The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip3 Made Me A Believer Of Foldable Screen Smartphones

Just like the solid brick wall of your house is as strong as its weakest point (the door and window frames, most likely), a foldable screen phone would naturally be more susceptible to breaking than a normal, candybar phone without any unnecessary screen hinges, right? Logically, it makes sense.

And I was from this school of thought, until I started using the new Samsung Galaxy Z Flip3 5G a couple of months ago. It has made me a believer in the current promise and untapped future of bendable screen phones. But only if implemented well, of course.

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Two years ago, while browsing the aisles at Mobile World Congress, I saw bendable screen phone concepts that spanned the full spectrum from whimsical fancy to freakishly bizarre. Prototypes like the Huawei Mate X came close, but didn¡¯t amount to anything more than a fragile glimpse of the future with little substance. Incidentally, I caught a glimpse of the Samsung Galaxy Fold -- Samsung¡¯s very first foldable screen phone -- at the same event. It was a good start, but in hindsight it was far from a finished product.

There were plenty of reasons not to buy a foldable screen phone back then, prime among which were design and usability factors, both of which have been eliminated enough in the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip3.

Foldable design that¡¯s durable...

Wrapped in a unique layer of flamboyance, the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip3 combines the nostalgia of an old-school flip phone with the promise and exuberance of a futuristic device. The clamshell design of the Galaxy Z Flip3 easily makes heads turn from the second you pull it out of your pocket to the moment you open it up. Of course, ¡®opening it up¡¯ for the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip3 takes on a whole new meaning as far as the rest of the smartphone world is concerned. It¡¯s definitely more exciting than pressing your routine screen lock button.

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Dimensions don¡¯t matter when you hold the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip3 in your hand for the first time. Yes, the phone is slightly bulky when it¡¯s closed, but by the time you prop it open all thoughts of its size evaporate into the distance as you gaze in wonder. From noticing its curiously-placed 2-inch AMOLED rear-panel screen to the full-tilt, unbent 6.7-inch 120-Hz Super AMOLED display, you can¡¯t help but marvel at the Galaxy Z Flip3¡¯s premium build quality.

The Galaxy Z Flip3 is a high-grade amalgamation of plastic, metal and glass that fuse together brilliantly to produce the world¡¯s first water resistant bendable screen smartphone with an IPX8 rating, but curiously it¡¯s not dust-resistant. The device feels sleek and premium in your hand, from the curved edges to its super-smooth screen. Unlike other premium candybar phones like the iPhone 13 Pro or the OnePlus 9 Pro, the sense of mystique and wonder of opening and closing the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip3 definitely stays with you much longer -- haven¡¯t gotten over it in my third month of use, that¡¯s for sure.

With respect to my logical apprehension of bendable screen phones, the hinge on the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip3 assuages any fears I had of using a flexible screen phone for more than a couple of hours. I¡¯d compare the screen on the Flip3 almost to a ThinkPad¡¯s screen hinge in terms of construction and top-notch build quality, because the phone never feels flimsy or delicate in your hand. It doesn¡¯t feel like it will wrinkle and bend undesirably, or worse crack inside your jeans pocket. Apart from a necessary tiny screen depression where the hinge rotates, there¡¯s absolutely nothing that feels out of place on the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip3 in terms of cutting-edge build quality.

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I must¡¯ve easily opened and closed the Galaxy Z Flip3¡¯s screen a few hundred times over the past couple of months, and I¡¯m happy to report it operates just as awesomely as it did on day one, no complaints whatsoever. The hinge doesn¡¯t buckle, it functions optimally, and what heightens the Flip3¡¯s sense of wonder is its graceful unfolding despite its strong underlying construction. Samsung¡¯s industrial designers have successfully combined a piece of art within all the rigidity and durability you¡¯d expect from a premium flagship phone, which tells you everything you need to know about the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip3. It has all the essence of a tap dancing ballerina that can pull a few punches in the boxing ring, should the occasion call for it.

