Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 3: Best clamshell foldable you can buy

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For the last couple of years, foldable smartphones have been the most talked-about tech topic in India for the smartphone industry as well as for users. Now, Samsung which initiated the new-age foldable war with Galaxy Fold is back with Galaxy Z Flip 3 that folds into the size of a wallet.

The smartphone has been launched with top-end features in two variants including 8GB RAM + 128GB of storage and 8GB RAM+256GB of internal storage.

The Galaxy Z Flip 3 5G 8GB RAM +128GB storage model comes at a price of Rs 84,999 while the 8GB RAM + 256GB storage model has been launched at a price of Rs 88,999. The smartphone comes in two colour options Phantom Black and Cream.

We used the 8GB RAM + 128GB storage Phantom Black model for around a week and here is what we think about this new device.

The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 3 features a 6.7-inch main screen on the inside, which is vertically foldable.

The main Dynamic AMOLED display provides a resolution of 2,640 x 1,080 pixels, a high screen refresh rate of 120Hz, and Gorilla Glass Victus protection.

The smartphone is also equipped with a small 1.9-inch display on the outside, which has a resolution of 260 x 512 pixels on the outer side next to the cameras which shows the time and other important notifications. The smartphone has a side-mounted fingerprint sensor and the IPX8 certification for protection against water and dust.

The main display of the device is superior and one would not face any trouble in bright sunlight. Even the secondary display is good enough to view notifications. Overall, we feel that the main display offers a good experience while watching movies, gaming, or just reading long articles or e-book.

The newly launched Galaxy Z Flip 3 smartphone is powered by a Snapdragon 888 processor. This processor is coupled with 8GB of RAM and up to 256GB of storage space. It runs on Android 11-based OneUI 3.0. The smartphone performs really well and during our review we did not face any issue during our daily usage.

Apart from daily usage, gaming on the device was smooth. We played a few games at its highest settings and it ran just fine.

The foldable smartphone has stereo speakers, and surround sound with Dolby Atmos technology, which includes Dolby Digital, Dolby Digital Plus. For connectivity, the Galaxy Z Flip 3 has Wi-Fi 802.11, Bluetooth v5.1, USB Type-C, NFC, GPS, Galileo, Glonass, BeiDou and 5G technologies.

In terms of optics, the Galaxy Z Flip 3 has a 12MP wide-angle camera and a 12MP ultra-wide-angle dual rear camera setup.

There is also a 10MP camera on the front for clicking selfies. The rear camera setup is protected by the Corning Gorilla Glass protection and it offers up to 10x digital zoom, HDR10+ recording and auto-focus tracking feature.

During our testing, the photos clicked in daylight or in the presence of perfect lighting came out as good as other premium devices. It had a great amount of detailing and the right amount of sharpness. Surprisingly, we loved the selfie camera more.

During our review, we used the phone to shoot some of our review products, and overall, the quality of the video was decent.

The battery pack onboard is a 3,300mAh pack with support for 15W fast charging. About the battery performance, during our regular use with social media apps and video watching, it could last more than a day, which is not bad at all.

Conclusion: Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 3 comes with lots of promises. In our opinion, the Flip3 is an overall good package with a decent set of cameras, good performance, and a 120Hz screen. Above all, it is the best clamshell foldable you can buy right now.

(Md Waquar Haider can be reached at waquar.h@ians.in)

--IANS

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