REVIEW: Galaxy Z Fold3… 1 year later!

Foldable cell phones had a very interesting year in 2021, and the Samsung continues to be the pioneer in this category, improving even more with the third version of its phablet collapsible. Now that many months have passed since its release, we revisit the Galaxy Z Fold3 5G to see if it remains at the top of its category today. Check out!

Design

O Galaxy Z Fold3 5G it is still beautiful. This release of Samsung it's about just one thing: refinement. The device is one of the prime examples of Design from the company. From back to front, the Samsung perfected the book-like appearance that the Z-line has to the maximum.

A Samsung, basically, kept the Design from the previous line, but made it a little thinner. In addition, the screen is larger, with 6.2 inches it's common de Dynamic Amoled Infinity X, which is seamless, thanks to the position of the central camera, which is over the screen. O Galaxy Z Fold3 5G It is available in three beautiful colors: Phantom Black, Phantom Green e phantom silver. All with a touch of satin, which fits very well in the hand while not being marked by fingerprints.

the piece of hardware What stands out most about folding cell phones are their hinges. It determines the lifespan and longevity of any foldable cell phone. having used the Galaxy Z Fold3 5G Since its launch, I can categorically state that the device's hinge is one of the best on the market today. After several months of constant use, it is still firm and secure, allowing me to use it closed without any problems.

O Samsung Galaxy Z Fold3 5G remains, along with his younger brother, the Galaxy z flip 3, the only ones to offer water protection IPX8. You can use it without fear near the pool or on a rainy day. The lack of water protection of previous versions was seen as compromising, if compared to the other devices of the company. But thanks to this addition, the durability and longevity of these gadgets will increase.

We can safely say that thanks to the launch of Galaxy Z Fold3 5G, Samsung is the owner of this market, at least for now. Still, due to its unique nature, the device has some disadvantages, mainly in weight, with 271 grams and height, with 16 millimeters folded.

Personally, I got used to the weight, and its slightly thicker thickness gave me more confidence when using it with one hand. However, in terms of portability, there will certainly be certain complications. The lack of dust resistance is another limitation of folding appliances. While the hinge of Galaxy Z Fold3 5G guarantees certain protection, the cell phone does not have any protection certification. even if the smartphone Lasts longer than other folding appliances, users still need to avoid certain places, like the beach, for example.

Leaving aside the typical limitations of folding appliances, the Galaxy Z Fold3 5G it still stands in front of all its competitors even many months later thanks to its fantastic looks and impressive durability.

Fabric

Not surprisingly, the Galaxy Z Fold3 5G owns a world class, both in construction and appearance. Both displays have a refresh rate of 120 Hz, something that was missing in the Galaxy z fold2. Much has been said about how good the screens of Samsung are, but know that both screens are bright, vibrant, with excellent contrast and are clearly visible in daylight.

At first, I felt that the screen size was a bit odd, but then, over time, I noticed that it was perfect for multitasking work. You can easily open two or three applications at the same time without their appearance looking weird. However, your Design it is not so suitable for watching movies or TV series that have smaller proportions, but the overall result ends up making this choice worthwhile.

The inner screen has a under display camera, or simply UDC (camera over the , in literal translation) which is the elephant in the room. The implementation of this type of camera doesn't make much sense compared to the rest of the device's incredible screen. Overall, you won't notice the camera unless you keep looking. No matter what you're doing, whether it's reading, playing games, watching a movie, or whatever, camera pixelation won't bother you as much.

However, the Samsung should have avoided putting this technology, still experimental, in its high-end device. There are many other devices that make use of this technology much better than the Galaxy Z Fold3 5G, and are cheaper. The hope is that the next entry in the Z family will do the job right.

Software and performance

Historically, the software da Samsung bring lots of duplicate apps, redundant features, cartoon app icons, all bundled with the latest software updates. software — or so it was. The user interface of Galaxy Z Fold3 5G is, to be right, way ahead of anything the company has tried in the past, and it brings a seamless experience that is ahead of anything others have done. Android already did.

Initially, the Galaxy Z Fold3 5G was released with the Android 11, Ea One UI 3.1, which until then was the best version of the Samsung. The company has improved its integration with the services of the Google such as Discover and the Messages, maintaining its appearance, making the experience better and more coherent. THE Samsung it still keeps some duplicate apps and some free apps at first, but they need to be paid for later. Fortunately, the company has been forcing users to use its apps less than those of the Google.

