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About this Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3 review: We tested the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3 over a period of seven days. It was running Android 11 with Samsung One UI 3.1.1 on the July 2023 security patch when reviewed, but has since been updated to Android 12 and One UI 4. The unit was provided by Samsung for this review.
Update, August 2023: We’ve updated this review by adding in an FAQ section that answers the most asked questions about the device. We’ve also listed a few new competitors that are available on the market and more.
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3 (256GB): $1,799 / €1,799 / £1,599
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3 (512GB): $1,899 / €1,899 / £1,699
This is Samsung’s third-generation Galaxy Z Fold, a device that opens like a book to reveal a large internal screen. The device boasts two displays, and apps that can seamlessly transition from one to the other to help you maximize your productivity and fun. The 2023 iteration of the Galaxy Z Fold sees tasteful but important updates to the hardware that made it a stronger, more useful device that’s easier than ever to recommend. It also adds compatibility with Samsung’s S Pen stylus, though it lacks an internal space to garage the S Pen like you get with the Galaxy S22 Ultra.
The Galaxy Z Fold 3 remains one of the most expensive smartphones in the market.
Samsung is shipping the phone with the absolute minimum in the way of in-box goodies. There’s no charger, no headphones, and no case, just a USB-C cable, and a SIM ejector tool. It comes in Phantom Black, Phantom Silver, and Phantom Green. The S Pen is sold separately. There are two options, the S Pen Fold ($49), which is only compatible with the Z Fold 3, or the S Pen Pro ($99), which is much bigger and adds Bluetooth and compatibility with many older Samsung phones and tablets. Pick your S Pen poison wisely.
Armor Aluminum, Gorilla Glass Victus
158.2 x 67.1 x 16mm (folded), 158.2 x 128.1 x 6.4mm (unfolded)
271g
Side-mounted fingerprint reader
IPX8
Phantom Black, Phantom Silver, Phantom Green
Check out: The best Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3 cases you can get
In all, Samsung gave the Galaxy Z Fold 3 meaningful design updates that may not be entirely obvious to the naked eye yet still add up to a wholly improved phone and experience.
6.2-inch Dynamic AMOLED
2,268 x 832 resolution
387ppi
25:9 aspect ratio, 120Hz refresh rate
Inner
7.6-inch Dynamic AMOLED Infinity X Display
2,208 x 1,768 resolution
374ppi
22.5:18 aspect ratio, 120Hz refresh rate
The Z Fold 3 largely carries over the screens from the 2023 model with a couple of small changes to each panel. Let’s talk about each separately.
Outer
Eric Zeman / Android Authority
The smaller external display shares its dimensions and shape with the Z Fold 2, but it tosses in a few more pixels and boosts the refresh rate from 60Hz to 120Hz. The change isn’t overly dramatic but is appreciated nonetheless.
The Z Fold 3’s outer screen is an AMOLED affair in typically saturated Samsung style that offers just enough real estate for most smartphone tasks. It’s bright, colorful, and easy to use outdoors under the sun. Critically, you can rely on the outer screen to act as a camera viewfinder even under the brightest conditions.
The boosted 120Hz refresh rate does make a difference. Thanks to the outer screen’s narrow shape, it’s a natural place to take care of your inbox or scroll through Twitter or other social feeds. The 120Hz rating, which dynamically adjusts depending on the task at hand, improves the smoothness of scrolling in a big way.
Samsung made just the right touches to boost the experience of using the outer screen, but it’s still not quite wide enough for comfortable typing.
More reading: Refresh rate explained — What does 60Hz, 90Hz, 120Hz mean?
The final word here is that the screen is more about the large size and shape, which gives the phone its multitasking powers, than it is about the raw pixel density. To that end, it delivers in a big way.
Performance: Top tier
Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 processor
Adreno 660 GPU
12GB
256GB/512GB storage
Battery: A little short
Eric Zeman / Android Authority
4,400mAh battery
25W USB PD PPS wired charging
10W wireless charging
4.5W reverse charging
Samsung actually reduced the size of the Z Fold 3’s battery when compared to the Z Fold 2, which is surprising considering the premium consumers put on battery life. It’s only smaller by 100mAh, but sometimes that’s enough to matter at the end of a long day.
Related: The best phone charging accessories
In our time with the phone, it lasted a day with mixed use of both screens, though it was pushing the 20% mark come bedtime. On days that we relied more on the outer display, it fared slightly better, and on days that we relied more on the inner display, it fared slightly worse. Total screen-on time when using mostly the inner display measured only five hours, which is not great. We like to see a minimum of six hours, if not longer. Granted, the Z Fold 3 has a larger display than most phones in the market, but five hours is a little disappointing. We used the phone on a business trip and the Z Fold 3 definitely came up short when compared to other flagships.
There are plenty of tools on board to tweak the way the phone consumes power. First and foremost, we did all our testing with the screen set to the 120Hz adaptive mode, which is how it is configured out of the box. You can reduce both screens’ refresh rates to the standard 60Hz, which could help conserve some battery life. You can adjust the brightness, futz with background apps, and take more steps to fine-tune the Z Fold 3 for your power needs. Personally, you might want to keep a charger handy.
I was hoping for slightly better battery performance.
Samsung kept charging speeds in check. Wired charging maxes out at 25W, which is well below the 30W to 65W speeds available from some competitors. The 4,400mAh battery took about 90 minutes to charge with a 25W USB PD PPS charger. Remember, the Galaxy Z Fold 3 doesn’t include a charger in the box, so you’ll have to supply your own power brick. And if you want the very top speeds, you’ll need one that’s USB PD PPS compatible, like several of those sold by Samsung.
Wireless charging is limited to 10W, which is slower than the 18W or higher available to some devices in the market. Our 18W wireless charger needed about one hour 50 minutes to replenish the battery fully. That’s not terrible, though it’s not overly swift either. The Z Fold 3 also supports wireless power share. The rate is really slow at 4.5W. This means powering up your accessories or another phone might take a while.
Check out: Everything you need to know about wireless charging
We didn’t expect the Z Fold 3 to set any battery benchmarks, but were hoping for slightly better numbers than it delivered.
Camera: Could be better
Eric Zeman / Android Authority
12MP, OIS, Dual Pixel PDAF, (f/1.8, 1.8μm)
12MP ultrawide, 123-degree field of view, (f/2.2, 1.12μm)
12MP telephoto, OIS, 2x optical zoom, Dual Pixel PDAF, (f/2.4, 1.0μm)
Under-display camera: 4MP, (f/1.8, 2.0μm)
Cover camera: 10MP, (f/2.2, 1.22μm)
4K video at up to 60fps
The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3 has five cameras. It packs a standard arrangement on the rear with main, ultrawide, and telephoto lenses, in addition to a user-facing camera on the front of the phone as well as the under-display camera that’s built into the screen. These give you plenty of options for capturing photos.
Samsung appears to have carried over the cameras from 2023’s phone, meaning you’ve got three 12MP sensors running in a vertical strip on the rear of the device. The selfie camera rates 10MP and the UDC rates 4MP. If you’re disappointed by the camera specs, it’s important to point out that the Fold series hasn’t traditionally served as Samsung’s top imaging device.
