The Galaxy Z Fold 3 continues Samsung‘s journey in the folding niche, and along with its futuristic design, it’s also equipped with powerful specs across the board. If there’s one area where Samsung regularly dominates, it’s loading up its flagship smartphones with capable internals. Whether it be gorgeous AMOLED displays, top-tier processors, or industry-leading cameras, it’s not uncommon to find some — or all — of these things when buying a Samsung Galaxy handset.
Even with such a niche gadget like the Z Fold, this is something Samsung remained true to. Going back to the original Galaxy Fold from 2019, that first folding phone still offered a top-of-the-line (for the time) Snapdragon 855 processor, 512GB of base internal storage, 12GB of RAM, and a trio of rear cameras. One year later with the Z Fold 2, Samsung continued that focus on specs with a 120Hz refresh rate for the inner display, a considerably larger cover display, a next-generation processor, and welcome camera improvements. When those high-end specifications are paired with the radical design the Z Fold has already become iconic for, it’s easy to see why these phones are so darn appealing.
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With the Galaxy Z Fold 3 for 2021, Samsung is once again committed to bringing the best specs to its latest foldable. Starting with the cover display on the outside of the phone, it’s a 6.2-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X panel with a 2268 x 832 resolution and 1200 nits of peak brightness. It’s virtually identical to the cover screen of the Z Fold 2, but the big upgrade is that it now has a much smoother 120Hz refresh rate. Looking at the main/inner display, it’s a 7.6-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2x screen with a QXGA+ resolution of 2208 x 1768. It also has a 120Hz refresh rate for ultra-smooth scrolling, meaning that fluid experience is found regardless of which display is used. The Z Fold 3’s measurements come in at 67.1 x 158.2 x 16.0mm when it’s folded, and when it’s unfolded, those change to 128.1 x 158.2 x 6.4mm. As for its weight, that clocks in at 271g.
Galaxy Z Fold 3 Processor, Cameras, Battery, And More
Taking a look under the hood of the Galaxy Z Fold 3, things look pretty good. There’s a Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 processor, 12GB of RAM, and a choice between 256 or 512GB of UFS3.1 storage. A dual-cell battery creates a total capacity of 4,400 mAh, and Samsung offers ample charging options. The Z Fold 3 delivers 25W wired charging, 10W wireless charging, and 4.5W reverse wireless charging.
And then there are the cameras. Starting with the triple camera system on the back of the Z Fold 3, each sensor clocks in at 12MP. The 12MP primary camera features dual pixel autofocus, optical image stabilization, an f/1.8 aperture, and an 83-degree field-of-view. The 12MP ultra-wide camera delivers an f/2.2 aperture with a wider 123-degree FoV, but there’s no OIS for this sensor. With the 12MP telephoto camera, the Z Fold 3 offers phase detection autofocus, optical image stabilization, an f/2.4 aperture, and a tighter 45-degree FoV. At the top of the cover display is a 10MP selfie camera in a small hole punch. There’s also a 4MP camera at the top of the inner display, but it’s hiding underneath the screen. The Z Fold 3 is the first Samsung phone to feature under-display camera technology, giving the screen a completely uninterrupted aesthetic without losing camera functionality.
Rounding out the Galaxy Z Fold 3 are all of the smaller specs. For LTE connectivity, it supports all of the following standards: 4×4 MIMO, 7CA, LAA, and LTE Cat.20. 5G support is also present, including compatibility with sub-6 and mmWave networks. There’s also Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.2, NFC and MST for Samsung Pay, GPS, and UWB. The Z Fold 3 comes with a capacitive fingerprint sensor on the side of the phone, stereo speakers with Dolby Atmos, and Samsung Knox for on-device software security. The $1,799 starting price certainly isn’t for everyone, but for folks willing to cough up that much cash, the Z Fold 3 does give them their money’s worth.
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