Without a doubt, one of the best features of the Samsung are your updates. Since the launch of Galaxy Z Fold3 5G, the user interface has changed to the IU 4.0 and for the Android 12, as well as receiving several security updates. THE Samsung assured its users that it will update the Galaxy Z Fold3 5G for 4 years of updates Android and also 5 years of updates from with .

Even with all the updates, the Galaxy Z Fold3 5G maintains the excellent performance ever. Apps open quickly, multitasking is still great, and you don't notice any lag or crashes, the device is reliable and fast. The problems that exist here are more on the part of the Android, as many applications lack optimization for wide screens. We all hope that the Android 12L solve all problems.

Battery

To be quite honest, the battery life of the Galaxy Z Fold3 5G It's not bad, but it's far from excellent. The device comes with 4.400 mAh, which can guarantee a day of use, but it depends, a lot, on how you use the device. If you generally use the screen outside more, it's almost guaranteed that at the end of the day you'll have around 25% battery left. However, if you use the screen from the inside with the brightness on high, there is a high chance of needing to recharge the battery of the Galaxy Z Fold3 5G.

My typical usage is a mix of uses between the two screens, with durations ranging between 5 and 6 hours each. That doesn't mean the results are bad, far from it, but they don't come close to a Galaxy s22 ultra or one iPhone 13 Pro.

In terms of recharging, there's nothing impressive either. O Galaxy Z Fold3 5G can bear the fast charging up to 25W. That's not bad, but it's a far cry from the latest high-end handsets. Normally, the device takes between 80 and 90 minutes to charge, but I got the same result using a 15W charger.

Overall, there's not much to say about the battery capacity of the Galaxy Z Fold3 5G. It's not the best, nor the worst. The most important thing here is consistency, as the results obtained here are the same since the launch of the device. And if the Samsung continue optimizing the with for your devices, I believe it can stay that way for a long time.

Cameras

The family Galaxy Z never offered what the Samsung has the best, and that remains in the Galaxy Z Fold3 5G. It should be noted that the device's camera is good, and can take excellent photos, in addition to offering a wide variety of Setups. However, expectations are quite high, given the high price of the device. In total, the phablet comes with three 12 MP rear cameras which include a Wide, Ultrawide and 2x Zoom. On the front screen is a camera Selfie 10 MP and on the screen inside there is the 4 MP camera.

Being pretty straightforward, the footage from the outside cameras is decent. With good lighting, you'll get great photos of any of them. O with does an excellent job balancing the colors, details and the HDR. The front camera of Selfie also brings similar results. even though the Samsung been using this technology since 2020, it's pretty clear that they've done everything they can to maximize the cameras' performance.

Things start to go downhill when we talk about the 4 MP camera over the , and to be honest, there's no reason to use this camera Selfie at no time. The images are a bit hazy, and there's usually no reason to use this camera. Especially when the other four provide a much better result, in addition to being able to be used as cameras of Selfie Also.

In general, the Galaxy Z Fold3 5G brings you a very good experience with your cameras. There's nothing that stands out from the competition, but at the same time, nothing that hinders your experience, except if you count the camera that is on the larger screen. That said, if you want a Samsung that brings the best camera for a cell phone, choose the Galaxy S22 Ultra 5G.

Price

Let's be honest, few people are able to pay what is asked for in a smartphone new. Even today, the Galaxy Z Fold3 5G it's still expensive. Now, on Samsung's official website, the model with 256 GB of internal space and 12 GB of RAM it's costing $ 10.619,00 Add to cart, with 10% discount, or BRL 11.798,89 in 12 installments of BRL 983,24 interest-free on the card. It is still possible to use your cell phone as a bargaining chip, and get a discount of up to R$3.000,00.

For that value, the Galaxy Z Fold3 5G remains one of the most expensive devices in the country. For many, this value ends up being an impediment when considering the purchase of this device.

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold3 5G revisited: verdict

Despite its high price, the Galaxy Z Fold3 5G remains one of the most interesting and innovative devices on the market in 2022. Furthermore, the cell phone has become a true testament to how committed Samsung has been since the launch of Original Galaxy Foldin 2019. The Galaxy Z Fold3 5G overcome several barriers that folding devices had, but still suffers from characteristic flaws of phablets. The number of competitors is currently growing, but the lack of worldwide distribution is also a problem.

If you have a word to describe the experience using the foldable cell phone from Samsung since its release, I believe it would be consistent. be yours with , performance, battery, or camera, regardless of the area, the experience has been consistent and reliable since its launch. Not many devices can do that, especially innovative ones. And despite its flaws, the device delivered an experience that, despite its lack of polish, never sacrificed its usability or reliability.