There are lots of ways to take pictures. The easiest is to keep the phone closed and rely on the outer display as your viewfinder. You have full access to all the phone’s photography tools when the phone is closed. The added benefit here is that the Z Fold 3 is more manageable in the hand this way as opposed to shooting snaps when opened up. However, if you want to use the full screen as the viewfinder go right ahead.
Things weren’t as good once the sun went down. In the post-sunset shots below, you can see the loss of detail in the dark regions of the photos. Though the HDR tool was in effect, there’s a lack of range in some of these shots. The colors turned out a bit muted in the twilight photos and the amount of noise is ramped up. The shots are still usable, but they could be better.
Shots taken at night were fine. The street scene below is fairly accurate when compared to what our eyes saw, though there’s a lot more noise in the photo. In the samples below, the first two shots were taken with the camera in standard mode while the last shot was taken in night mode. It was able to capture this scene despite the near-total darkness in which it was taken.
Portaits work out okay. You can see in this series a regular photo, a group portrait, and a single portrait. The camera does well enough with edge detection and the amount of background blur is rather skimpy in the group portrait but is on target for the close-up portrait.
There are two ways to take selfies with the Z Fold 3. The easiest is to keep the phone closed and use the front-facing outer camera. This ensures that you can easily hold the phone, compose your shot, and capture a solid-looking selfie. This outer camera is decent but could be better. While the subject (you) is often in good focus, the outer camera struggles a bit with balancing the exposure of the background. Moreover, selfie shots with this camera tended to be noisy and rather flat in terms of color.
You can also use the UDC that’s built into the main screen. This gives you the full display to use to compose your shot and really lets you see what’s in the background as you move the camera around. However, the UDC produces images that aren’t great. Shots are noisy, soft, and demonstrate odd color and white balance. Most importantly, your face doesn’t look that good. Samsung suggests using the UDC for video calls only and it’s clear why: It doesn’t take very good pictures.
Android 12
One UI 3
Four years of promised software updates
The Galaxy Z Fold 3 shipped with Android 11 and Samsung’s One UI 3.1. Samsung has improved its commitment to four years of software updates and five years of security updates for the Z Fold 3, which means it should receive Android 12, 13, 14, and 15 over time. Indeed, making good on its word, Samsung has already updated the Z Fold 3 to Android 12 and One UI 4. Since the Z Fold 3’s launch, Google has also introduced Android 12L, a version tailor-made for larger-screened Android devices. Samsung hasn’t said how Android 12L will play a role in the Z Fold’s future, although rumors have it that the software will be available on the upcoming Galaxy Z Fold 4.
Then there’s multitasking, which is the Z Fold 3’s specialty. Managing multiple apps at a time on the main screen is as simple as dragging them over from the Edge Panel and dropping them where you want them. The screen supports up to three apps at a time, allowing you to manage your inbox, watch YouTube, and surf the web all at once. You can mix and match which apps appear in the panels, and dragging content from one to the other is a piece of cake. It’s the phone’s superpower.
Multitasking is the Galazy Z Fold 3’s superpower.
What does the S Pen do? Bringing the S Pen near the Z Fold 3 will automatically launch the floating Air Command tool, which you can reposition to anywhere on the screen. There’s no pairing necessary. Air Command gives you quick access to the S Pen’s features, which are carried over from the Note series of the past and haven’t changed much in the last few years. Create Note is what you expect and is the core power of the S Pen. This note-taking app is robust and gives you plenty of ways to jot down notes, convert your scribbles to actual text, share your musings, and so on. If you’re an S Pen power user, the Z Fold 3 offers all you could want when it comes to stylus-enabled functionality. The major missing component here is, of course, a way to carry the S Pen with you that doesn’t require an expensive case on top of your already expensive phone and stylus.
The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3 is a stellar device that capitalizes well on the lack of competition. No other phone offers the polished foldable experience that’s available from the Z Fold 3.
All that said, the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3 is a stellar device that capitalizes well on the lack of competition. No other phone in the market offers the polished foldable experience that’s available from the Z Fold 3. If you want a pocketable phone that converts into a tablet, the Z Fold 3 is the only one to get for now, if you live outside of China. You can get better battery life, better cameras, and lower prices from standard phones, but nowhere can you get everything in a single, high-end, tablet-sized package that impresses so much.
Read next: Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3 six months later
However, keep in mind that the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 will be announced soon — learn more here. If you don’t need a phone right away, waiting for its debut makes sense, especially if it ends up costing the same as the Galaxy Z Fold 3. Once it goes on sale, we also expect the price of the Z Fold 3 to drop.
Yes, the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3 is compatible with the company’s S Pen stylus, but you’ll have to buy it separately. The Z Fold 3 also doesn’t have an internal space to house the S Pen like the Galaxy S22 Ultra does, for example.
The company claims that the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3 is rated for up to 200,000 folds, which is equivalent to five years of use if you fold and unfold the device 100 times a day.
A screen protector should add an extra layer of safety to the display, although it’s not required. But keep in mind that you can’t use a tempered glass screen protector on the inner display, as glass doesn’t fold.
According to Samsung, you’ll have to pay $479 to replace the inner screen.
Yes, the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3 comes with a one-year warranty in the US.
Samsung Care Plus for the Galaxy Z Fold 3 will set you back $11 per month — you can cancel anytime. You can also save money by paying upfront for a two-year plan, which will cost you $239.
Yes, the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 3 has an IPX8 rating that protects it against water, but not dust. The phone can sit in up to 1.5m of water for up to 30 minutes without getting damaged.
Yes, there is a crease in the middle of the Samsung Galaxy Fold 3’s display. It is quite visible, especially in a well-lit environment.
Unfortunately, you don’t get a charger included with your Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3 purchase.
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Review Del Plegable Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3
Pros
Diseño y durabilidad mejorados
Productividad
Calidad consistente de cámaras
Contras
Algunas apps necesitan optimización manual
Tamaño incómodo para llevar
Nuestro veredictoEl nuevo plegable de Samsung con hardware mejorado marca la pauta de los móviles plegables, con software optimizado para y alguna que otra sorpresa más (el soporte del lápiz óptico S Pen), consiguiendo reducir el precio que tenía su predecesor.
Puede que Samsung no fuese la primera compañía en lanzar un móvil plegable, sin embargo, nadie duda de que está siendo la marca que marca el paso en lo que se refiere a la categoría de móviles plegables; con su último Galaxy Z Fold 3 se convierte en el nuevo rival a batir.
El Z Fold 3 tiene tres objetivos claves: convertirse en el dispositivo clave en el que la compañía prueba e implementa sus tecnologías más avanzadas; evolucionar la línea de los dispositivos plegables y sus posibilidades; y por último, servir de indicador de hacia dónde evoluciona esta tecnología y los costes que tiene asociados.
Diseño y calidad de construcción
Grueso y pesado pero bien construido
Resistencia al agua (a pesar de ser plegable)
La acumulación de polvo alrededor de la bisagra
Mayor agarre al desplegar la pantalla sería útil
El Galaxy Fold original de Samsung fue una pieza innovadora para su momento de lanzamiento, sin duda alguna, pero también sufrió algunos problemas serios de ingeniería y calidad de construcción bastante importantes.
