frankTheTank

Nov 22, 2021

Galaxy Z Fold3 5G

Good news: we've fully tested the Galaxy Fold 3 for nearly two weeks now, and it's become the first foldable phone that we can recommend to those who would ordinarily consider themselves early adopters, but who passed up on the first two iterations of Samsung’s foldable, without hesitation.

We've been closely evaluating its familiar 2-in-1 design, determined to fold and unfold the 7.6-inch flexible display until we could do it in our sleep in order to properly test its durability. 

The result? This version of Samsung’s foldable phone feels stronger than its two predecessors: it’s waterproof this time, while its mini-tablet-sized inner screen withstood our meanest stylus strokes with the new S Pen and S Pen Pro.

S Pen support makes perfect sense on a screen of this size, and it was something that people were clamoring for with the first two Folds. There’s more writing and drawing real estate here than on any Galaxy Note smartphone, yet not so big that it’s inconvenient like a full-sized traditional tablet that has to be stowed in a  bag. The Galaxy Z Fold 3 can be closed to half and stuck in a pocket.

It may well change the way you use your phone day to day, especially if you spring for the S Pen and a case to carry it in – unfortunately, the stylus is sold separately and doesn’t tuck inside the phone. That inconvenience will be jarring for long-time Note fans, even if we found the new stylus bigger and easier to use than the Note’s toothpick-sized S Pen.