Foldable phones, while still being relatively new, have already made a mark in the mobile industry. A lot of people believe foldables are the future and gradually candy bar phones will evolve into pocket-friendly tablets with foldable screens or mini clamshells that open up to become normal-sized phones. Samsung has been one of the early pioneers of foldable phones, or at least ones that are practical and usable (I’m looking at you, Royole). The Galaxy Fold was for anyone who wanted a mini-computer in their pockets and the Z Fold 2 further strengthened that notion.
Reserve your Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 3
The Galaxy Z Flip, which was launched later, was also a foldable phone but took a slightly different approach. It had a clamshell design reminiscent of some flip phones in the past and was targeted towards consumers who wanted a compact phone that would easily fit into all pockets, but would open up into a normal-sized phone when you wanted to use it. Samsung even launched a 5G version of the Z Flip, the Galaxy Z Flip 5G with an updated processor and of course, 5G connectivity.
Well, it’s now time for the third iteration of the foldable clamshell from Samsung — the Galaxy Z Flip 3 — and here’s everything we know about it so far.
Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 3: Release Date
Samsung has officially confirmed the Galaxy Z Fold 3, as well as the Galaxy Z Flip 3, will be launched on August 11, 2021, at their Unpacked event. At the same event, we’re also expecting Samsung to unveil the new Galaxy Watch 4 as well as the Galaxy Buds 2.
If you’re interested in picking up either of the two foldables from Samsung, you can head over to their website and reserve one for yourself to get some extra benefits like a trade-in bonus and Samsung Care+.
Samsung Galaxy Z Flip Series: A brief history
The original Galaxy Z Flip was launched in early 2020 alongside the Galaxy S20 series of phones. The design of the Z Flip brought back memories of the Gameboy Advance SP to a lot of people thanks to the clamshell design. It had a relatively large 6.7-inch display which, when folded, would result in a form factor that’s half the size, making it easy to carry around.
It also had a tiny cover display on the front that displayed the time, date, and any pending notifications when the phone was in the folded position. As a bonus, you could even use the tiny display as a viewfinder to take selfies using the primary cameras.
While the cover display was useful for a quick glance at your pending notifications, Samsung received some flak since it was too tiny and as a result, no major operation could be done using that display. Other clamshell phones like the Moto Razr had a much bigger cover display that allowed you to interact with the phone and perform a lot of functions like replying to notifications, make calls, or even quickly browse your social media feed without actually opening up the main display.
The Galaxy Z Flip 5G which was launched later on didn’t solve this issue as it was simply an iterative upgrade. It swapped out the older SoC for a Snapdragon 865+ and 5G support which improved performance. However, the small cover display and average battery life were still deal-breakers for many. If there was one thing every Z Flip user or someone eyeing the Z Flip had on their wishlist, it was a bigger cover display that would let you interact with the phone even in the closed position. Finally, it looks like Samsung has heard those pleas.
Design and Display
Credits: WinFuture
The biggest change in design compared to the last-gen Z Flip is that the cover display could now measure 1.9 inches diagonally, based on leaks and renders so far. This will allow users to interact with some basic functions of the phone even when it’s closed. The cover display has been integrated with the camera module itself giving it a seamless look.
The rest of the phone appears to be largely similar to the original Z Flip. Glossy front and back, buttons on the right edge, a large 6.7-inch 120Hz display on the inside with a hole-punch cutout unlike the under-display camera rumored on the Z Fold 3. There’s expected to be a USB-C port at the bottom along with a speaker grille.
Evan Blass, more commonly known as @evleaks has a 360-degree render of the Z Flip 3 that he tweeted a couple of days back. It should give you an idea of what the phone looks like from all angles.
— Evan (@evleaks) July 10, 2021
More recently, Evan also mentioned that both the Galaxy Z Fold 3 as well as the Galaxy Z Flip 3 will have IPX8 water resistance which is huge for a foldable since it’s not easy to seal openings around the hinge. This might encourage more people who were skeptical about the build quality and overall robustness to buy the phone.
