Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold3 5G stands alone. The only big-screen folding phone in the US, it does things no other phone can do, letting you play games, read PDFs, and create content in unique ways. More than any other phone, it can be your only device for most of your day. As with the Galaxy Z Fold2, the only reason we’re not giving the Galaxy Z Fold3 our Editors’ Choice award is that it costs $1,799. Samsung has a great array of trade-ins and discounts for this phone, but a phone priced like a laptop just isn’t going to be the mainstream choice.
From Note to Fold
The concept of big-screen folding phones was all the rage in 2019, but Samsung is the only maker in the US that continues to pull the trick off. Huawei is out of the picture here, ZTE tried once and shrugged, LG gave up on phones entirely, and Google and Apple’s folding phones remain rumors. Motorola has the RAZR, but that fills a different niche (and one that Samsung’s Galaxy Z Flip 3 does better): a regular-sized phone that folds up even smaller.
This year’s Galaxy Z Fold3 is the spiritual inheritor of the now-dead Galaxy Note line. The Galaxy Note started out as an almost comically large, stylus-enabled phone for creatives and people with poor vision. Its market really split into people using the stylus for productivity and people who just wanted a big phone for big icons and text. There are plenty of big phones now, so the Fold3 ups the ante again for the productivity crowd, with a screen so big that it’s like a whole new world.
There haven’t been huge changes from the Galaxy Z Fold2. The most obvious one is S Pen support. I once mocked the Note for being too big; well, the Galaxy Z Fold3 is huge, especially with the optional S Pen holder case. If you’re trying to buy a mobile notebook or sketchpad, though, the massive canvas is irresistible. You might even go for the bigger S Pen Pro, which can’t be stored with the phone but gives you a bit more leverage on the slightly slippery screen.
Otherwise, changes are subtle. The phone is more durable and finally waterproof, which is good for protecting your $1,800 investment. The phone is rated IPX8, which means it is protected against water, but not against particles like sand and dust. According to Samsung, that’s just the price of having a hinge, but it also means you shouldn’t get the phone sandy at the beach. If you’re nervous about durability, Samsung offers an extended warranty called Samsung Care+ ($12.99/month) that covers accidental damage, with up to three device replacements in a 12-month period.
Samsung wants to make a big deal of the under-display camera. Sure, it’s a technical feat, but a hole-punch never really bothers people once they get used to it.
A Whole Lot of Phone
Make no mistake: The Galaxy Z Fold3 is a thick, heavy phone. It weighs 9.56 ounces, which is a little less than the Z Fold2, but more than any other flagship phone. Closed, it measures 2.64 by 6.22 by 0.63 inches (HWD). Open, it’s 5.04 by 6.22 by 0.25 inches (HWD). It’s a brick.
But the Galaxy Z Fold3 works where the Microsoft Surface Duo didn’t because Samsung understands a key thing about basic phone ergonomics: thick is better than wide. The Duo is flattened out, and as a result, it’s difficult to use in one hand and ridiculous to hold up to your head. But the flipped-closed Galaxy Z Fold3 is thick and narrow, making it actually easier to use in one hand than most other smartphones. The 6.2-inch, 2,268-by-832 exterior screen is 60Hz, versus the 7.6-inch, 2,208-by-1,768 interior screen’s 120Hz, and it doesn’t support S Pen use. But it’s a fully functional screen that all your apps will run on.
Open up the Galaxy Z Fold3 and it’s a whole new world. It’s very square, of course, which can be a little awkward to hold but pays off if you’re reading, browsing the web, or using email apps. The crease is definitely still visible and tangible, and the screen protector still doesn’t go absolutely all the way to the edge. Neither thing bothers me, especially because the crease is often (but not always) a guide to two-paned UIs, and if you’re playing games it disappears if you hold the phone at the right angle.
