Android 11, One UI 3.1.1.
- Rear camera: Wide (main): 12 MP, f/1.8, 26mm, 1/1.76″, 1.8µm, Dual Pixel PDAF, OIS; Telephoto: 12 MP, f/2.4, 52mm, 1/3.6″, 1.0µm, PDAF, OIS, 2x optical zoom; Ultra wide angle: 12 MP, f/2.2, 123-degree, 12mm, 1.12µm.
- Front camera: Under-display: 4 MP, f/1.8, 2.0µm, under display; Cover camera: Wide (main): 10 MP, f/2.2, 26mm, 1/3″, 1.22µm.
- Video capture: Rear camera: 4K@60fps, 1080p@60/240fps (gyro-EIS), 720p@960fps (gyro-EIS), HDR10+; Front camera: 4K@30fps, 1080p@30fps, gyro-EIS.
- Battery: 4400mAh; Fast charging 25W, Fast wireless charging 11W, Reverse wireless charging 4.5W.
- Misc: Fingerprint reader (side-mounted); NFC; Samsung DeX, Samsung Pay, Ultra Wideband (UWB) support.
So we can see no real dimension changes, but the device is slightly lighter compared to the Fold 2, and also we have 100mAh less battery at 4,400mAh. The biggest internal changes are the chipset, included S-Pen support, IpX8 water resistance. Samsung have included a stronger frame with that they call armoured aluminium.
The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3 5G
UI
Foldable devices require a lot of UI elements to make them work well. This year Samsung have added a few features to make using apps a little more comfortable and take more advantage of the entire nature that is a folding device.
Camera UI
Photos and Video
.
Auto Mode
Manual Mode (HDR On)
Full size images
The above images are resized for viewing on the website. If you wish to check out the full size images, you can do so with the link below.
Videos
1080p
1080P@60fps
4K
Benchmarks
Since we have the latest Qualcomm chipse, we’re expecting top of the line numbers.. Below are the most popular benchmarks available, these will give
| 3D Mark Ice Storm Extreme | Max |
| 3D Mark Ice Storm Unlimited | |
| 3D Mark Sling Shot | |
| 3D Mark Sling Shot Extreme | |
| 3D Mark API Overhead OpenGL Es 3.0 | |
| 3D Mark API Overhead Vulkan | |
| Antutu | |
| Geekbench Single-Core | |
| Geekbench Multi-Core | |
| Geekbench Compute | |
| PC Mark Work 2.0 | |
| PC Mark Computer Vision | |
| PC Mark Storage | |
| PC Mark Work |
Battery Life
Now it’s time to see how long the Galaxy Z Fold 3 will last throughout our 12 hour battery test. The test aims for medium to heavy usage.
| Phone Calls | 20-30 Minutes |
| Text message/Chat/Emails | Throughout the day(checking) and 20-30 sent |
| Photos | 10-20 |
| Video recording | 20-30 Minutes |
| Internet browsing | Throughout the day(around 30-40 minutes total) |
| Gaming | 30 Minutes |
| YouTube/Netflix | 30-40 Minutes |
| Connectivity | WiFi and 4G; mostly 4G |
| Screen Brightness | 50-percent |
Conclusion
It’s time to wrap up the latest flagship from Sony, As usual we break down our conclusion into different categories. Design, Display, Camera, Performance and then finally overall. This should give anyone looking to pick up the smartphone what what we believe it has to off what it has to offer.
Design
The biggest change we have seen from Sony in recent years. The new design features an 18:9 ratio display with less bezel than previous designs. We’re definitely fans of the new look and are happy to see Sony finally make that leap. Of course this comes after a lot of other companies made similar changes themselves.
The feel of the device is great for the large body. The glass back is definitely the fingerprint magnet you would expect, but always looks stunning when you give it a quick wipe down. We not only have a great design, but the build quality and premium feel you get is immediately evident with the Xperia XZ2.
Our only issue with the design is the placement of the fingerprint sensor, or more especially how it aligns with the camera sensor and them both being circles. Accidental swipes of the camera instead of the fingerprint happen quite a lot, so anyone with long fingers will have issue reaching the fingerprint sensor naturally, and might do better sticking with a pattern/code or other unlock method.
The lack of headphone jack is worth a mention for those still rocking wired earphones. It’s a clear pattern of the future, but for now, 3.5mm jacks are still an important feature.
Display
Sony typically reserve the high end 4K displays for their premium series of devices, which would be considered their actual flagship device. It typically arrives not too long after the release of the main series. Think of Samsung’s S Vs Note series.
That being said, the included 1080p IPS display is still of high quality. While 4K is the marketing word buzz word nowadays, HDR has quickly taken a jump in being more prominent, most notable because HDR content is now becoming more regularly avaialble. The Xperia XZ2 is HDR BT.2020 compliant.
When watching content that the display can take advantage of, everything looks incredible. The included haptic feedback that triggers vibrations based on sound also aids the full experience. Ultimately this is one of the best displays Sony have included in a device.
Camera
Sony haven’t jumped on the dual sensor bandwagon, but as we’re aware that’s coming in their next flaghip device. That being said the included 19MP 1/2.3″ Sony IMX400 sensor included in the XZ2 is definitely up there. Sony being the biggest manufacturer of camera sensors, they certainly know a thing or two.
The Xperia XZ2 provided us with well balanced and color accurate photos. HDR worked very well when used and loaded up the photos with extra details that would otherwise be missed. The lack of OIS was evident, but Sony did very well to limit how much that effects the finished photo.
Performance
The included Snapdragon 845 chipset is one of the best on the market and hit all the top marks with our benchmarks. Performance in terms of software and general use was exemplary, with the device not showing any signs of struggling.
Battery could have been better, but Sony’s battery saving routines again show up and save the device in terms of complete longevity. We got decent usage out of the device within our 12 hour period with enough left over that any single day usage should be fine. 2 day usage is possible when battery saver is used, but otherwise slightly less intensive usage here and there could lead to a 2 day battery life.
Overall
Ultimately the Xperia XZ2 does one thing above anything else, and that’s showing that Sony are still in the game. Their latest device brings with it a much needed new design, that we love. While Sony have gotten certain things great with previous devices, they tend to miss the mark more than a few times as well. This time around the XZ2 ticks a lot more of the right boxes for the company.
We have a great modern design with an overall more premium look and feel. Performance is fantastic in terms of horsepower and camera quality. While overall the phone doesn’t do any one thing better than the competition, it definitely does everything very well. Anyone picking up a Xperia XZ2 will be very happy with the device. We do believe that this is Sony on the right track to becoming a bigger contender in the smartphone world again. Let’s hope the can keep it up.
