On Saturday, I went for a long walk. It has become a regular routine since the pandemic. A chance to relax after spending too much time indoors and to see parts of the city that aren't accessible by subway in normal years. Saturday was more purpose driven, as I headed to a newly opened Trader Joes just before Henri unleashed himself on the Eastern Seaboard.
I took a break from the rain and found some relief at a Long Island City food court. I ordered shawarma and then pulled out the Galaxy Z Flip from my wallet. I opened the phone and popped the Galaxy Buds into my ears. Then, I watched a MLB.TV game. To keep the 6.7-inch screen upright, I found that Flip was very useful. The game was over, but it wasn't a good one. I closed the flip, put it in my pocket, and continued my journey.
Sometimes you just get lucky and find the right piece of technology. There were many jokes about how the clamshell died long ago when the first Flip was released. These jokes won't disappear anytime soon, but many people saw the first signs that Samsung was moving in the right direction when it came to its foldable ambitions.
The Galaxy Fold is heavy, despite the many flaws that were evident in the initial Galaxy Fold (which we have already covered elsewhere), Although the foldable screen is great for carrying around, it's also heavy and difficult to fold. The Flip bridges the gap between screen size and portability. It's a Galaxy Note with a large display that can be folded in half and easily fits in your pocket.
The Galaxy Z Fold has been the focus of most of the discussion about Samsung mainstreaming foldables, mostly because of its own company. Samsung has spent a lot of effort positioning the Fold as its latest flagship, augmenting or perhaps replacing the Note in its range. While the Fold 3 blurs the lines due to the inclusion of S Pen functionality the Flip is a much better bridge between Samsung's existing flagships as well as the foldable future that it envisions.
It was always going to prove difficult to mainstream foldables. They were immediately subject to negative media coverage about production issues and pricing. $2,000 for a product that you have to use with child gloves is an unreasonable price. Your daily driver shouldn't be damaged by accidental use. The Flip learns from previous fold generations and has a stronger design and better water resistance.
Pricing is perhaps even more important. The Galaxy Z Flip is Samsung's first foldable smartphone under $1,000. It is one penny less than the threshold, which puts it in line to premium smartphones from Apple and Samsung. This is a huge win in the foldables world. Only novelty could sustain the first few generations.
More of these devices are being introduced into the market, and utility will outweigh novelty. However, popularity means that these devices are more popular and therefore, their prices drop. A Samsung foldable phone is now less expensive than buying two phones. This is a significantly higher threshold than the Galaxy Fold dropping $200 compared to its previous generation.
This week, the company announced that pre-orders of the Galaxy Z Fold3 (and Galaxy Z Flip3) have exceeded total global Samsung foldables sales for all of 2021 in just 10 days. It is safe to say that the line is trending in the right direction.
The company's sales numbers don't break down in terms of Flip versus Fold, as expected. The Fold has more features, but 7.6 inches is better than 6.7 when it comes to watching full movies. The Galaxy Flip is the better option for most people. Without hesitation, the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip is the best mainstream foldable available.
This statement is not meant to be a sales pitch for foldables. The Flip is a great choice for those who want to move to the future of mobile phones. While it's easy to dismiss the clamshell design as an outdated feature, there is a reason that phones were designed this way. It is likely that smartphones were not foldable until recently, which is why they are largely gone.
Samsung has the right design language. The Flip 3 is the most attractive foldable Samsung has ever produced. Its dual-colored shell is stunning. Although I don't like the cream color, the company sent me a green, lavender, and plain black or white. The color looks great with the black strip that houses the exterior display. It has been increased from 1.1 inches to 1.9 inches. Although it doesn't seem like much, this is a significant increase for a screen of this size.
You will lose the exterior screen functionality that the Fold offers. The Flips display acts as a secondary screen that displays notifications in a quick glance. It will show you the time, date, and remaining battery. You'll find your notifications by simply swiping right.
Swipe left to get an alarm or a timer. You can also add widgets such as weather, media playback (effectively, audio play/pause), and Samsung Health Metrics. Although it is a small selection, this list will increase with more Flip owners. Swipe down to access quick settings. Swipe up to activate Samsung Pause.
The contrast between the two screens is a welcome sight in a world where many people are making an effort to reduce their phone usage. This line is much more clear than the one that separates the Folds 6.2 and 7.6 inch screens. Phone closed = checking my messages. Phone open = engagement. The Flip is much more straightforward than the phones when it comes time to open the phone. Although I am still learning the art of one-handed opening, the Flip is much more intuitive than the Fold. It's almost like opening a book. In terms of speed, the biggest problem with this form factor is that it doesn't allow you to quickly fire off a photograph.
It is much more difficult to take photos. To see the internal viewfinder, one must open the phone. Double-pressing power can be used to take selfies. The small screen in the front doubles as a viewfinder. Swiping left toggles between still and zoom, while moving up or down adjusts the level of zoom. Although it is awkward and cumbersome, the pair of 12-megapixel cameras (wide or ultra-wide) will give you a better selfie than many pinhole cameras (including Flips 10 megapixel lens).
The Flip 2's Flip 2 has largely kept the Flip 2's rear cameras (which, depending on your perspective, are also front-facing cameras) largely unchanged. Although a dual-camera system may seem outdated in 2021, it is still very practical and works well with Samsung's years of experience with camera software. The screen's 22:9 aspect ratio is more than 25% occupied by controls, which is not a good thing.
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It is worth mentioning that the aspect ratio generally merits praise. It is really tall when it is open. This is a great amount of space to use when scrolling through Gmail and Twitter. However, when you watch video, you will often see pillarboxing letterboxing along the sides of your screen. 22:9 is not a standard in the video world, and it likely won't be ever.
The seam is the final thing. It is right in the middle of the beautiful 2640x1080, 425ppi screen. It is unlikely that it will disappear soon, barring an unforeseen breakthrough in foldable technology. Although I can understand why this might be important, I have largely grown to accept it since spending so much time with these devices.
The Flip is powered by the Snapdragon 888 processor, just like the Fold. The Flip has 8GB RAM and 128GB storage. Folds have 12GB and 256GB. An additional $150 will allow you to increase the storage capacity to 256GB. The 3,300mAh battery is a weak point, even though Samsung has not slashed its internals.
The Fold's battery life is a problem, and the Flip has a bigger problem. In fact, it is the most common complaint. A charging cable will be required for moderate to heavy usage. This is not an issue in these times of pandemics, but it is something to think about as we return to the real world. Long, unplugged flights are not possible.
That being a deal-breaker is something I understand. If you pay $1,000 for a smartphone, you want a battery capable of sustaining you for at least a day without worrying. Samsung should certainly pay attention to this in gen 4.
The Galaxy Z Flip 3 is the same as the previous generation, but has a stronger aluminum frame, a better screen protector, and IPX8 water resistance (no dust resistant rating, as discussed in the Fold review). Although it is not perfect, it is a good indicator of how far Samsung's foldables have advanced in three generations. It also comes at a very affordable price, around $1000.
As the Fold continues to be the company's flagship foldable, the Flip will likely be second fiddle. The Flip is the best choice for anyone looking to get into the foldable phone market.
