It took me a long time go for a walk on Saturday. During the pandemic, it has become a routine, a chance to relax indoors after too many hours while viewing parts of the city that otherwise would have been lost to subway journeys in normal years. Saturday was more earmarked and went to a newly opened Trader Joe’s before Henri unleashed himself on the east coast.
As I was recovering from the early rain, I found a food court in Long Island City, ordered a kebab, and pulled the Galaxy Z Flip out of my pocket. I unfolded the phone, put the new Galaxy Buds in my ears, and watched a baseball game on the MLB.TV app. The Flip really made sense at the moment, opened at a 135-degree angle in landscape mode to keep the 6.7-inch screen upright. When the game was over (spoiler, it didn’t end well) I closed the phone, put it in my pocket, and went on my way.
It doesn’t always come with new technology, but sometimes you’re lucky and have an experience that just clicks. There were a lot of jokes about the long-dead clamshell when the first flip arrived. Those aren’t going to go away anytime soon, of course, but the phone also offered the first feeling for many that Samsung, with its foldable ambitions, might be headed in the right direction.
Photo credits: Brian heater
Aside from the early flaws of the first Galaxy Fold (we’ve covered them elsewhere), the device is also unwieldy. While it’s true that the foldable screen gives you the ability to carry around a screen that might otherwise be impossible, it is a large device when folded and the opening options are not readily available. The Flip divides the difference between screen size and portability well. In terms of display size, it’s practically a Galaxy Note that clicks into place in two and fits neatly in your pocket.
Most of the talk about mainstreaming Samsung’s foldable devices has centered on the Galaxy Z Fold – mostly from the company itself. Samsung has gone to great lengths to position the Fold as its newest flagship – and to add or expand the Note in its lineup possibly to replace. The Fold 3 certainly blurs the lines with the added S Pen functionality, but the Flip is the much clearer bridge between Samsung’s existing flagships and the foldable future it envisions.
Mainstreaming foldable products has always been a difficult endeavor. From the beginning they were hit by negative coverage of production problems and prices; $ 2,000 is a lot for a product that you essentially have to handle with kid gloves. You shouldn’t have to worry about accidentally damaging your Daily Driver with normal use. The flip benefits from the mistakes of earlier generations of folds, giving it a more robust design and water resistance.
Perhaps more importantly, however, is the pricing. The Galaxy Z Flip is Samsung’s first foldable device under $ 1,000. Well, admittedly, it’s literally a dime below that threshold – a price that balances expensive premium phones from Samsung and Apple. But in the foldable world, that’s a really big win. The first few generations could – to a certain extent – survive on novelties alone.
Photo credits: Brian heater
As more and more of these devices find their way into the world, utility displaces novelty. But growing popularity also means scalability – and thus price reductions. For the first time ever, buying a foldable Samsung device is not the financial equivalent of buying two phones. That’s a much more significant threshold than the Galaxy Fold, which is down $ 200 from its previous generation.
The company noted this week that “in just 10 days since the announcement, pre-orders for the Galaxy Z Fold3 and Galaxy Z Flip3 have already exceeded total global Samsung folding sales for all of 2021, making it the largest pre-order for Samsung – Folding devices ever make. “Many factors play a role here, including a lower price point, a more robust design, the lack of a new touch, and more aggressive pressure to get consumers to pre-order. But it is safe to say that the line at least going in the right direction.
As expected, the company’s numbers don’t break down sales in terms of fold versus flip. Granted, the Fold has more features, and a 7.6-inch screen is better than a 6.7-inch screen when it comes to watching an entire movie, for example. But for most people, the Galaxy Flip is a better choice in most cases. I can say without hesitation: the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip is the mainstream folding device on the market.
Understandably, if you’re not convinced of the importance of collapsible objects, such a statement doesn’t mean much. But for the vast majority of people looking to take the plunge into an increasingly important part of the mobile future, the Flip is an obvious choice. And while it’s easy to make fun of the clamshell design as a relic of a bygone era, there’s a reason phones went this route in the first place. It’s believed that a large part of the reason they largely disappeared is because smartphones – until now – weren’t foldable.