I found that it was actually easier to type on the outside screen than the interior one, but some people will find the touch keyboard just a bit too small. There’s a range of keyboard options, all with a bit of a Goldilocks problem: a small keyboard on the front screen, a default split keyboard on the big screen so you don’t have to stretch your thumbs too far (but you do have to keep each thumb on the correct side of the screen) and a centered keyboard on the big screen, which requires a bit more thumb stretch. Depending on your thumb nimbleness and reach, at least one should be the right size for you.
A New Paradigm
To really get a handle on this phone, I need to use it for weeks, not days, and I need to get my own data on it. I don’t typically load my personal data on review phones, but this one really changes how you work.
For instance: there are tabs in Chrome now. In an Android browser it’s hard to remember what other pages you might have had open because they’re hidden, so you typically open a lot of duplicate pages. Not anymore, because: tabs!
There’s a whole new paradigm for multitasking; you swipe open a task bar from the side of the screen and then swipe an app icon over half the screen to create a split window. It makes sense once you get used to it, but you have to get used to it.
If you want, you can sit the Galaxy Z Fold3 on a table, half-open, and force any app to just display itself on the top half of the phone; this works well for watching video and, in some cases, video calls.
If you need an extreme desktop situation, of course, there’s DeX, and full Bluetooth mouse and keyboard support. DeX lets you hook the Fold3 up to a TV (via Wi-Fi) or monitor (via a USB-C–to-HDMI cable) and get a desktop-like mode with genuine windowing. (It works the same on the Galaxy Z Fold3 as on other recent Samsung devices.)
The big screen means that you can potentially lean on the Galaxy Z Fold3 to get more done on the go, without opening your laptop, than with other phones. I spend almost every day entirely in my kitchen, aka my work-from-home office, so it’s hard for me to try or feel this different kind of use. But I’m going on a business trip at the end of the month, and I’m excited to see how I end up using the Galaxy Z Fold3.
Plenty of Power
The Galaxy Z Fold3 has a Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 processor with 12GB of RAM and either 256GB or 512GB of storage. It runs Android 11 with Samsung customizations for the folding UI; Samsung said it will receive an update to Android 12, but didn’t promise when. The company has committed to three generations of Android upgrades on the Fold series, so in this case, as far as Android 14.
It benchmarks very well, with PCMark scores a bit higher than the Galaxy S21 Ultra or OnePlus 9 Pro‘s. Onscreen graphics benchmarks absolutely zip along when the phone is closed, but also do decently on the big main screen.
The 4,400mAh battery is good enough for all-day use, especially with Samsung’s power management software. We got 11 hours, 25 minutes of video playback time with the phone open.
Like all Samsung phones, the Galaxy Z Fold3 doesn’t charge particularly quickly. It doesn’t come with a charger, just a cable. On a 22W Samsung charger, the Galaxy Z Fold3 took 40 minutes to get to a half charge and 95 minutes to get to full charge. (Technically, the phone supports 25W charging, but Samsung’s fast chargers operate at 22W.) The phone also supports slow, 10W wireless charging and even slower, 4.5W reverse wireless charging. You can at least top up your watch or earbuds with that one.
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As you might expect, the Galaxy Z Fold3 is good for reading. This is the only phone where you can actually read a full comic page on Marvel Unlimited, a full manga page in VIZ, or a full PDF restaurant menu without zooming. You see more of each web page or news article than you would on another phone.
Contrary to what you might expect, the Galaxy Z Fold3 is not good for watching video. The 4:3 screen doesn’t fit typical video aspect ratios, unless you’re watching the Snyder Cut or old TV shows, both of which look terrific. The Galaxy Z Flip 3 is actually better for holding and watching most videos, since it’s lighter and has more of a widescreen shape.
What surprised me is that the Galaxy Z Fold3 is excellent for gaming. Games, especially open-world ones, typically adapt well to the form factor and give you more room to move around and do things. The 120Hz main screen is smooth and the processor can handle even intense games like Genshin Impact without breaking a sweat. Walking around the Genshin world is more immersive on the big screen than on a traditional phone. Playing Stardew Valley, a farming simulator, I had access to more of the territory around me than I do on traditional phones. Even Mini Metro was a bit easier to play.
