Sunday, September 26, 2021

Surface Duo 2 or Galaxy Z Fold 3: Which one would you buy?

At its annual Surface event this week, Microsoft unveiled the Surface Duo 2. Unlike its predecessor, the Duo 2 comes with the latest flagship hardware, making it a compelling choice for those in the market for a foldable smartphone. But would you buy it over Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold 3? Before you answer that, let’s take a quick look at what the two phones have to offer.

Microsoft Surface Duo 2

The Surface Duo 2 is a big step up from the original Surface Duo on several fronts. The phone packs a powerful SoC, larger displays with 90Hz refresh rate support, a substantially bigger battery, and a respectable camera system.

Surface Duo 2 displays open on gray background

Although Microsoft hasn’t made any significant improvements on the design front, the Surface Duo 2 looks like a better performer on paper than the older model. It features Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 888 chip, which is a major improvement over the Snapdragon 855. It has larger 90Hz displays that curve substantially on the inner edge to enable the new Glance feature, and it has a larger 4,449mAh battery with 23W fast charging support.

Surface Duo 2 in all orientations on gray background

The most noteworthy change on the Surface Duo 2, however, is undoubtedly the new camera setup. The device packs a triple camera setup, including a 12MP primary camera with dual-pixel PDAF and OIS, a 12MP 2x zoom telephoto camera with PDAF and OIS, and a 16MP ultra-wide camera with a 110° FoV and distortion correction. This is a significant upgrade over the measly 11MP camera on the older model.

Hands on: Microsoft’s Surface Duo 2 mostly fixes the problems of the original

In addition, Microsoft has also made some improvements on the software front, and the company launched the Surface Slim Pen 2 to address all your note-taking and drawing needs.

    Microsoft Surface Duo 2
    The Surface Duo 2 is the latest foldable from Microsoft that comes with some much-needed improvements like updated internals and a dedicated camera module.

The Surface Duo 2 starts at $1,499, and it’s already available for pre-order in the US and Canada.

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3

The Galaxy Z Fold 3 is the best foldable phone in Samsung’s arsenal. As you’d expect, it features flagship hardware, including two 120Hz AMOLED displays with adaptive refresh rate support, Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 888 chip with 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage, and a 4,400mAh battery with 25W fast charging support.

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3 Phantom Black half open

Much like the Surface Duo 2, the Galaxy Z Fold 3 looks a lot like its predecessor. But Samsung has made some significant changes on the design front. Thanks to the new Armor Aluminum frame, a redesigned protective layer on the foldable display, and IPX8 water resistance, the phone is now a lot more durable. It also supports pen input now, and Samsung has launched two new S Pen with the device — the S Pen Fold Edition and the S Pen Pro.

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3 Phantom Silver back

While the Galaxy Z Fold 3 offers no major improvements on the camera front, it still has a decent triple camera setup. It consists of a 12MP primary camera with dual-pixel AF and OIS, a 12MP ultra-wide camera with a 123° FoV, and a 12MP 2x zoom telephoto camera with PDAF and dual OIS.

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3 Review: The future of technology, unfolding under our very eyes

 

Like Microsoft, Samsung has also included some software upgrades on its latest foldable, including a host of new features like pinned edge panels, UX optimizations, cover screen mirroring, a few S Pen-specific features, and more.

    Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3
    The Galaxy Z Fold 3 is Samsung's latest and greatest foldable phone. It brings several improvements over the previous model, including high refresh rate displays, an under-screen camera, and top-of-the-line hardware.

The Galaxy Z Fold 3 starts at $1,799, and it’s already available for purchase on Samsung’s website.

Which one would you buy?

Suppose you’re in the market for a new flagship foldable phone, and the new Galaxy Z Fold 3 and Surface Duo 2 have caught your eye. Which one of the two would you buy and why? Share your thoughts in the comments section below, and let us know if you’d much rather opt for a different device altogether.

If you’d ask me, I would go for the Galaxy Z Fold 3 over the Surface Duo 2 because the lack of an outer display on the latter is a deal-breaker for me.

The post Surface Duo 2 or Galaxy Z Fold 3: Which one would you buy? appeared first on xda-developers.



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