Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3 vs Galaxy Z Flip 3: What's the difference?

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Our Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3 vs Milky way Z Flip iii comparison is here to help If y'all're in the market for one of the best foldable phones. While both devices have foldable displays, these phones are quite different across the board in terms of price, screens size, cameras, battery life, specs and more.

Here's the gist. Every bit you'll see in our Galaxy Z Fold 3 review, this $i,799 device is a phone and tablet in 1, transforming from a half dozen.2-inch handset to a seven.6-inch slate, making it platonic for work and play. It's especially proficient for running multiple apps at once, and it offers Due south Pen support so you lot can write directly on the display.

Our Galaxy Z Flip 3 review reveals a more affordable and accessible option, starting at $999. It features a 1.ix-inch comprehend display for checking info on the fly or taking selfies and a half-dozen.7-inch main brandish. Its principal appeal is folding upwards into a compact design for hands slipping into a pocket, and the fact that you tin can use its laptop-like Flex mode for video calls and other apps. But beware of short battery life.

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Plus: Samsung Galaxy Z Fold iii: iv reasons to buy it (and three reasons to skip)

Our Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3 vs. Galaxy Z Flip 3 comparison runs down all the changes to Samsung's newest foldable phones to help you figure out which one is the best fit for y'all.

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3 vs Galaxy Z Flip 3: Specs


Price	From $1,799	From $999
CPU	Snapragon 888	Snapragon 888
RAM	12GB	8GB
Storage	256, 512GB	128, 256GB
External display	6.2 inches (2268 x 832) 120Hz Adaptive	1.9 inches (260 10 512)
Internal display	7.6 inches (2208 x 1768) 120Hz Adaptive	vi.7 inches (2640 x 1080) 120Hz adaptive
Rear cameras	12MP wide (f/i.8); 12MP ultra-side (f.2.ii, 123-degree FOV); 12MP telephoto (f/two.4, 2x optical zoom, 10x digital zoom)	12MP wide-angle (f/two.4); 12MP ultra-broad (f/2.ii) 123-degree FOV
Front end camera	10MP (f/two.two)	10MP (f/2.4)
Nether-display photographic camera	Under-display camera: 4MP (f/ane.8)	N/A
Battery	4,400 mAh	3,300 mAh
Bombardment life	vii hours 52 minutes	five hours 43 minutes
Charging	25W (charger non included)	15W (non included)
Size	6.2 10 2.vi x 0.56 to 0.62 inches (closed); vi.2 x 5 ten 0.25 inches (open up)	three.4 10 2.8 x 0.63-0.67 inches (closed); 6.5 x 2.8 10 0.27 inches (open)
Weight	9.55 ounces	6.5 ounces

Samsung Milky way Z Fold 3 vs. Galaxy Z Flip 3 price

The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3 is adequately pricey at $1,799 for the 256GB model, and that goes up to $1,899 for the 512GB version. Note that

Meanwhile, the Galaxy Z Flip is the most affordable foldable phone yet with a price of $999 for 128GB of storage. The 256GB version costs $i,099.

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3 vs. Galaxy Z Flip 3 design and displays

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 3 hands-on review — (Epitome credit: Tom'southward Guide)

If you're looking for something compact the Galaxy Z Flip three is for you. It has a 1.9-inch cover display (four times bigger than the original Z Flip) and a six.vii-inch 120Hz main screen. It folds up to just 3.4 x 2.eight x 0.63-0.67 inches when airtight and it weighs just vi.5 ounces. You'll barely experience this foldable phone in your pocket.

The Milky way Z Fold 3 is a beast of a phone considering it can double as a tablet, and its main brandish stretches a whopping 7.6 inches. Another plus: there's a new under-display photographic camera that disappears when not in apply, then you don't have to wait at a punch hole, The outside screen remains 6.2 inches, but the proficient news is that both panels now have 120Hz refresh rates.

The Galaxy Z Flip iii comes in a wider assortment of colour options. You can take your pick from Foam, Green, Lavander, and Phantom Black. The Galaxy Z Fold 3 is more conservative with its 3 colors: Phantom Black, Phantom Green and Phantom Silvery.

Samsung upped the durability on both phones, cheers to a stronger Armor Aluminum casing, a brandish that's up to 80% more durable and IPX8 water resistance that should survive splashes and rain.

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold three vs. Galaxy Z Flip three cameras

There are very big differences between the Galaxy Z Fold iii and Z Flip 3 cameras. The Z Fold 3 features a triple rear camera setup that includes 12MP wide, ultra-wide and telephoto lenses. Optical zoom is 2x and digital zoom is 10x.

In addition, the Z Fold 3 features 10MP selfie photographic camera upwardly front, plus a 4MP nether-display camera at the peak right corner of the 7.6-inch display. The latter is best used for video calls as it's non super sharp.

