Hey guys, I’m Roland, the Techusiast, and I’ve been using the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3 for
nearly a year, and here are my thoughts on it. I hope you enjoy!
Let’s start with the design. My first impression of holding the Galaxy Fold 3 was that it’s
large, and heavy and that it feels like a brick. It’s really far from a regular smartphone,
and it took me about three to four weeks to get used to the heavy weight and larger size.
Another thing that took a while to get used to is the way you hold and operate this phone. It
took me a few weeks to figure out how I wanted to take advantage of the larger screen estate,
since it didn’t make sense to unfold it for sending a two-worded text message to my friends.
Once I figured out the quirks and got used to the new gymnastics this required,
it felt like a pleasure to use, and although it still felt large and bulky, it was something
else. It’s hard to describe, but once you get used to the possibility of opening up and using
the large tablet form factor, it makes it very challenging to go back to regular smartphones.
Overall, the phone feels premium all-around, and even though I used a case on it for most
of the time, it never felt like a cheap phone – perhaps due to the added weight
and size. The Fold 3’s design has kept up since its launch and has remained easily recognisable
over the years. It still looks just as beautiful as the day it was announced.
The Galaxy Fold 3 is powered by the Snapdragon 888 chipset, coupled with 12GB of RAM and 256 or 512GB
of storage. I bought the 256GB variant, and it was plenty enough to store all of my pictures,
videos, games, and apps. I never ran out of storage, and overall,
I think it’s an excellent hardware that aged well. There is a fingerprint sensor embedded in the
power button, which always felt convenient and easy to use. It worked perfectly fine
without any issues whatsoever. I always use it to make contactless payments,
and I’m glad that all banking apps and services support it, unlike some fingerprint scanners.
The folding mechanism was very stiff in the first three months, and it’s gotten relatively
loose over the past year, but this too seems normal, and it’s still easy to open, and stays
firmly shut when closed. The internal plastic screen also didn’t receive any major damages,
but I always made sure to take extra care of it. So, in general, the device's hardware lived up
to my expectation, and I’m sure it would hold up well for another year or two without any problems.
It’s worth noting that the hinge took some time to break in, but the display or the screen’s crease
never got any bigger, and to me, it’s no longer noticeable, unless I directly touch it or look for
it. Sure enough, it’s visible in certain angles, but if you’re looking at the phone directly,
you’re unlikely to notice the crease. Overall, the hardware aged well,
and it still performs like a champ, more than a year after its release. It’s got
everything you would need in a smartphone, and there’s not much I can complain about.
The 6.2-inch front display is tall and narrow, but it supports 120Hz refresh rate,
and it’s ideal for browsing, scrolling Twitter, and sending messages. I often found myself using
it primarily to exchange messages between friends and family, and I also often used
it to snap photos in a hurry. Generally, the size is adequate for most tasks, but
it’s certainly not for reading or playing games. That being said, the screen is large enough for
watching movies, scrolling away on the socials and playing games, but given that you have a
7.6-inch display under the hood, I often found myself unfolding the phone to take advantage
of the small tablet form factor. Speaking of the larger display,
it’s excellent for watching movies, reading, and playing games. I also enjoyed browsing,
shopping, and even messaging as it was much easier and far more entertaining.
There aren’t a lot of bad things I can say about the display, and for those wondering how
the device kept up over the past 12 months, I can say that I have no concerns about the durability
of the screen or the folding mechanism. However, it’s worth noting that you might have to replace
the screen protector as it could slowly start to bubble and peel up. I’ve made a separate
video explaining my Samsung Upgrade Program, so make sure to check it out if you’re interested.
The display crease also didn’t bother me too much, although it’s noticeable and visible
in certain lighting conditions, and when you look at the device from other angles. It was
especially noticeable when I tried to draw using the S Pen, but you get used to it after a while.
The under-display camera is also clearly visible if you look for it, but it can’t be seen when the
display is showing black or dark colors. I usually only noticed it when I purposely looked for it,
and it went invisible to my eyes when I played games, used the phone, or watched a movie.
Overall, the two displays are excellent, and the only complaint I have is that the front display it
too narrow and too tall – although, both of these issues have already been addressed for the Fold 4.
I do wish the screen was wider, like on the OPPO Find N2, but let’s hope that will become a reality
on the Galaxy Fold 5, coming later in 2023. The Snapdragon 888 chipset might not be the
latest and the most powerful chip anymore, but it handled multitasking, graphics-intensive games,
and everything else extremely well. I never experience any sluggish behaviour or any
slowdowns whatsoever. The phone did run hot every once in a while, but it never became a problem.
Navigating, multitasking, using the camera, and switching between multiple apps was always smooth,
fast and fluid, and the 12GB of RAM certainly helped with that. The entire experience has
been bug-free, and this has got to be my favourite device for gaming and multitasking.
Everything felt snappy, and the performance was consistently smooth and excellent. The
connectivity was always great, and I never had any issues with Wi-Fi or 4G and 5G. Everything
downloaded quickly, and the phone always switched to the correct access points at my home.
Overall, the Galaxy Fold 3 never left me wanting more, and it could easily do everything.