Photo credits: Brian heater
Samsung gets the design language here. The Flip 3 is by far the best-looking foldable model the company has made to date. The two-tone shell is striking. The company sent a cream color that I don’t particularly like, but the green, lavender, and even plain black or white are pretty noticeable. It pairs well with the black stripe that houses the outer display, which has been increased from 1.1 to 1.9 inches. It doesn’t sound like much, but that’s a healthy increase on a screen this size.
Of course, you lose the full functionality of the outside screen that you get when you fold. The Flip’s display is practically a secondary screen with quick access for notifications. Pull it out and it will show you the time, date and remaining battery capacity. Swipe right and you’ll see your notifications.
Swipe left and you’ll get an alarm or timer, with the option to add more widgets to the screen, including weather, media playback (effectively audio play / pause), and Samsung Health Metrics. It’s a small list, but one that will no doubt grow as more people take the flip in their hands. Swipe down for some quick settings and swipe up for Samsung Pause.
At a time when many of us are trying to minimize our phone usage, I appreciate the dichotomy between the two screens. It’s a much clearer line in the sand than the one that separates the Fold’s 6.2- and 7.6-inch screens. Phone closed = checking my notifications. Phone open = commitment. When it comes time to open the phone, the Flip is a much easier proposition than the phones. I haven’t fully mastered the art of one-handed opening, but it’s a lot easier to do in a snap than folding, which is practical like opening a book. The main disadvantage of the form factor in terms of speed is that there is no quick way to fire a photo.
Photo credits: Brian heater
Taking photos is much more conscious as you have to open the phone to see the internal viewfinder. However, you can take some selfies by pressing the power button twice, with the small front screen doubling as a small viewfinder. Swiping left toggles between the still image, while swiping up and down changes the zoom level. It’s a bit awkward and clunky, but the 12-megapixel cameras (wide and ultra-wide) give you a much better selfie than most pinhole cameras (including the Flip’s 10-megapixel lens).
As with the Fold, the rear cameras (which are also the front cameras depending on how you look at it) have largely remained unchanged since the Flip 2. A dual camera system may feel almost antiquated in 2021, but for most purposes and purposes they do the job, coupled with Samsung’s long experience with camera software. The 22: 9 aspect ratio means that more than a quarter of the screen is inevitably taken up by the controls.
The aspect ratio generally deserves a comment. It is really very big when it is open. It’s a nice amount of real estate if you’re scrolling through Gmail or Twitter, for example. However, when watching videos, you will often come across pillarboxing – letterboxing on the sides of the screen. The video world just isn’t ready for 22: 9, and frankly, it probably never will.
And then of course there is the seam. It’s right in the middle of the beautiful 2640 x 1080, 425 ppi screen. And aside from an unforeseen breakthrough in foldable technology, I honestly don’t see it going away anytime soon. I understand why this could be a deal breaker, though I’ve largely gotten used to it after the time with these devices.
Like the Fold, the Flip runs on the Snapdragon 888 processor. Predictably, the lower cost is associated with less RAM and storage, at 8 and 128 GB for the Flip, versus 12 and 256 GB for the Fold. Another $ 150 will upgrade the storage here to 256 GB. While Samsung didn’t save much on the inside, the 3,300 mAh battery falls short.
Battery life is an issue with the fold and an even bigger issue with the flip – in fact, it’s the biggest complaint here. With moderate to heavy usage, you will need to approach a charging cable before the day is over. Maybe not a big deal in these pandemic days, but something to keep in mind when we re-enter the world. Long, unplugged air travel is definitely out of the question.
Photo credits: Brian heater
Here, too, I can fully sympathize with the fact that this is a deal breaker. You’re paying $ 1,000 for a phone and want a battery that will last you a day without worry. And certainly, it’s something that fourth-generation Samsung should be focusing on.
As it stands, the Galaxy Z Flip 3 has the benefits of previous generations with a stronger aluminum frame, improved screen protector, and IPX8 water resistance (no dust resistance rating, for the reasons stated in the fold test). It’s not a perfect phone, but it’s a strong indication of how far Samsung’s foldable devices have come in three generations, coupled with a price tag of under $ 1,000.
The device is likely to be second fiddle as the company continues to advance the fold as a foldable flagship. But for most of the people looking to get into the foldable phone world, the Flip is the easy choice.