Technical specifications

Córdoba	Samsung Galaxy Z Fold3 5G
chipset/Processor	Qualcomm SM8350 Snapdragon 888 5G (5nm)
Processor Speed	2.84GHz, 2.4GHz, 1.8GHz
Processor Type	Octa Core
GPU	Adreno 660
Size (Main Screen)	191.9mm (7.6″ full rectangle) / 188.9mm (7.4″ rounded corners)
Resolution (Main Screen)	2208x1768 (QXGA+)
Technology (Main Screen)	2X Dynamic AMOLED
Color Depth (Main Screen)	16M
Size (Secondary Screen)	158.2mm (6.2″ full rectangle) / 156.0mm (6.1″ rounded corners)
Resolution (Secondary Screen)	2268 x 832 (HD +)
Technology (Secondary Screen)	2X Dynamic AMOLED
Color Depth (Secondary Display)	16M
Rear Cameras (Multiple) - Resolution	12.0 MP + 12.0 MP + 12.0 MP
Rear Cameras (Multiple) – Aperture	F1.8, F2.2, F2.4
Rear Cameras - Auto Focus	Yes
Rear Cameras – Image Stabilizer	Yes
Rear Cameras – Zoom	2x Optical Zoom, Up to 10x Digital Zoom
Internal Front Camera - Resolution	4.0 SM
Internal Front Camera - Aperture	F1.8
Internal Front Camera - Auto Focus	No
Internal Front Camera – Optical Image Stabilizer	No
Rear Camera – Flash	Yes
External Front Camera - Resolution	10.0 SM
External Front Camera - Aperture	F2.2
External Front Camera - Auto Photo	No
Video Recording Resolution	UHD 4K (3840 x 2160) @ 60fps
Slow motion	960fps@HD, 240fps@FHD
RAM memory (GB)	12 GB
Total Internal Memory (GB)	256 GB / 512 GB
Chip Number	Dual-SIM
Chip Type (SIM Card)	Nano-SIM (4FF), Embedded-SIM
Chip Slot Type	Chip 1 + Chip 2 or eSIM
Adjustable	2G GSM, 3G WCDMA, 4G LTE FDD, 4G LTE TDD, 5G Sub6 FDD, 5G Sub6 TDD
2G GSM	GSM 850, GSM 900, DCS 1800, PCS1900
3GUMTS	B1 (2100), B2 (1900), B4 (AWS), B5 (850), B8 (900)
4G FDD LTE	B1 (2100), B2 (1900), B3 (1800), B4 (AWS), B5 (850), B7 (2600), B8 (900), B12 (700), B13 (700), B17 (700), B18 (800), B19 (800), B20 (800), B25 (1900), B26 (850), B28 (700) 32), B1500(66), B3(AWS-XNUMX)
4G TDD LTE	B38 (2600), B39 (1900), B40 (2300), B41 (2500)
5G FDD Sub6	N1(2100), N3(1800), N5(850), N7(2600), N8(900), N20(800), N28(700), N66(AWS-3)
5G TDD Sub6	N38(2600), N40(2300), N41(2500), N77(3700), N78(3500)
USB Interface	USB - Type C
USB version	USB 3.2 Gen 1
Location	GPS, Glonass, Beidou, Galileo, QZSS
Headphone Connector	USB Type-C
MHL version	No
Wi-Fi	802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax 2.4G+5GHz, HE160, MIMO, 1024-QAM
Wi-Fi Direct	Yes
Bluetooth version	Bluetooth v5.2
NFC	Yes
UWB (Ultra Wideband)	Yes
PCSync	Smart Switch (PC version)
Sensors	Accelerometer, Barometer, Fingerprint Sensor, Gyroscope, Geo Magnetic, Hall Effect Sensor, Light Sensor, Proximity Sensor
Dimensions (HxWxD, mm)	158.2 x 128.1 x 6.4
Dimensions Folded (HxWxD, mm)	158.2 x 67.1 x 16.0-14.4
Weight (g)	271
stereo sound	Yes
Video Playback Format	MP4, M4V, 3GP, 3G2, AVI, FLV, MKV, WEBM
Video Playback Resolution	UHD 8K (7680 x 4320) @ 60fps
Audio Playback Format	MP3, M4A, 3GA, AAC, OGG, OGA, WAV, AMR, AWB, FLAC, MID, MIDI, XMF, MXMF, IMY, RTTTL, RTX, OTA, DFF, DSF, APE
Price	256GB for BRL 10.619,00 in cash, with a 10% discount, or in up to 12 installments of BRL 983,24, totaling BRL 11.798,89

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