Samsung's biggest mainstream flagship, the Galaxy Z Fold 3 is finally here. The phone comes with a bunch of new features, so let's take a look at the top 10 features of this new foldable that are worth a second look.
For over a decade, the S Pen has remained the holy grail of the Galaxy Note. That however changed this year when Samsung decided to support more devices with the stylus functionality. And the Galaxy Z Fold 3 is the latest addition to that list. 
But the S Pen functionality on the Z Fold 3 is different from that of the Galaxy Note. Because, for one, Samsung has made a special S Pen with a rubber tip and a spring mechanism so that it doesn't damage the flexible display. And two, even though it’s carrying over the Galaxy Note’s S Pen DNA, but there isn't a dedicated slot on the phone to store it. So it's not a proper Galaxy Note replacement, and you need a separate case if you want to store the pen locally, but a bigger tablet-like screen to write on is definitely an advantage that this foldable has over the Galaxy Note.
The biggest feature of the Z Fold 3 is hands down its multi-tasking capability. Samsung is committed to assisting Z Fold 3 customers in making the most of the device's large screen real estate, even if app developers aren't yet on board. 
A new Labs feature in settings lets you put any app into split-screen or pop-up view when multitasking. You can also run two apps side by side or run up to three apps at once. And now the enhanced App Pair feature lets you create shortcuts for two apps later in the same way you had them open. 
Plus You can now permanently pin your Edge Panel to the side of the screen like a dock making it easier to multitask like a Windows computer.
One of the biggest changes you'll see with the Z Fold 3 is the addition of an under-display camera. Although, it's not totally invisible, the goal here isn't to hide the camera altogether; rather, it's to make the phone's display feel like an unbroken canvas when you're using it. When you move your gaze to another region of the screen, the under-display camera fades from view in a way that a hole-punch camera would not. It still appears to be a lot of effort for a small reward, considering the quality of the selfies isn't great by any means. But it shouldn't be big deal since you can just take selfies from the rear and the front cover display.
The Galaxy Z Fold 3 is the first foldable smartphone to offer IPX8 water resistance, which means you can submerge it underwater for 30 minutes, and it should come out unscathed. This tells us that the handset will be in the same ballpark as normal flagship smartphones when it comes to protection from the elements. Though, the X in IPX8 means it isn't tested for dust protection. But that's not a concern, as Samsung has sweepers inside the hinge to remove the dust.
One of the biggest issues people had with the Z Fold 2 was that the refresh rate on the cover display was 60Hz, while it was 120Hz on the inner display. I wonder who was that genius at Samsung to even think that was a good idea. But they quickly learned their lesson and made both the displays on the Z Fold 3 120Hz LTPO.
With every Foldable phone, Samsung has been increasing its durability. But with the Z Fold 3 they have taken it to a new level as Samsung says the aluminum that they have used for the frame and the hinge is their strongest ever and the hinge is now 10 percent stronger than on the Z Fold 2. Also, the phone has a new Ultra-thin glass on top of the flexible display which is now 80% stronger than its predecessor which means you can comfortably use the S Pen without worrying about damaging it.
Although not really a feature but it's worth mentioning that Samsung has failed to make any improvement to the crease on this handset. It didn't get worse than on the Z fold 2, though but it didn't get better either. Other Samsung goodies like the flex mode, dex mode, and all the other stuff you find on conventional Samsung flagships is all there except a periscope zoom camera system. But in any case, at $1800 the Z Fold 3 does offer meaningful improvements and if you're thinking about switching to foldables then the Z Fold 3 should be your best bet.
No comments yet