Today we're going to be tearing down what's probably my favorite phone so far this year – the
Z Flip 3. Normally, when we do a teardown on a folding phone it doesn't survive because
the folding plastic screen isn't as durable as glass screens. But this time around I think it
would be fun to try to keep it alive, even if it doesn't actually happen. Fun little side note,
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And now it's time to see if the Galaxy Fold 3 can survive an autopsy. Let's get started.
[Intro]
The goal here this time around is to have a working Galaxy Flip 3
after it gets 100% entirely disassembled, which means we're also removing that flexible screen.
We've never ended up with a working folding phone after a teardown
because in the past there was always something new and exciting on the screen hardware to check out,
but this time around it's worth a shot...even if the attempt might be futile. We'll start from the
back this time around with my heat gun. And also, not sure when this happened but my camera lens has
cracked at some point between my durability test and now. Maybe one of the bends stressed out the
lens enough to crack. I'm not really sure because it definitely hasn't been dropped.
The lower glass is easy enough to be removed. I did, however, forget that the top glass had a full
screen underneath and I did nick that with my pry tool as I was slicing the adhesive off from around
the edges. But it looks like things are still working, even if that display is a little dinged.
The camera is still working even when the display is separated from the body. Kind of trippy. I'll
get everything turned off again and we can press forward with a little more caution.
The smaller rear LCD is attached to the Flip 3 with it's own Lego-style ribbon connector.
And interestingly enough, the black and colored halves of the Flip 3 are actually one solid
piece of glass. For some reason I thought they would be two. So far things are looking good.
I'll remove the two screws holding down the metal plate over the upper battery connection.
Then I can unplug that battery just like a little Lego and then we can move down
to the bottom half of the phone which has the wireless charger. It's connectors are
held in place by another metal bracket with two more screws.
The wireless coil can then be removed, and the lower larger battery can be unplugged. The Flip
3 does have 5G with two of it's little millimeter wave antennas tucked into the side rail,
and another near the hinge. The funny thing about technology is that the more it improves,
the crazier people get who don't understand how it works, while, of course, they're still using
it. People are saying the same things about 5G as they said about 4G, and 3G. But the truth is,
as long as you aren't sticking your head in a microwave, you'll be just fine.
Where was I? Oh yeah. The balls. Inside the loudspeaker we have the same foam dampening
balls that we find in most high end cell phones, including the iPhones. There is no waterproofing
on the unit itself, but there is some down on the frame that I'll show you in a second.
I can unclip the folding display ribbon. And then down here are the little ingress
protection screens to help keep the water out of the loudspeaker and microphone holes.
The Flip 3 is ipx8 water resistant just like the Fold. To get the battery out, Samsung is still
making things difficult with permanently glued in batteries. This is annoying for multiple reasons,
but mainly because it makes the phone much more difficult to recycle at the end of its lifespan.
As of now, lithium batteries are 95% recyclable, but with each additional removal process,
the likelihood of it actually getting recycled goes down. All 2,370 milliamp hours of it.
The charging port does separate from its ribbon cable. It's plugged in on the underside,
and it's got a red rubber ring around the opening.
The other motherboard has several extension ribbons going through the hinge, along with 6
more silver screws holding down the top plastics. But even after getting all those screws out, there
is still something holding the motherboard in place. Ah yes. My old nemesis – the SIM card tray.
Finally, with the motherboard out, we can see the top 12 megapixel ultra wide camera up top,
with no optical image stabilization. Then we have the main 12 megapixel camera right below that,
which does have the OIS. And both of these cameras can be disconnected from
the motherboard with their Lego-style connectors. There is another battery in the top half of the
phone. I imagine that this battery is less out of convenience and more there to balance out
the weight of the two halves, since having one half of the phone entirely made for batteries
would throw the balance out of whack. So Samsung put this 930 milliamp hour
capacity battery in the top half so it doesn't yeet itself to the ground with each unfolding.
With everything out of the phone, the only thing we have left to do is remove the foldable dynamic
120 hertz AMOLED with HDR 10 plus and 1200 nits. I might be stalling a bit but check out this
waterproofing along the ribbons inside the hinge. The top portion has a red rubber sealant, while
the bottom hinge has more of a gray color. Kind of cool that Samsung's being all color coordinated on
the inside. Okay, fine, let's do it. I feel like this is a slow motion murder, but we can't tell
when it actually dies since the screen is off. Luckily for us the plastic bezel that protects
the edge of the screen is relatively easy to pop off. As we know from previous Fold teardowns,
an accidental poke to the side of the screen will kill it. Samsung has included a metal plate along
the back side of the display which hopefully should allow this to lift up on the pixels
without damaging them. And I can take special care as we pry along the screen so that once
we reach the bottom we won't damage the screen ribbon cable as we pull it out from the frame.
The screen is much less floppy than I anticipated. It naturally just wants to sit at this slightly
kinked angle. Along where it rests on the hinge, there are still metal slats integrated into the
display. We've seen these on previous versions of the Fold. And unfortunately it looks like we might
have inflicted some damage along the bottom edge of the screen. But fingers crossed it might just
be the black protective covering on top. It looks like it's been torn a little by the adhesive.
Before we find out how murdered the phone is though, let's take a look at the internal hinge.
Peeling back the adhesive liner exposes the complex inner workings of the multi positional
masterpiece. Once again, I'm mostly stalling. You should leave your survival predictions down in
the comments. I can pretend that the phone is still alive as long as I don't actually check
it's vital signs. Personally, I give it about a negative 12% chance of surviving with how fragile
that screen is. With the battery back in place, along with a charge port and bottom loudspeaker,
we can move up to the top battery. I'll slide the motherboard back into its slot and plug in
the extension ribbons. The final plastics are in place, along with the sneaky SIM card tray.
And last but not least, the metal brackets that keep all the connectors connected. I'll plug in
the rear display, press the power button, and would you look at that - success. Both screens
are still functioning and the phone is powered on. Basically pretty much just like new...maybe
slightly used. It's kind of been through a lot but you know, we don't judge.
I'm very surprised it's still functioning. Obviously though, the easiest way to see the
insides of your phone from the outside is with one of my Teardown Skins. The Fold 3
is quite honestly one of the best looking Teardown Skins of all time – especially
with the copper wireless charging pad. It doesn't get much more futuristic than that.
Maybe it is, you know, still a little floppy, but I consider this an absolute win. Nice work,
Samsung. And nice work myself. Hit that subscribe button if you haven't already. Come hang out with
me on Instagram and Twitter. And thanks a ton for watching. I'll see you around.