De hecho, la mayoría de los cuales no fueron una gran sorpresa para aquellos que apreciaron cuán técnicamente complejo debe ser crear uno de los primeros móviles con pantalla plegable del mercado, listo para ser comercializado.
En la review que llevó a cabo nuestro ex compañero de Tech Advisor por aquel entonces, Henry Burrell, describió el teléfono como un “desastre con aspiraciones”. Ahora vemos como el Z Fold 3 es un teléfono apto, pero manteniendo la visión retrospectiva de la evolución de la línea Fold.
Tres años después, Samsung consigue ofrecer un factor de forma plegable vertical en disposición de cuña, al estilo libro, revestido con una pantalla externa y otra interna expansiva, todo alojado en lo que Samsung califica como ‘Armor Aluminium’.
La durabilidad es una de las mejoras más importantes de esta generación, con una mezcla de aleación de aluminio pulido y bien cepillado, el cual rodea las pantallas y la columna vertebral de la bisagra, que es el elemento más importante de la estructura del teléfono.
El Z Fold 3 es más delgado (16 mm en la parte más gruesa cuando está cerrado) y más liviano, con 271 gramos frente a los 282 gramos de la generación anterior. Pero el gran logro aquí ha sido el poder garantizar la certificación IPX8 de resistencia al agua y al polvo a pesar de su diseño con partes móviles.
Esta generación también ha mejorado las tapas antipolvo (esas que se añadieron por vez primera en el Fold 5G), aunque será difícil lidiar con las partículas de polvo y pelusa que acaba acumulándose en el pliegue del móvil, para lo que deberás prestar especial atención.
Hablando de desplegarse, el mecanismo de bisagra es especialmente robusto, infundiendo confianza con respecto a la confiabilidad del uso a largo plazo, además de poder permanecer fijo en cualquier punto para facilitar su uso en cualquier ángulo.
No obstante, pensamos que un acabado en forma de textura implementado a lo largo del marco ofrecería un mayor agarre a la hora de manejar el Z Fold 3, y que al abrir y desplegar su pantalla pudiésemos hacerlo más cómodamente incluso con una sola mano.
Siempre que no optes por la edición limitada de Thom Browne, las combinaciones de colores este año son más discretas (en comparación con sus predecesores), con tonos en Phantom Black, Phantom Silver y el color más característico Phantom Green.
Tampoco existe la posibilidad de personalizar la bisagra, algo que sí ofreció el Fold 2.
Pantalla y S Pen
Ambos paneles admiten frecuencia de 120 Hz
Gran brillo, colores y contraste
El pliegue de la pantalla plegable es visible fuera del eje
Llega la compatibilidad con el lápiz óptico S Pen
Hablar de la gama Fold es hablar de pantalla plegable y de uso de doble pantalla. Por un lado, la pantalla de formato alto de 6,2 pulgadas con ratio 25: 9 situada en la cara exterior, que ofrece una experiencia de teléfono móvil más tradicional.
Por otro lado, tenemos la pantalla plegable que al abrirse alcanza el impresionante tamaño de las 7,6 pulgadas. Samsung ha estudiado a los propietarios de Fold y ha optado por incluir la frecuencia de actualización de 120 Hz en ambas debido al uso que se hace de ambos paneles.
Samsung también ha trabajado para mejorar el hardware que se ofrece, con un panel principal que, según se informa, es “un 29% más brillante” que el equivalente del Z Fold 2 y también aparentemente un 80% más duradero.
Quizás una de las preguntas más habituales sea: ¿puedes ver o sentir la línea de pliegue que discurre por el centro de la pantalla del Fold 3? En una palabra, sí, pero no es una deficiencia debilitante como algunos podrían pensar, sino una peculiaridad inherente de los móviles con pantallas plegables.
En la mayoría de las situaciones, cuando se mira de frente, no se puede ver la línea del pliegue en absoluto; con el color y el contraste solo desequilibrados en comparación con el resto del panel cuando se ve fuera de ángulo.
Como tal, la fidelidad visual de la pantalla principal se siente comparable a la de los otros teléfonos insignia de Samsung del mismo año (aunque con una densidad de píxeles más baja de 374 dpi, la pantalla Full HD + del S21 + de 6,7 pulgadas tiene 394 dpi).
La relación de aspecto 4: 3 no es convencional para los estándares modernos, ya que ofrece lo que equivale a dos pantallas estándar de teléfonos inteligentes, una al lado de la otra y fusionadas, pero el resultado es un lienzo impresionantemente expansivo.
No solo se adapta a más pantallas en términos de mostrar ciertos tipos de contenido a mayor escala que un teléfono convencional (como video 16: 9), sino que también permite la ejecución de múltiples aplicaciones a la vez (hasta tres, según el software de Samsung).
S PenSamsung también ha implementado novedades en el panel del Z Fold 3 al agregar su primera cámara debajo de la pantalla (más sobre eso más adelante) e implementar el soporte S Pen, convirtiéndolo en el móvil más versátil que podrás comprar actualmente.
Si bien el lápiz óptico exclusivo de Samsung es un extra opcional (y necesita una variante especial de Fold Edition con una punta más suave y con muelles para usar en la pantalla del Fold 3), se combina bien con el lienzo expandido del plegable.
El S Pen Fold Edition aún ofrece una experiencia familiar de lápiz, con una sensibilidad comparable a la entrada táctil (incluso cuando se dibuja a través del pliegue ligeramente hundido de la pantalla) y una latencia totalmente válida.
Si está buscando tomar notas, garabatear algunos dibujos o practicar la ilustración digital, el S Pen está bien equipado para estas tareas. Para algo más serio, es posible que tengas que recurrir a la última combinación de iPad Pro y Apple Pencil de Apple o una tableta gráfica dedicada.
Aunque la entrada del lápiz óptico funciona en la mayoría de las aplicaciones, solo unas pocas plasman el reconocimiento de presión e inclinación del S Pen, lo que limita todo su potencial, algo en lo que Samsung tiene que trabajar para próximas generaciones.
Software y funciones
OneUI 3.1.1 aparovecha al máximo la pantalla
Google Play Store y Galaxy App Store
Multitarea optimizada
Dificultad de algunas apps para admitir la forma nativa (formato 4: 3)
Aunque el Z Fold 3 corre con la propia versión de Samsung de Android 11 (con la promesa de años de actualizaciones), la versión 3.1.1 de OneUI viene con optimizaciones específicas para mejorar la experiencia de uso en los dispositivos Fold.
Más allá de las inclusiones obvias, como el modo de manejo con una sola mano y, cuando se usa la pantalla principal, un teclado dividido opcional para escribir más cómodamente con las dos manos, Cover Screen Mirroring te permite elegir si el diseño de la pantalla de inicio se mantiene constante en ambas o si deseas una pantalla independiente.
Con el extra de pantalla que obtienes usando la pantalla principal, el Fold 3 puede acomodar hasta tres aplicaciones a la vez (la mejor manera de mostrar tu destreza en productividad), con la capacidad de escalar, cambiar el tamaño y reordenar las aplicaciones.
La única peculiaridad es que, dado que Android todavía se muestra como un sistema operativo de tablet de forma nativa, la gestión de ventanas de Samsung se encuentra en la cima de la multitarea rudimentaria de pantalla dividida de Android (que solo admite dos aplicaciones).
