Samsung announces Galaxy Z Fold 3 with IPX8 rating, S-Pen & under-display camera

Samsung has announced the company’s foldable flagship smartphone – the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3 – which will feature an IPX8 rating for water resistance, support for the S-Pen alongside an under-display camera and several enhancements when it comes to the smartphone’s durability, display and performance.

Display

The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3 is equipped with a massive 7.6-inches Dynamic AMOLED 2X Display, which has an adaptive 120Hz refresh rate, some features which have been carried over from the predecessor. However, the smartphone now features the company’s first under-display camera as well.

Under-Display Camera

The under-display camera (UDC) has a 4 megapixel sensor but it also has the largest 2.0µm pixels of all cameras on board and f/1.8 aperture. It is intended to be used for mostly video calls as you get another 10MP f/2.2 camera in a punch hole on the cover screen, which can be used to take selfies with the main camera on the smartphone. The cover screen has been carried over from the predecessor but it now has a 120Hz refresh rate.

Internals and Storage

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3 is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 chipset, and the phone offers both Sub6 and mmWave 5G support. The smartphone comes with 12GB of RAM and up to 512 GB of UFS 3.1 storage to ensure smooth operation of the Android 11 with the company’s own One UI interface.

Main Camera Setup

The main camera setup on the smartphone is identical to the previous model, which means it is equipped with a 12MP primary unit with f/1.8 lens and 1/1.76″ sensor size (1.8µm pixels), a 12MP f/2.2 ultrawide unit with 1.12µm pixels, and a 12MP f/2.4 telephoto camera with 1.0µm pixels and only 2x zoom.

The camera has Dual Pixel AF and OIS, while the telephoto has been equipped with OIS as well. In short, the camera of the smartphone seems a little outdated with no notable upgrades.

Build Quality

The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3 features an enhanced build quality with an Armor Aluminum Frame and a back panel which is now covered by Gorilla Glass Victus. Furthermore, the company claims that the protective panel over the internal display has also been enhanced and it can now withstand more abuse.

Battery and Charging

However, the battery capacity of the smartphone has been slightly reduced from 4,500mAh on the previous model to 4,400mAh on the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3, which is low considering the huge screen that it needs to power. The smartphone still supports 25W wired charging over PD and 11W wireless charging with support for 4.5W reverse wireless charging as well.

Added Features

The biggest change to the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3 is the added support for S-Pen, with the phone getting a choice of the S-Pen Pro and the new S Pen Fold Edition, which has been specifically designed for the needs of the Galaxy Z Fold 3. The new S-Pen Fold Edition is slightly smaller than the S-Pen Pro and lacks Bluetooth.

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3 Price

The smartphone is comes in three different colors – Phantom Black, Phantom Green, and Phantom Silver. The price of the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3 starts from $1800 and the phone will go on sale from 27 August 2021.