Samsung One UI changed a lot in recent years, and I’ve come to fall in love with its simplicity and
clean looks. There are lots of nice animations and effects, and it always felt smooth and snappy.
The Fold 3 packs a ton of unique features that let you manage and take advantage of the 7.6-inch
display. First and foremost, there’s the Edge panel that lets you multitask and quickly drag
and drop applications anywhere on the screen. Second, there’s an option to enable flex mode
for specific apps. When you’re watching YouTube or any other streaming service,
you can tilt the display slightly and gain access to buttons such as screenshot, a media player,
brightness, and audio settings. This flex mode is also handy when
using the camera, since you can easily tilt up the phone and use it as a tripod. This lets you take
some breathtaking photos at night, but I’ll get back to this in just a bit. There’s also an option
to show a preview of the camera when taking selfies, or taking photos of others, which,
once again, is excellent for letting people know how they’ll appear in the final shot.
There are a bunch of other cool features, such as the option to continue using apps
on the cover screen when closing the main display, changing aspect ratios for apps
that aren’t supported properly, and many more. The S Pen is also here, and while I enjoyed my
time with it, I found myself barely using it, since there was no place to store it.
The pen ended up gathering dust in my drawer, and I rarely used it over the past 12 months.
Overall, the software remained impressive, fast, and fluid. Samsung has also become one of the
best OEMs when it comes to supporting their devices, and providing timely OS
updates. If you want a solid experience with no cartoony looks, then Samsung’s got your back.
The camera of the Galaxy Fold 3 is excellent. The phone received a lot of criticism for not
having an adequate camera setup, but I think Samsung made up for it with the software.
All three sensors on the back had a consistent color science, and the primary shooter can
still take some breathtaking photos both day and night. In low-light, it does introduce quite a bit
of noise, but given that you’re looking at the darkness and pitch-black places, it’s something
that most devices still struggle with today. The wide-angle camera was also useful, and there
wasn’t much distortion on the sides. Generally, it performed really well during daytime,
but sometimes introduced too much noise, and the sharpness took a big hit at night and in low-light
environments. I often found myself taking a few steps back and using the primary camera, and left
the wide angle for good lighting environments. As for the 2x optical telephoto camera,
I haven’t used it much, and I still believe that a measly 2-times zoom
isn’t justified having on a smartphone, especially on one that costs this much.
When it comes to the selfie camera, it was pretty good. The front-facing camera
was great when chatting with friends and family, and it’s generally a great snapper.
I do want to mention that for selfies, there’s an option that lets you use the rear camera,
which can yield much better results, but for video calling and quick selfies, it was great.
However, the same thing cannot be said about the under-display camera. The 4MP shooter can come
in handy, and I did find myself using it more often than the other selfie shooter, but the
results are awful, especially in very bright environments. I’ve used this most of the time
as it was more comfortable, but it’s not ideal if you want others to see a sharp, nice image of you.
The battery is where the Galaxy Fold 3 fails. During my use, it was just fine. I wish I could
say it was amazing, but that’d be far from the truth. The thing is that once you unfold the
display, you’re using twice as much power, and it’s only packed with a 4400 mAh battery that
only supports 25W fast charging. Topping up the device is slow, especially when compared to OPPO,
Xiaomi, and other Chinese manufacturers. I was able to go for an entire workday on
a single charge, but I would often find myself looking for a charger by the end of the day.
When I used the larger screen more, the battery depleted much faster, and if I decided to game
for a little bit, it would go more rapidly. In an ideal scenario, you can go for a full
day by using a few apps, browsing, watching a few videos, and playing a few games, all while
having a mixed-use between the small and the larger screen. Still, you’ll be keeping a close
eye on the battery indicator. If you’re a power user, you’ll likely want to top up mid-day to
stay powered for the rest of the day. I wish the Fold 3 had a larger battery and faster charging,
since this is the one and the main reason why it might not be for many people.
The Samsung Galaxy Fold 3 is my favourite device of all time,
and I never had as much fun with a smartphone as much I had with this. The software is excellent,
the performance is blazing fast, the camera is decent in all lighting conditions,
and while the battery has a lot to be desired, it’s not a bad phone overall.
Sure, you’ll have to top up multiple times on a daily, especially if you’re
a power user or take a lot of photos, but I’m really impressed with how the Fold 3
kept up over the past year. It never hung on me and was always a device I could count on.
The only caveat, in my opinion, is the battery, and for some, the camera performance. Luckily,
the Galaxy Fold 4 fixes most of these problems, but if you’re on a lower budget,
then I can confidently say that the Fold 3 will hold up well over the next two years.
It’s already discounted by most retailers, and you can often get it for less than half price.
If you want to give folding smartphones a try, then it’s the perfect device to get started.
The Galaxy Fold 3 is an easy recommendation for those wanting to join the foldable smartphone
world, and it's more accessible than ever. If you have a higher budget,
I’d probably recommend the Fold 4 instead, as it fixes most of the problems with the Fold 3,
but if you want something functional at an affordable price range, this is the way to go.
There you have it. I hope you found this video useful. Don’t forget to subscribe and leave a like
if you enjoyed this video. With all that said, thank you for watching. I’ll see you next time.