At some point this year, Samsung is expected to release the Galaxy Z Fold 3 – its next folding Android phone. While certain details about the upcoming device are still murky, various leaks/rumors have provided an idea of what to expect from the gadget.
2020's Galaxy Z Fold 2 was nothing short of amazing. It took the groundbreaking design of the original Galaxy Fold, improved upon it in just about every way, and the result was the most complete folding smartphone the market has yet to see. Some of its highlights included much slimmer bezels for the cover display, upgraded cameras, and refined folding mechanisms to make the whole package feel noticeably sturdier. As great as the Z Fold 2 continues to be, all eyes are now focused on what Samsung will do for its successor.
From a design standpoint, the Galaxy Z Fold 3 could go in a couple of directions. The picture above is a concept render from designer Ben Geskin, who imagines the Z Fold 3 featuring a nearly identical back design to that of the S21 Ultra. That seems like a logical route for Samsung to go, but one leak suggests otherwise. As reported by TechRadar, leaked marketing materials for the Z Fold 3 reveal a distinctly different design for the rear camera housing, showing a much slimmer layout with only three sensors. On that note, leaker @FrontTron claims these three camera sensors will be virtually identical to that of the Z Fold 2, comprising a 12MP primary camera, 12MP ultra-wide, and 12MP telephoto with 2x optical zoom. While that sounds like a fine setup, there was some expectation that Samsung would bring over some of its camera innovations from the S21 Ultra. Unfortunately, that might not happen.
Galaxy Z Fold 3 Will Have An S Pen & Under Display Camera
While the camera situation is shaping up to be a wash, the Galaxy Z Fold 3 aims to impress in a couple of other areas. For one thing, the phone is widely expected to support Samsung's S Pen accessory. The large display of the Z Fold would be a fantastic canvas for the S Pen, especially in light of there likely not being a new Galaxy Note this year. That does present the challenge of Samsung needing to craft the Z Fold 3's display to be strong enough to withstand the hard tip of the S Pen, but if Samsung can pull this off, it would be a huge selling point for the phone.
Something else to keep an eye out for is the selfie camera being hidden under the display. This was hinted at in the same leak that showed the Z Fold 3's camera design, with a marketing slide referring to it as "the first foldable with Under Display Camera." This technology was first shown off in late 2020 with the ZTE Axon 20 5G, though the implementation left a lot to be desired. If Samsung can execute it better on the Z Fold 3, it would go a long way in allowing the inner screen to be even more impressive without any interruptions or cutouts. Other rumored features include the latest Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 for the Z Fold 3's processor, an IP rating for dust/water resistance, a slightly smaller battery, and at least 12GB of RAM with 256GB of storage.
That leaves just two more things to discuss: pricing and availability. The Galaxy Z Fold 2 launched with an eye-watering $2,000 price tag, with Samsung slightly lowering it to $1,800 in April 2021. Seeing that the Galaxy Z Fold 3 will be an upgraded version of that phone, similarly high pricing can be expected. Another $2,000 MSRP seems likely, but it's also possible it'll be even higher thanks to new features like the S Pen and under-display camera. On the note of availability, it's pretty much up in the air at this point. Some sources say the Galaxy Z Fold 3 could be announced as early as June, others say July, and others yet think an August date is likely. It's hard to pin down an exact release window right now, but within the coming months, expect some sort of announcement from Samsung.
Source: Ben Geskin/Twitter, TechRadar, @FrontTro/Twitter