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One little change by Samsung allows the Fold 3 to display more optimized apps for the tablet-sized display
With the minor DPI change to the Fold 3 screen, the Settings app is optimized to fit the larger tablet-sized screen
This change allows more optimized versions of Android apps to appear on the internal tablet-sized display, doing away with the blank spaces. Some of the touch elements on the display are now smaller, to be sure, but more text is now crammed on the screen. For example, 9to5Google noted that using the Galaxy Z Fold 3, users can now see sidebar navigation in Gmail and Spotify while the YouTube app sports smaller thumbnails and the Google Chrome browser features a desktop-like list of tabs.
Who needs a Galaxy Note 21 if the Galaxy Z Fold 3 provides an even-larger display (and the S Pen experience)
Samsung also made some changes to its own apps to show a more tablet-like UI. Those apps include the Settings app, the Phone app, and both Samsung and Google’s Messages apps. So if an app left too many blank spaces on the Galaxy Fold and Galaxy Z Fold 2, there is a possibility that the app has been optimized for the 7.6-inch display on the Galaxy Z Fold 3.
Speaking of noticing things, Samsung fans have come to the realization that the Galaxy Z Fold 3 with its S Pen support is replacing the large-screened Galaxy Note series. This year we would have expected Sammy to offer the Galaxy Note 21 line but the manufacturer has apparently realized that the Galaxy Z Fold 3 delivers an even larger sized display (at 7.6-inches) than any screen that a new Note model would have delivered this year.
Of course, there is a huge difference between what a Galaxy Note 21 Ultra might have cost and the price of the Galaxy Z Fold 3. The Galaxy Note 20 Ultra was $1,299 in the U.S. (since there is no Note 21 series, this is the best we can do) compared with $1,799 and up for the Galaxy Z Fold 3. While Samsung has lowered the price of the Galaxy Z Flip 3 by some $450 this year, if foldables are going mainstream, it is the Fold that needs to come down in price.
When it comes to foldables, we are still very much early in the game.