Hubiera sido más limpio y menos complicado si Samsung simplemente hubiera ocultado o deshabilitado la propia implementación de Android; garantizar que los usuarios solo interactúen con la versión optimizada de OneUI de esta función (esencial, en el caso de Fold).
Incluso hay opciones para obligar a las aplicaciones a adherirse a ciertas relaciones de aspecto, necesarias para juegos como Call of Duty Mobile, que de otro modo llenarían la pantalla con una resolución incómoda o con una ubicación extraña de elementos.
Rendimiento
Chip Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 SoC
RAM de 12 GB y almacenamiento de 256 o 512 GB
Buen desempeño en el mundo real
A diferencia de la gama Galaxy S21, no hay un conjunto de chips que esté asociado a la región donde se comercializa, lo que significa que dondequiera que elijas comprarte uno, obtendrá un dispositivo con el SoC Snapdragon 888 de primer nivel de Qualcomm.
Le acompaña la cifra de 12 GB de RAM (emparejado con 256 GB o 512 GB de almacenamiento de tipo UFS 3.1). Equitativamente, el Z Fold 3 se mantiene en el mismo nivel de sus rivales, como el Huawei Mate X2 y otros teléfonos más convencionales.
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Es evidente que no está en la cima de la lista de los mejores smartphones del año, basándonos en las cifras, pero los resultados del mundo real demuestran que el Z Fold 3 tiene un rendimiento de móvil buque insignia sin demoras, retardos o acumulación de calor.
La ejecución de juegos en una pantalla de estas dimensiones es toda una experiencia positiva, incluso si resulta que algunos títulos requieren un poco de optimización y ajustes previos para que puedan ejecutarse en las mejores condiciones posibles de formato de pantalla.
Quizás lo más impresionante es la continuidad que se ofrece al cambiar de la pantalla de la cubierta a la pantalla principal. Durante la reproducción de cualquier video, el Fold 3 no se saltó un fotograma, con audio y video sin retraso, a pesar de que el Fold técnicamente tuvo que volver a escalar sobre la marcha.
Autonomía y carga
Batería de 4400 mAh
Carga por cable de 25 W (inalámbrica de 11 W)
La autonomía es muy variable en función del uso
En el interior del plegable encontrarás dos celdas de batería, cada una de ellas ubicada a ambos lados del mecanismo de bisagra del terminal, las cuales alimentan al Z Fold 3, lo que suma un total de 4400 mAh en total (ligeramente más pequeña que la del Fold 2).
Afortunadamente, mantiene un solo puerto USB-C con el que lidiar, colocado en la mitad derecha del Fold, cuando está abierto, que admite la carga rápida de 25 W de Samsung, junto con una carga inalámbrica de hasta 11 W y una carga inalámbrica inversa de 4,5 W. Esta función, denominada ‘Wireless Power Share’, es ideal para complementar la carga de los auriculares inalámbricos Galaxy Buds 2, o el último Galaxy Watch 4 de la compañía.
Aunque 25 W es un dato que se encuentra por debajo de la media, especialmente en comparación con las entradas de otros grandes como Oppo, Realme y OnePlus, que superan los 65 W, la recarga del Fold 3 con el cargador oficial nos lleva unos 90 minutos.
Las pruebas con un cargador PD estándar de 27 W en realidad redujo unos minutos este proceso completo, alcanzando el 100 % en solo 83 minutos, con más del 40% de carga alcanzada en media hora, en ambas ocasiones.
En cuanto a la longevidad, más allá de los factores que afectan a todos los teléfonos inteligentes modernos, como la tecnología de pantalla (es decir, LCD u OLED), el brillo adaptativo y la frecuencia de actualización, dependiendo de cómo use, las dos pantallas del Fold 3 pueden tener un gran impacto en la duración de la batería.
Si estás en movimiento, es muy probable que por facilidad prefieras usar la pantalla externa de la cubierta, más pequeña y con menos impacto de consumo de energía que la mayor (ya que el panel estrecho es menos propicio para la productividad), mientras que los días que pasas en casa o en un escritorio, siempre puedes recurrir a la pantalla principal.
Como tal, en las pruebas, experimenté una fuerte variación, con una carga entregando unos tiempos de 7,25 horas de tiempo de pantalla encendida, mientras que otra solo resultó de 4,25 horas de autonomía.
Para aquellos que buscan obtener más horas de su Fold, más allá de recurrir a la configuración de ahorro de batería del teléfono, hay pequeños ajustes que la comunidad Galaxy Fold recomienda para ayudar a extender la longevidad del Fold 3, como habilitar el modo oscuro y deshabilitar ‘Escaneo de dispositivos cercanos’.
Cámaras
Triple cámara trasera de 12 MP
Cámara perforada de 10 MP y 4 MP bajo la pantalla
Calidad de imagen constante
UDC mal implementado
A diferencia del Huawei Mate X2, que se lanzó con las mejores cámaras de teléfono de la marca hasta la fecha, el Galaxy Fold 3 no intenta batir a sus competidores en ésta área; en su lugar, ofrece un trío de sensores traseros de 12 MP que capturan imágenes comparables a las del S21.
Utiliza para ello un teleobjetivo de 2x estabilizado ópticamente más inteligente, en lugar del sensor de 64 MP presente en los Galaxy S21 y Galaxy S21 Plus. Existe una coherencia de fotos en los tres sensores con precisión de color y gran rendimiento con poca luz.
Las tomas presentan la vitalidad del color característico de Samsung y un contraste más extremo, en comparación con los reyes en el ámbito de las cámaras que no son otros que los Pixel de Google o los iPhone de Apple, apreciando una ligera falta de rango dinámico.
En cualquier caso, las imágenes son consistentes. Se podría argumentar que un aumento insignificante de 2x del sensor de telefoto plantea dudas sobre el valor de su inclusión, particularmente cuando, en su zoom digital máximo de 10x, los detalles se vuelven espantosos.
Pero el verdadero infractor aquí es la pantalla principal orientada hacia el frente. Aunque la pantalla de la cubierta también alberga una cámara frontal de 10 MP con la que podrás tomar selfies decentes, Samsung debió pensar que hacer una pantalla plegable con soporte de S Pen no era lo suficientemente desafiante.
Es por ello por lo que ha decidido implementar en el Z Fold 3 la primera cámara que la compañía introduce debajo de la pantalla de un teléfono inteligente. Aunque resulta impresionante, la conclusión final es que hubiera sido mejor no molestarse.
La idea de una cámara debajo de la pantalla es ocultar el recorte negro que las cámaras en pantalla suelen crear detrás de una malla de píxeles, pero la implementación del Fold 3 tiene el efecto contrario.
El Axon 30 5G de ZTE ya cuenta con tecnología de cámara debajo de la pantalla de segunda generación, oculta detrás de una cuadrícula de píxeles de la misma densidad que el resto de la pantalla; haciéndolo casi imperceptible.
En comparación, la resolución de la implementación del Fold 3 es tan baja que podrás distinguir píxeles rojos, verdes y azules individuales a simple vista. También está el hecho de que la calidad de esta cámara tiene un rango dinámico estrecho, una reproducción de color deficiente y un soporte de poca luz deficiente al capturar video.