The Galaxy Z Flip 3 packs dual 12MP cameras: a wide-angle lens and 12MP ultra-broad lens with a 123-caste field of view. Up forepart is a 10MP selfie photographic camera. Unfortunately, you don't go a telephoto zoom with the Flip.

Samsung Milky way Z Fold 3 vs. Milky way Z Flip 3 software and special features

If yous like to multitask, the Galaxy Z Fold 3 is the ameliorate selection for yous. The Z Fold iii lets y'all sew together to three apps on the screen at one time, and it's also working with third-party developers to optimize their apps for the Fold iii'due south large display. Microsoft Part, Snapchat, Netflix, Spotify, YouTube and TikTok are merely some of the apps getting improve.

The Z Fold 3 is besides the get-go foldable phone to work with the South Pen, so you tin can take notes on screen, draw and more. Yous can choose from the Milky way Z Fold S Pen edition ($49) for go the beefier Bluetooth-enabled Due south Pen Pro ($99). Y'all can also get a example with the S Pen included for $79.

The Galaxy Z Flip 3 has some special features of its own, starting with its ane.9-inch cover display. This touchscreen lets you interact with several widgets, including weather condition, notifications and music playback. Plus, y'all can take photos and videos using the cover display with just a press of the power button, which comes in handy for selfies.

Another Galaxy Z Flip iii perk is Flex mode. A number of apps take advantage of the foldable display then that they brandish content on top and controls on the bottom, such every bit the Camera app and YouTube. And more are on the manner. Nosotros as well like that you tin can employ Flex mode to brand hands-gratuitous video calls, enabling y'all to perch the Z Fold three well-nigh anywhere like a mini tripod.

However, note that the Milky way Z Fold 3 also supports Flex style, making it the more versatile phone overall.

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3 vs. Galaxy Z Flip iii performance

The Milky way Z Fold 3 and Z Flip 3 are powered past the aforementioned Snapdragon 888 processor, so you lot should expect similar performance. However, the Z Fold 3 has more RAM with 12GB, while the Z Flip iii has less with 8GB. And so the Z Fold 3 might be a flake amend running multiple apps at in one case.

In the Geekbench 5 benchmark, for case, the Milky way Z Flip 3 scored 2,984 in the multicore portion of the test, compared to 3,418 for the Milky way Z Fold 3.

The Z Fold 3 also has a storage reward, as it comes with 256GB standard. You tin also spring for a 512GB model. The Z Flip 3 makes due with 128GB with a 256GB choice.

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3 vs. Galaxy Z Flip 3 battery life and charging

At that place are actually large differences here betwixt the Milky way Z Fold iii and Z Flip 3, both in terms of bombardment life and charging. The Galaxy Z Fold 3 packs a iv,400 mAh dual battery, so information technology should be able to last yous all day. The Galaxy Z Flip 3 has a considerably smaller 3,300 mAh battery.

On the Tom'southward Guide battery test, the Z Fold 3 lasted 7 hours and 52 minutes, which is okay but shorter than the handsets on our best phone battery life listing. The Galaxy Z Flip three lasted a much shorter five:43.

The Milky way Z Fold 3 has an advantage in fast charging as well, with the ability to support 25W charging. Meanwhile, the Z Flip 3 maxes out at but 15W. Simply go along in mind that neither telephone comes with a charger, so you'll have to purchase one if yous don't have a USB-C charger handy.

In our testing, the Milky way Z Flip iii got to 44% in 30 minutes, while the Galaxy Z Fold 3 got to 47% in the same amount of time.

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold three vs. Galaxy Z Flip 3: Bottom line

Samsung Galaxy Unpacked August 2022 — (Epitome credit: Tom'due south Guide)

Overall, the Milky way Z Fold iii and Milky way Z Flip 3 are for very different target audiences. The Z Fold 3 is for power users who similar the idea of having a phone and tablet in one device and are willing to pay a premium for that versatility. And Samsung now rewards your sticker shock with S Pen support, a more durable pattern and improved multitasking features and apps.

However, we wish the Z Fold 3 had an Southward Pen built in. For that, we may need to wait for the rumored Galaxy Z Fold 4. A thinner pattern would exist nice, besides.

The Galaxy Z Flip 3 is all most style and having fun, and information technology's $999 price is very tempting for those who have been sitting out the foldable phone revolution. You take to make some trade-offs versus other flagship phones in terms of the cameras and battery life, but it could be worth it for you.

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Mark Spoonauer is the global editor in master of Tom's Guide and has covered technology for nearly 20 years. In addition to overseeing the management of Tom'south Guide, Mark specializes in covering all things mobile, having reviewed dozens of smartphones and other gadgets. He has spoken at key industry events and appears regularly on TV to talk over the latest trends. Mark was previously editor in chief of Laptop Mag, and his piece of work has appeared in Wired, Popular Science and Inc. Follow him on Twitter at @mspoonauer.