Excellent Connectivity; Sound, Not So Much
There’s not a lot new or different about the radios in the Galaxy Z Fold3, which are effectively the same as in the Galaxy S21 line. Built around a Qualcomm X60 modem, it supports all of the technologies US carriers currently use, as well as the future C-band networks Verizon and AT&T are setting up.
Used in parallel with the Galaxy S21 Ultra and a Galaxy Z Flip 3 on T-Mobile’s midband 5G network, I found effectively the same (good) performance on all three phones, with the Galaxy Z Fold3 achieving maximum speeds of 675Mbps down and 116Mbps up. I also got similar Wi-Fi performance to the Galaxy S21 Ultra on the 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands.
For calls, the Galaxy Z Fold3 is set up with the highest quality EVS codec, when carriers make that available. The speakerphone is surprisingly a little quieter than on the Galaxy Z Flip 3 or Galaxy S21 Ultra—it maxes out around 92.7dB at six inches—but it’s still definitely usable. The narrow form makes it easy to hold up to your head, but it’s too heavy to do so for long periods of time. Your best option is to use Bluetooth headphones; the phone worked fine with my Jabra Elite 75t earbuds.
Sound, overall, is a mixed bag. There’s no headphone jack, of course, and Samsung really wants you to use wireless earbuds like the Samsung Galaxy Buds2. In our lab tests, speaker volume maxed out pretty loud: 92.7dB in calls, and a very loud 103.3dB playing a music video folded open. But when you hold the Fold, it’s very difficult not to cover at least one of the speakers with your hand, so sound is often muted. It’s annoying. Just use earbuds.
Some international variants of the Galaxy Z Fold3 have up to three SIM slots (two physical and one eSIM), but the US model is single physical SIM only, just like other Samsung phones sold by carriers here. The eSIM feature exists, but Samsung said it has no plans to enable it right now. I don’t recommend buying foreign models for use in the US because they’re often incompatible with US networks.
Take a Memo
The idea of using the S Pen with the Galaxy Z Fold3 is a very good one. The big canvas is great to draw or take notes on. But Samsung doesn’t quite stick the landing here, as the phone lacks a convenient way to store the stylus and you can’t easily find it when you misplace it.
The Galaxy Z Fold3 works with two S Pens, which are purchased separately. The $49.99 S Pen Fold Edition is a matte black Wacom stylus, round with one flat side, a little chubbier and a little longer than the Galaxy S21’s pen. It has a single button on the side, and the tip retracts if you press on it too hard.
The $99.99 S Pen Pro is much longer, more like a paintbrush. The Fold3 uses a different pen transmission frequency than other S Pen devices, so older S Pens don’t work on the Fold3 and the Fold Edition pen doesn’t work on other devices. The Pro has a switch to flip it between frequencies, so it works with everything.
The Fold Edition pen doesn’t need charging, and it comes with a little plastic case. The problem is, it doesn’t attach to the phone in any way and it can’t be beeped or located electronically, so the chance of it vanishing into your couch cushions is extremely high. (The bigger Pro pen can be beeped through your SmartThings app.) It took me less than a day to misplace mine.
There’s a $79.99 flip cover with an S Pen slot that Samsung didn’t send me, which I think you’d really need if you want to carry the pen around with you. That slot fits the Fold Edition pen only; the S Pen Pro is too big.
The basic S Pen Fold Edition experience is the same as on other pen-compatible phones. It’s pressure- and tilt-sensitive, and you can turn on palm rejection in most apps so you can write or draw freely with your hand on the screen. But the tip feels a bit slippery on the Fold’s screen. I’m not sure if it’s confirmation bias here, but trying to use the S21 pen (which doesn’t work) on the same screen feels a little better. The S Pen Fold Edition comes with three replacement tips, but they’re all identical. I feel like this problem will end up being solved through third-party accessories; all we need is a set of tips with a bit more drag to them.