El lado positivo de todo esto es la ‘Vista previa’ de la pantalla de portada, que te permite tomar selfies con la cámara trasera principal mientras la tapa está abierta, mostrando una vista previa del visor en la pantalla de la portada de forma simultánea.
Aun así, la tecnología debajo de la pantalla que Samsung ha usado en el Fold 3 debería haberse mantenido dentro de un laboratorio hasta que fuera más madura y comparable a la competencia, antes de convertirse en un producto listo para el consumidor final.
Precios y disponibilidadSamsung comercializa su Galaxy Z Fold 3 a un precio recomendado de 1.809 € en el caso de la configuración con 12 GB de memoria RAM y 256 GB de almacenamiento. Si optas por elevar a 512 GB el precio se incrementa en 100 €.
Todos ellos los podrás encontrar con los acabados en colores anteriormente mencionados de negro, verde y silver Phantom. Actualmente, a modo de promoción, Samsung mantiene la oferta de regalar un Galaxy Watch 4 con la compra de cualquiera de los modelos Z Fold 3.
A pesar de las obvias mejoras en áreas como diseño y rendimiento, probablemente en un esfuerzo por parte de Samsung de acercar su gama de móviles plegables al público general, la compañía ha decidido recortar ligeramente el precio de generaciones previas.
Es evidente que el Fold de este año aún está por encima del nivel de los súper-insignia más convencionales, como el Galaxy S21 Ultra de Samsung , el Mi 11 Ultra de Xiaomi y el iPhone 13 Pro Max de Apple, lo que significa que sigue siendo algo exclusivo.
Si te gusta el aspecto de ahorro de espacio del factor de forma plegable pero quieres uno que sea aún más compacto, entonces vale la pena considerar el Galaxy Z Flip 3, que se lanzó junto con el Fold 3. Se beneficia de un recorte de precio aún más significativo.
VeredictoHay una serie de mejoras que el Galaxy Z Fold 3 domina sobre su predecesor; con un diseño más limpio y resistente que de alguna manera añade la característica fundamental de resistencia al agua, junto con un conjunto de funciones ampliadas como el soporte de S Pen.
Si bien, el procesamiento, los juegos y el rendimiento de la cámara pueden no ser líderes en la industria, el Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3 se enfoca en hacer que el concepto plegable sea más alcanzable y asequible sin presentar sacrificios reales en ningúna área en particular.
Sin embargo, en lo que sí destaca del Fold 3 dentro de esta categoría de productos en expansión es en conseguir crear experiencias nuevas de uso para factores de forma plegables. Aquí, Samsung es la principal fuerza impulsora para todo lo que está por llegar.
Especificaciones
Pantalla interna de 7,6 pulgadas y formato 22,5: 18
Panel Dynamic AMOLED 2x Infinity Flex Display
Resolución QXGA + (2208 x 1768) a 120Hz
Pantalla de cubierta de 6,2 pulgadas
Resolución de HD + (2260 x 832) a 120Hz
Protección Gorilla Glass Victus
Chip SoC Qualcomm Snapdragon 888
RAM de 12 GB DDR5
Almacenamiento UFS 3.1 de 256 GB o 512 GB
Cámaras:
Principal de 12 MP y f / 1.8 con OIS, Dual Pixel AF, 1.8μm píxeles, 83 ° FoV
Ultra gran angular de 12 MP y f / 2.2 con píxeles de 1.22µm, 123 ° FoV
Teleobjetivo de 12 MP y f / 2.4 con OIS + zoom óptico 2x, 45 ° FoV
Cámara bajo pantalla de 4 MP f / 1.8 con 2 µm de píxeles, 80 ° FoV
Selfie perforadora de 10 MP y f / 2.2 con píxeles de 1.22μm, 80 ° FoV
Sensor de huella dactilar en lateral
Resistente al agua IPX8
Altavoces estéreo
Soporte para lápiz óptico S-Pen (se vende por separado)
Doble SIM
Conectividad: 5G, wifi 6E, Bluetooth 5.2 y NFC
Conector USB-C
Batería de 4400 mAh
Carga por cable de 25 W (10 W inalámbrica)
Android 11 con OneUI 3.1.1
Dimensiones de
Desplegado: 158,2 x 128,1 x 6,4 mm
Plegado: 158,2 x 67,1 x 16-14,4 mm (plegado)
Peso de 271 gramos
Colores: negro, plateado y verde
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3 Vs Galaxy Z Flip 3: Camera Shootout
Eric Zeman / Android Authority
In our reviews, we’ve already established that neither the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3 nor the Galaxy Z Flip 3 is the world’s best camera phone. With primarily 12MP shooters, Samsung’s foldables take average shots but don’t necessarily compare to the top camera phones in the market, such as the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra and its 108MP sensor. But how do the Z Fold 3 and Z Flip 3 cameras fare when pitted directly against one another?
With samples in tow, we decided to compare these two phones head-to-head in a Galaxy Z Fold 3 vs Galaxy Z Flip 3 camera shootout to see if there’s a clear winner.
Related: The best foldable phones you can get
Like the main cameras, the selfie cameras are almost the same. The Z Fold 3 has a 10MP selfie camera at f/2.2 with 1.22μm pixels and the Z Flip 3 has a 10MP selfie camera at f/2.4 with 1.22μm pixels. Only the aperture separates them. The Z Fold 3 adds a 4MP under-display camera at f/1.8 that hides beneath the pixels of the main inner display.
In this second daytime image, we have more green and grays thanks to the church. The greens of the shot from the Z Fold 3 are plainly pushed more than those from the Z Flip 3. Both images demonstrate solid exposure and balance — and noise. There’s plenty of distracting noise in the leaves of the trees. Overall, the Z Fold 3’s shot is a little richer and more pleasing to the eye.
See also: How to use manual mode on your smartphone camera
Samsung is known across the industry for boosting colors.
In these color samples, you can see bright, pushed colors from both phones. Samsung is known across the industry for boosting colors and it’s obvious here. I’m seeing identical color, exposure, and white balance, though the sample from the Z Flip 3 is a bit sharper. The colors are not quite accurate to the way they are in real life, but they look so good it’s easy to forgive Samsung for the tweaking. It’s too close to call an overall winner.
In this dusky shot taken of a waterfall from under a bridge, we’ve got a lot going on. The HDR is working overtime to pull out the details in those bricks on the left side of the image. I like that the greens are richer in the shots from the Z Fold 3, but the Z Flip 3 does a slightly better job balancing out the sky and the land together. The Z Fold 3 blew out the sky just a little bit when compared to the Z Flip 3. Here, I don’t think there’s an obvious winner.
More reading: The best triple camera phones available
Reading the text lets us really examine the detail available in this pair of images. The text is equally legible in both samples, despite the slight difference in magnification between the two. Even so, the smaller text taken by the Z Fold 3 is just a wee bit sharper and cleaner due to some noise introduced by the Z Flip 3. The carving itself looks just as good in both photos, and the exposure and color is on par between them. There’s no obvious winner here.
Here, we’re looking at photos taken from each phone’s ultra-wide-angle cameras. Of all the shots in this collection, these two are the most similar. Each has the same strengths and weaknesses. For example, the colors and dynamic range are solid, while the small building in both photos loses detail due to slight overexposure. Given that the Z Fold 3 and Z Flip 3 share the exact same ultra-wide-angle camera, it’s no surprise that the photos are nearly identical.