Foldable design that works like a charm

Design is only as good as you implement it, form ultimately needs to follow function -- especially for an ambitious phone that¡¯s more than just a leap of faith, otherwise all that flashy design starts to ring hollow real fast. The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip3 has taken a lot of effort to ensure its design is thoughtful, beyond the initial seduction of its aesthetic appeal. It¡¯s a practical phone that is fully capable of being your daily driver, perhaps even better than all the boring candybar phones out there in comparison.

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The Flip3 functions like a normal candybar phone when it's fully opened, where it can hold its own and even surpass the best Android flagship phones out there in terms of performance. It is in Flex Mode (when you fold the phone into an L shape) and of course closed mode (when the rear panel screen comes alive) where the Galaxy Z Flip3 truly shines, outclassing any other modern touch-screen smartphone you might¡¯ve seen so far in your life.

In Flex Mode, the Flip3 intelligently ¡°splits¡± some apps on either halves of the foldable screen. If you¡¯re watching YouTube in portrait mode and fold the phone into Flex Mode, the video snaps to the upper half of the screen, while the description and comments get pushed into the bottom half of the screen. While using the camera app, the top of the Galaxy Z Flip3 converts into a dedicated viewfinder, as the bottom half gets all the controls which come in handy. Apart from these two observations, I also liked how the 2-inch rear panel screen acts as a quick launch widget window.

The rear panel screen on the Galaxy Z Flip3 gives you a whole host of swipe-friendly options at a quick glance -- from your calendar appointments to notifications, music with multimedia control to location-based weather updates and more -- that simply gives you more to do when the phone¡¯s screen is closed. Even the orientation of the volume rocker on the right edge of the Galaxy Z Flip3 toggles upside down to make it more intuitive to use in closed screen mode, which is another example of Samsung¡¯s thoughtful design infusion in the device.

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Best of the rest

Going beyond its innovative design and practical use, the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip3 obviously performs brilliantly in terms of day-to-day workloads. Its 120Hz display was fluid and soft on touch -- softer than regular smartphones, probably because of its folding nature -- which is amazing to feel. The screen is vivid, sharp and excessively colourful, making it very pleasing on the eye -- watching a movie or reading a long online article are both very well handled by the screen. The physical fingerprint sensor button on its side and IR-based face unlock on its front work amazingly fast on the Flip3, I must say.

The rear cameras on the Flip3 are essentially the same ones used in Samsung Galaxy S21+ Ultra, and they also share the Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 SoC chip. Whether it¡¯s sunlight or lowlight, 4K video or slow-mo video, the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip3 has one of the best smartphone photography chops you¡¯ll see on a premium Android smartphone this year. Personally, I prefer the iPhone 13 Pro¡¯s true-to-source image and on-screen calibration combo, but the Flip3¡¯s cameras have a way of capturing beautifully detailed images, making their colours pop and jump off the screen that only a Samsung Galaxy Z-series phone can. The only negative here is the absence of a telephoto camera, which means optical zoom is limited to 2x only. A tiny hiccup in an otherwise excellent overall camera performance.

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Whether it¡¯s watching a movie on Netflix, reading a Twitter thread, or shooting a 4K video, the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip3 manages all that with a wink and a yawn, barely breaking into a sweat. Its battery lasts a full day easily, no problems whatsoever, and it supports 15W fast charging. The only blemish on an otherwise top-notch experience on the Flip3 is its slightly bevelled screen depression that you feel under your finger, which is noticeable under an excessively white background. Unfortunately, material science needs to advance further for Samsung industrial designers to find a way to magically erase it. But until that happens, there¡¯s plenty to like about the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip3, both for purists and enthusiasts.

In a sea of commoditized smartphone designs, it stands out as a gem and largely delivers on its promise. Having spent over a decade testing and reviewing consumer tech devices, the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip3 is easily one of the most innovative phones I¡¯ve had the pleasure to use. It has taken a yesteryear clamshell aesthetic and re-engineered it for the future in a thoughtful and practical manner. All without compromising on its unprecedented flaunt value: Everytime you reveal it to the world, the Galaxy Z Flip3 grabs and holds people¡¯s attention longer than any iPhone or Pixel ever can. A breath of fresh clamshell air, a sign of things to come past a horizon littered with candybar clones. It has changed my mind and piqued my interest into the evolution of foldable screen smartphones, which I look forward to exploring.