It’s worth noting that the S Pen Fold Edition doesn’t support use as a Bluetooth remote control, the way the Galaxy Note 20 pen does. For that, once again, you need the S Pen Pro.
Unremarkable Cameras
The Z Fold3 has five cameras. On the back, there’s a 12MP f/2.2 ultrawide; a 12MP f/1.8 main camera with optical image stabilization (OIS); and a 12MP f/2.4 2x zoom with OIS. On the front, there’s a 10MP f/2.2 camera. And now, inside, there’s a 4MP front-facing camera under the display, primarily for video chatting when the Fold3 is open.
For a $1,799 phone, these cameras are a little disappointing. In a best-case scenario, they’re great; with a steady hand, a subject that’s not too far away, and good light, photos look like they were taken with a Galaxy S21 Ultra. But most scenarios are not best-case ones.
In more distant shots of a building, I lost the detail on brickwork that I got with an S21 Ultra, and a street shot at night appeared to have a slight haze over it compared to the S21 Ultra. Low-light images were also sometimes a bit better focused on the S21 Ultra. With a maximum 2x zoom, there’s also no comparison to the S21 Ultra’s 10x zoom.
The front-facing camera has a deeper depth of field than the S21’s, making for sharper backgrounds. Whether that’s good in a selfie is a matter of taste; many people like a slight bokeh effect on their selfies because it brings the main subject to the fore.
The under-display selfie camera is not great. It has no night mode, which meant my low-light selfies were pretty much blacked out. Daylight shots were flat and washed out. It’s 4MP but defaults to cropping at 1,392 by 1,856, or 2.58 megapixels. That’s really close to 1,080 by 1,920, so the best way to think of this camera is as equivalent to the mediocre webcam on your laptop, designed for 1080p video calling but not much else.
I don’t see the cameras as deal-breakers, but there certainly is an argument to be made that everything in a $1,799 phone should be best in class.
Simply Incomparable
There’s nothing like the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold3. It’s so heavy it’s almost unmanageable, but open it up, and it’s a mobile office and gaming system unlike anything else on the market. It’s a lot of phone. It’s not for everyone. The people it is for will absolutely adore it.
The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold3, the Galaxy Z Flip3, and the Galaxy S21 Ultra now make for a competitive trio of flagships. At heart, the Fold3 is about using your phone more, and the Flip3 is about using it less. With the Fold3, you’re always facing a screen, and sometimes that screen is huge; it’s practically begging you to get things done. You’re also going to want to justify the effort of hauling it around. The Flip3 is lighter and smaller, and when it’s closed, it feels more like a smart pocket watch than a phone; while it has the same chipset and many of the same capabilities as the others, it has a far more casual attitude. The S21 Ultra has a familiar form factor and an outstanding camera.
Beyond that, what can I compare the Galaxy Z Fold3 to? Nothing, really. I’ll just say it isn’t for you if your main concerns are capturing and sharing photos and video, or if you’re a more casual smartphone user. The first group can be better served by the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra or the Apple iPhone 12 Pro; the second would be perfectly happy with a midranger like the Google Pixel 5a.
If you’re a real smartphone aficionado, you may be thinking about holding out for one of those rumored future folding phones from other manufacturers. Keep in mind that rumored phones are always perfect because they have all the imaginary features you want and none of the real-life compromises that let you down. I personally don’t think Google will have its folding phone before next year. It will likely have better cameras than the Galaxy Z Fold3’s, but I bet the software won’t be as customized for foldability. And as for what Apple is planning—no one knows.
So that leaves the Galaxy Z Fold3 literally standing alone. At a price like this, you’re going to want to hang onto it for three years, so think twice before taking the plunge (though I think it’ll have decent resale value). But it’s an absolute blast to use, and if you like to live large, you’ll love it.