Here we have a look at how the Z Fold 3 and Z Flip 3 capture portraits. Beyond the obvious difference in magnification, both phones do an admirable job here. Washington’s head is captured in sharp detail, with good edge detection and pleasant background blur. Exposure looks a little bit better from the Z Flip 3, as the Z Fold 3 overexposed Washington’s face just a little bit, which caused a small loss of detail. Most importantly, the portraits aren’t overly noisy and don’t look forced.
See also: The best Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 3 cases you can get
Here are some selfie samples from the Z Fold 3 and Z Flip 3. Each of these is a 10MP shot, the Z Fold 3 with the outer cover camera and the Z Flip 3 with the inner punch hole camera. They are fine selfies, but not the best I’ve seen. There’s a lot of noise from both images, particularly in the background. That said, exposure, color, and sharpness are all on par between the two. It’s nearly impossible to tell them apart.
There’s a clear winner between these two low-light shots. I like the way both photos show shadows from the floodlights on the buildings. The Z Fold 3 snagged a cleaner photo all around that’s sharper, more nuanced, and less washed out by the ambient light sources. The Z Fold 3 also managed to produce better colors despite the lack of light.
Related: The best Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3 cases you can get
Neither of these night images is particularly compelling, but again there’s a clear winner. Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold 3 was able to pull far more detail out of the dark background using the night mode tool. The image from the Z Flip 3 shows hardly any detail in the trees at all, and its muted colors can’t compare to those produced by the Z Fold 3. Samsung’s pricier foldable notches the win here.
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3 vs Z Flip 3 camera shootout: The verdict
Eric Zeman / Android Authority
Given the near-identical hardware shared between these two phones, I expected the results of this Z Fold 3 vs Z Flip 3 to be even closer than they are. The majority of the images above are close to dead even, with only minutia separating them. If there’s one trend I spotted, it was consistently better color in shots taken with the Z Fold 3. The color wasn’t dramatically better, but it was generally more pleasant to look at when compared to the shots from the Z Flip 3. Other than that and low light performance, however, little differentiates the photos.
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 : Tout Ce Que Vous Devez Savoir
Voici tout ce que nous savons à ce jour sur le Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5.
Il n’y a pas de date officielle pour le moment, mais Samsung a un calendrier de sortie assez établi pour ses modèles phares. Voici quand les générations précédentes sont arrivées :
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold : septembre 2023
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 2 : septembre 2023
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3 : août 2023
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 : août 2023
Comme les deux générations précédentes sont sorties au mois d’août, nous pensons qu’il y a fort à parier que le Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 sera révélé en août 2023.
Pourtant, selon le site coréen Chosun, la présentation devrait se faire le 26 juillet à l’occasion de la conférence Unpacked de Samsung. Il ferait son apparition aux côtés du Galaxy Z Flip 5 et de la montre connectée Galaxy Watch 6.
Combien coûtera le Galaxy Z Fold 5 ?Les téléphones pliables restent réservés à la catégorie haut de gamme, donc lorsque Samsung mettra à jour le catalogue Fold, vous pouvez être sûr qu’il sera coûteux.
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 :
256 Go : 1 799 €
512 Go : 1 919 €
1 To : 2 159 €
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3 :
256 Go : 1 799 €
512 Go : 1 899 €
Comme vous pouvez le constater, certains prix ont peu évolué entre les modèles. Par les temps qui courent, actuellement, il semble peu probable que vous verrez une baisse du prix pour le Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5, mais plutôt une hausse légère.
Quid de la fiche technique et des fonctionnalités du Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 ?Il reste encore quelque mois avant l’arrivée du nouveau Fold, mais nous avons commencé à voir émerger quelques rumeurs sur ce que Samsung prévoit de faire.
Les principales fuites jusqu’à présent proviennent du site coréen The Elec qui rapporte que, comme pour le prochain Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5, le Fold 5 sera équipé du dernier processeur Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, lancé fin 2023.
De même, SamMobile rapporte que le téléphone proposera exactement les mêmes options de stockage de 256 Go, 512 Go et 1 To que le modèle de l’année dernière.
L’article de Elec indique également que Samsung s’en tient aux trois capteurs photos dans le Fold 5, qui sera composé d’un capteur principal de 50 Mp (le Samsung ISOCELL GN3), vraisemblablement d’un ultra grand-angle de 12 Mp et d’un téléobjectif de 10 Mp à l’image du Fold 4.
Le site s’attend à un capteur principal de 108 Mp avec OIS à l’ouverture f/1,7, rejoint par une caméra à zoom 2x de 64 Mp et un ultra grand-angle de 12 Mp. Cela signifie une augmentation significative de la résolution de l’appareil photo principal et du téléobjectif, bien qu’il faille admettre une baisse du zoom 3x à 2x pour ce dernier, mais avec l’expertise de Samsung en matière de zoom numérique, la différence pourrait facilement être rattrapée en post-traitement.
Le site vietnamien The Pixel donne des informations contrastées, indiquant que le Fold 5 sera équipé d’une nouvelle puce Snapdragon, vraisemblablement la 8+ Gen 2 qui n’a pas encore été annoncée, mais aussi d’un nouvel appareil photo.
Le site déclare aussi que le capteur principal sera de 108 Mp avec OIS à ouverture f/1,7, rejoint par un capteur de 64 Mp 2x zoom et d’un ultra grand-angle de 12 Mp. Cela signifierait un bond en avant significatif à la fois pour l’appareil photo principal et le téléobjectif, bien qu’il faille admettre une baisse du zoom 3x à 2x sur ce dernier.
Nous avons des doutes sur les dires de The Pixel. D’une part, le site n’a pas d’antécédents comparables à ceux d’autres leakers, et ne précise pas sa source ici, mais aussi parce que certains de ses détails semblent erronés, il déclare que Samsung va revenir aux dimensions dépliées plus grandes et plus minces du Z Fold 3, ce qui serait un pas en arrière comparé au Fold 4. Nous trouvons ce changement difficile à croire…
Néanmoins, The Pixel rejoint également d’autres sites affirmant que 2023 sera l’année où nous verrons enfin Samsung incorporer le stylet S Pen à l’intérieur du téléphone avec un emplacement dédié.
La société aurait essayé, sans succès, de l’intégrer au design du Z Fold 4, et The Elec rapporte que Samsung a déclaré qu’un emplacement dédié au stylet S Pen était l’une des caractéristiques nécessaires pour faire passer ses téléphones pliables à un niveau supérieur, sans compter les design plus fins et légers, et des améliorations faites aux capteurs photo.
Mais cela n’a peut-être pas marché, car le coréen ETNews indique maintenant que le S Pen ne sera pas inséré au téléphone. Le service R&D de Samsung y travaillait, mais les contraintes d’espace l’ont apparemment emporté, de sorte que vous devrez toujours tenir votre S Pen vous-même.
Entre-temps, un autre site coréen, Naver, a rapporté que Samsung s’oriente vers un design de charnière en goutte d’eau pour le Z Fold 5. Il s’agit d’une technologie désormais largement utilisée par ses concurrents, elle prend la forme d’une goutte d’eau lorsque plié.