Specifications: SoC, Cameras, and Software
The Galaxy Z Flip 3 is not expected to be Samsung’s best phone in terms of specifications but would still be among their top flagships. This indicates the Galaxy Z Flip 3 will most probably come with a Snapdragon 888 chip just like most flagship phones. Samsung could however also have a variant for international markets outside the US with an Exynos 2100 chip just like they did for the S21 series. But it’s unlikely, since producing multiple SKUs for a phone that’s relatively expensive and may not sell as much as their other phones might prove to be costly. We’ll have to wait until the official launch to see how this pans out.
On a side note, we wouldn’t mind the Galaxy Z Flip 3 even if it came with a Snapdragon 870 chip since this SoC is also capable of handling practically anything thrown at it. Plus it seems to be better at thermal management when compared to this year’s Snapdragon 888. On a small device like the Galaxy Z Flip 3, you would believe that thermals and battery life are important factors.
Speaking of battery, there’s no concrete information yet about the actual capacity but we’re guessing it should be somewhere around the 3,500mAh mark considering it was similar on the Z Flip.
Few upcoming foldable details.
Z Flip3
– 6.7" internal / 1.9" cover displays
– 12MP x2 (rear) / 10MP (selfie)Z Fold3
– 7.6" internal / 6.2" external displays
– 12MP x3 (rear) / 10MP (cover selfie) / 4MP (main selfie)
– 2 optional S-Pens (Pro and Fold Edition)Both phones IPX8 pic.twitter.com/lPm60yCzvt
— Evan (@evleaks) July 26, 2021
There’s no confirmation about the battery but what we know from Evan are the specs of the cameras on the Galaxy Z Flip 3. There’s going to be two cameras – both 12MP shooters – and in all probability, one of them is a traditional wide-angle lens and the other is an ultra-wide lens. The front-facing camera is supposedly a 10MP sensor housed on the inside. Given the lack of space in a small chassis, you can’t expect the Galaxy Z Flip 3 to have the best camera system out there.
Just like every Samsung phone, the Galaxy Z Flip 3 will also run OneUI which is Samsung’s custom skin on top of Android 11. Samsung has promised 3 years of Android version upgrades and 4 years of security patches on a lot of their phones and given the Galaxy Z Flip 3 will be one of Samsung’s marquee products, it’s going to be on that list for sure. If it’s not obvious yet, the Galaxy Z Flip 3 will also come with support for 5G. We can expect the phone to have 8GB of RAM and 128/256GB storage options.
Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 3: Variants and Pricing
Pricing is something that can either make or break the deal for a lot of people. By this time, we know that foldables aren’t cheap and you got to pay a premium if you want to own a gadget that uses cutting-edge technology. Foldables are still relatively new and so will cost an additional premium compared to conventional phones. That being said, both the Galaxy Z Fold 3 as well as the Galaxy Z Flip 3 are rumored to be slightly more affordable than their predecessors.
The original Galaxy Z Flip started at $1,450 while the Galaxy Z Flip 5G brought the price down slightly to $1,200. We hope Samsung continues this trend and further lowers the price of the Galaxy Z Flip 3, but it’s safe to assume you can expect the price of the new clamshell to be around the $1,200 mark itself. WinFuture suggested the price could be starting at €1,200 which is slightly lower than last time.
The Galaxy Z Flip 3 is rumored to launch in several color options — dark green, violet, beige, grey, black, pink, dark blue, and white. It looks like Samsung is going for a fun and poppy approach with the Z Flip 3 and wants to appeal to the younger crowd.
Are you excited about the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 3?
We’re just a little shy of two weeks away from the official launch of the Galaxy Z Flip 3 and that’s where we’ll know more about the phone and its internals, and most importantly the exact price.
Are you looking to get one for yourself? If so, what else do you want to see on the phone apart from the details that are already available? A bigger battery maybe? Faster charging? Added functionality for the cover display? Let us know in the comments below.
The post Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 3 Rumor Roundup: Everything you need to know about the upcoming clamshell foldable appeared first on xda-developers.
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