Ce qui a deux conséquences : cela permet aux écrans de se fermer complètement lorsqu’ils sont pliés, sans espace entre eux, et cela réduit la taille du pli lorsqu’à plat. C’est la principale différence entre le Z Fold et ses rivaux depuis un an ou deux, et cette initiative aiderait Samsung à prouver qu’il est toujours en tête des appareils pliables.
Leaker yeux1122 a affirmé que Samsung a apporté un prototype pliable avec une charnière en goutte d’eau au CES 2023, et a partagé cette photo du prototype (à droite) comparé à un Z Fold 4 existant. Cela ne doit pas être considéré comme un indice définitif sur le design du Z Fold 5, mais suggère que si Samsung adopte cette charnière, cela pourrait l’aider à produire un pliable plus compact, en plus des avantages pour l’écran.
Naver
Plus fin et plus léger, c’est exactement ce que le leaker Ice Universe pense que Samsung va proposer. Il prédit que le Fold 5 aura une épaisseur de 13 à 14 mm lorsqu’il sera fermé et pèsera 254 g, contre 15,8 mm et 263 g pour le Fold 4.
Enfin, Ice a également affirmé que le Z Fold 5 présentera à nouveau une résistance à l’eau IPX8, soit la même note que le Fold 4. Cela signifie un haut niveau d’étanchéité, mais aucune protection officielle contre la poussière.
Sinon, le Fold 5 pourrait partager un grand nombre de ses caractéristiques techniques avec le Galaxy Z Fold 4, qui comprenait un écran externe AMOLED de 6,2 pouces, l’interne étant un AMOLED de 7,6 pouces avec une fréquence de rafraîchissement de 120Hz.
Il y avait également des haut-parleurs stéréo, le Wi-Fi 6e, le Bluetooth 5.2, la 5G, une batterie de 4400mAh qui prend en charge la charge de 25W, ainsi qu’un indice d’étanchéité IPX8.
Évidemment, nous continuerons à mettre à jour cet article au fur et à mesure que de nouvelles informations seront disponibles, alors n’oubliez pas de le consulter régulièrement.
Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 8.0 Vs Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Comparison Review
Display And Processor
Speaking of the processors on these tablets, the Note 8 beats the Tab 3 8.0 hands down. This, because the Note 8 carries with it a 1.6GHz quad core CPU, which when compared to the Tab 3 8.0’s dual core 1.5 GHz, proves to be far more powerful. Another factor which should play an important role, apart from the processor, in the performance of the devices is RAM. The Note 8 again comes victorious with 2GB of RAM. The Tab 3 8.0, on the other hand, features .5GB less RAM, i.e., 1.5GB. This means that multitasking and hardware intensive applications will run smoother on the Note 8 as compared to the Tab 3 8.0
Camera And MemoryThe imaging department of a tablet is often overlooked, because cameras on tablets are usually found to be sub-standard. The Note 8 and the Tab 3 8.0 carry the same set of cameras, i.e., a 5MP rear shooter and a 1.3MP front. So this means cameras are another category where there can’t be one winner.
On the memory front, the devices again share the same variants, those being 16/32GB. However, it is not clear yet if both the versions will indeed be available in India.
Both devices come with a microSD card slot which can accept cards up to 64GB in size, so storage shouldn’t be a problem in most cases.
Battery And FeaturesThe battery on a tablet is one of the most important hardware components on the device. The device is of no use if a greatly powerful processor is paired with a paltry battery. Thankfully, both these devices seem to take this seriously; the Note 8 features a beefy 4600mAh unit, which can promise you a good day’s usage. On the other hand, the Tab 3 8.0 features a slightly less-powered 4450mAh unit, which should probably manage the same amount of run-time thanks to the less power-hungry processor. The quad core on the Note 8 is definitely going to use up battery faster than the dual core processor on the Tab 3 8.0. An additional feature present in note 8 is its Stylus, which you wont be getting with Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 8.0
Key SpecsModel Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 8.0 Samsung Galaxy Note 8
Display 8 inch 1280x800p 8 inch 1280x800p
Processor 1.2 GHz dual core 1.6 GHz quad core
RAM, ROM 1.5GB RAM, 16/32GB ROM expandable up to 64GB 2GB RAM, 16/32GB ROM expandable up to 64GB
OS Android v4.1 Android v4.1
Cameras 5MP rear, 1.3MP front 5MP rear, 1.3MP front
Battery 4450mAh 4600mAh
Price 21,945-25,725 INR 28,500 INR
ConclusionIf you’re not into gaming or HD multimedia, the Tab 3 8.0 will definitely be the better choice for you. Why we say this? Firstly, because the device is way cheaper. Secondly, the Note 8 has a very powerful quad core processor you might not need most of the time. Thirdly, the dual core processor on the Tab 3 8.0 is bound to be better efficient at power usage, so you can expect to have a battery backup better than what you’d have on the Note 8.
On the other hand, if you’re into gaming or multimedia or any other hardware intensive stuff, the Note 8 is the one for you.
Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 8 Inch VS Samsung Note 8[Video]Samsung Galaxy M31 Review: The Best Of Samsung For Less?
Pros
Superb display
Excellent battery life
Great software experience
Cons
Patchy performance
Slightly dated design
Our VerdictIt’s far from the best budget phone on the market, but Samsung fans looking for a cheap alternative to the company’s flagships won’t be disappointed here.
Despite the profound impact of the coronavirus pandemic in 2023, the deluge of Samsung phones shows no sign of abating. At £245, the Galaxy M31 is one of the most affordable devices in the company’s current lineup, aiming to provide a great smartphone experience at a fraction of a cost of the S and Note lines.
With a mammoth 6000mAh battery and competitive specs across the board, on paper it looks like Samsung is onto a winner. But how well does that translate to real-world usage? Read our full review to find out.
Design and build
Samsung has clearly cut some corners with the Galaxy M31’s design. The most notable is the plastic back and frame of the device, meaning any illusion of this being a premium device is quickly lost. I was initially fooled by the Galaxy A51’s so-called ‘glasstic’ design, but there’s no mistaking that Samsung has opted for the cheaper material here.
It frustratingly remains a fingerprint magnet, but on the black model I tested the smudges aren’t too noticeable. The phone’s also available in blue and red, if you’d prefer.
While these things would be significant drawbacks for some people, I found they quickly faded into the background once I started using the device as my main phone.
That’s due in part to the screen, a gorgeous 6.4 Full HD (1080×2340) OLED panel which offers rich, vibrant colours and an excellent level of detail. I often wonder just how much of a tangible benefit displays of 1440p and above actually provide, so this was a wise compromise for Samsung to make.
It’s only 60Hz, but with the latest iPhones still not supporting a higher refresh rate, it would be wrong for me to complain about its absence here. That is something you’ll find on the £179.99 Realme 7, though.
Where I will complain is the teardrop notch, which protrudes into the top of the display and houses a 32Mp selfie camera. It feels completely unnecessary, particularly when the bezels aren’t the smallest and there’s a sizeable chin.
It does at least support a face unlock, offering a mostly reliable alternative to the physical fingerprint sensor on the back of the device. The latter is a bit higher up the phone than feels natural, but was impressively resistant to dust and moisture in my testing.
Next to it is a rather imposing camera module, housing 64Mp main, 8Mp ultrawide, 5Mp macro and 5Mp depth sensors. It doesn’t quite sit flush with the back of the device, but it’s sufficient that there’s not too much rocking when flat down on a table.
There’s not much to write home about the sides of the device, which thankfully means there’s no Bixby button in sight. Power button and volume rocker on one side, dual SIM card tray on the other, simple as that.
It’s at the bottom where you’ll find the most notable inclusion: a 3.5mm headphone jack. The M31 is something of an outlier in a world where most phones, including many Samsung handsets, have ditched the port. The phone supports Bluetooth 5.0, but it’s still nice to have the option to connect wired headphones.
Hardware and performance
The Galaxy M31 comes running the Exynos 9611 chipset, which combines with 6GB of RAM and 64GB of storage on the model I tested. Samsung’s own processors have typically struggled when compared to Qualcomm’s Snapdragon line, although there are signs it’s fighting back. Performance on the Exynos 9611 is thought to be similar to the Snapdragon 712, with both found primarily on mid-range phones.
Unfortunately, in my testing time it fell short of what I expect from phone in 2023, even one that’s priced so affordably. The main problem I encountered were app freezes, with Chrome one of the big offenders. It would often lag on a website for quite a few seconds, although that may be due in part to the number of open Chrome tabs I had.
The other notable area of slowdown was in opening and switching between apps. I found it taking a comparatively long time to launch everything from Facebook Messenger to Spotify, while the aforementioned double tap of the power button to launch the camera was far from instant.
These issues don’t make the phone unusable by any means, although they are frustrations you’re likely to experience on a regular basis. It’ll still work fine if you’re willing to be patient, but the M31’s shortcomings are more glaring when you consider the strong performance in so many other budget phones.
The performance gap is illustrated in the below benchmarks, where the M31 pales in comparison to some of the best cheap phones around
Another area of performance that’s worth noting is the speakers – and it’s a much more positive story here. A single downward-firing speaker combines with the earpiece to provide clear, rich audio. I still wouldn’t recommend listening to music or watching a film on it, but for the occasional YouTube video and social media it’s more than acceptable.
Software and features
The Galaxy M31 comes running One Ui 2.5 over Android 10, and there’s no word on when it’ll get the upgrade to Android 11. If you haven’t used it before, Samsung’s skin is quite a departure from the so-called ‘stock’ version you’ll find on Pixel phones, although it’s come a long way from the clunky TouchWiz days.
The big appeal of One UI with regards to this phone is its optimisation for big-screen devices. Samsung divides the display into two sections, with all the controls you’ll need within easier reach at the bottom of the device. It won’t quite turn the 6.4in M31 into a one-handed phone, but does make a big difference to day-to-day usage.
Of course, this won’t extend to all third-party apps, but makes a big difference when you’re moving through Settings, taking a photo or making a call (yes, smartphones still do that!).
I’m a big fan of the quick settings menu, which allows you to make modifications directly from the notification shade, instead of taking you into the main app. Talking of settings, you can also customise the power key to open any app of your choice with a double press. I found the default quick launch of the camera to be particularly useful, but if you’d rather head straight to Instagram the option’s there.
Bixby’s appearances are also fleeting these days, with even the Google Discover-style cards to the right of the home screen ditched on recent One UI versions. It seems like Samsung has finally admitted its virtual assistant isn’t up to scratch, particularly when Google Assistant is available via a long press of the home button.
You can swap out that and the other two on-screen buttons for gestures, but I found the latter to be a bit laggy and generally not enjoyable to use on the M31.
Cameras
Cameras are often an area where corners are cut on budget phones, but they remain a crucial ingredient of the smartphone pie. The M31 comes sporting quadruple rear lenses, with the main 64Mp sensor joined by 8Mp ultrawide, 5Mp macro and 5Mp depth sensors.
In general, I was impressed with the quality of stills from the M31. They offer a good level of detail and accurate colours, choosing to saturate images slightly less than Samsung phones have done in the past. Dynamic range is also solid, although it can struggle with exposure at times.
The camera app has a built-in scene optimiser, and seemed to do a good job of adjusting the settings automatically depending on what you’re taking a photo of. This includes switching to night mode, although that didn’t make a huge difference to the quality of low-light shots I was able to take.
The depth sensor enables portrait-style shots, although it tended to struggle quite a lot with edge detection. Like many other phones, the macro lens added almost nothing to the experience, as it wasn’t particularly impressive for close up shots.
A 32Mp front-facing camera yields higher quality selfies than I’ve seen on many phones, and it also offers the option to zoom out slightly and get more people into the shot.
The M31 is also capable of 4K video at 30fps on both the front and rear cameras, although the electronic image stabilisation (EIS) makes it a more pleasing experience on the latter.
Battery life
Battery life is an area where the M31 excels on paper, with a huge 6000mAh cell. That’s larger than you’ll find on most phones in 2023, although it’s matched by the current budget champ in the Poco X3.
A score of 8 hours and 30 minutes in Geekbench 4’s battery test is more average, but I doubt you’ll have any problems with battery life here. In my experience, I was able to get a good couple of days of moderate usage on a single charge.
When you do finally run the battery down, the included 15W adapter gets you back up to around 23% back in 30 minutes. This is marketed as fast charging, although many other devices can be juiced up much faster.
There’s no wireless charging, but that’s not a surprise or dealbreaker at this price point.
Price and value for money
Talking of price, the Samsung Galaxy M31 comes in at £245/ US$ 299, and it’s exclusive to Amazon in the UK. The 6GB/64GB is the only model you can get on this side of the pond, although the International version linked above doubles the storage to 128GB.
That’s just about in budget phone territory, although competition is fierce at this price point. The likes of the Poco X3, Realme 7 and Oppo A9 2023 are all compelling alternatives and more more affordable than the M31.
It’s much more appealing if you’re only considering Samsung phones, with affordable devices like the Galaxy A20e offering a notably reduced experience.
Verdict
The Galaxy M31 hasn’t been marketed nearly as heavily as Samsung’s flagships or even the mid-range A-Series, so you might not realise the company makes such a solid budget phone.
For £249, you get a gorgeous OLED display, excellent battery life and a highly polished software experience. There’s even a 3.5mm headphone jack, although the impressive speakers and Bluetooth 5.0 mean that might not be necessary.
It’s definitely not all good news though – performance is more than a little unconvincing at times and the sizeable notch and chin will be unsightly for some.
As a result, it’s unlikely to tempt people away from some other great Android handsets around this price point. But if you’re looking for the core Samsung experience at a more affordable price, this is definitely an option worth considering.
Specs Samsung Galaxy M31: Specs
6.4in 1080×2340 19.5:9 OLED display, 60Hz
Exynos 9611 processor
6/8GB RAM
64/128GB storage
Rear cameras: 64Mp f/1.8 wide, 8Mp f/2.2 telephoto, 5Mp f/2.4 macro, 5Mp f/2.2 depth 32Mp f/2.0 front-facing camera
Android 10
3.5mm headphone jack
Gorilla Glass 3
6000mAh battery
15W fast-charging
Bluetooth 5.0
191g
159.2×75.1×8.9mm
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