Galaxy Z Flip 3: Samsung launches new clamshell folding smartphone with headphones and watch

The phone is more durable and is now waterproof, with a new sub-£1000 price tag

(Samsung)

Samsung has announced its new foldable device, the Galaxy Z Flip 3.

The new clamshell foldable launched alongside the Galaxy Z Fold 3 and its Galaxy Watch 4, as well as a new pair of Galaxy Buds headphones.

The phone folds in half, horizontally, across its 6.7-inch 2640-by-1080-pixel screen which also features a 120hz adaptive refresh rate, which will make it better for gaming. In order to ensure that users can check their notifications without having to open the phone, there is a small display on the outer side - although one that Samsung has made larger.

Compared to the original Galaxy Z Flip, which had a 1-inch display, this one has a 1.9-inch display and can show the date, time, notifications, and a preview of selfies taken with the main camera.

That camera is made up of two lenses, a 12MP f/1.8 wide-angle lens, and another 12MP f/2.2 ultra-wide. Flipping the phone up reveals the 10MP f/2.4 selfie camera.

Inside is 8GB of RAM, and storage starts at 128GB, with a 3300 mAh battery which, like the Galaxy Z Fold 3, Samsung says should last ‘all day’.

The device is running Android 11, and Samsung says that it has worked with Google and Microsoft to make sure that apps work better in a foldable format. Microsoft Teams, for example, can be used when the phone is bent so that the device can stand on its own, making it more convenient to conference. Microsoft Outlook, meanwhile, can be used in a dual-pane mode “just like a desktop experience”.

Much like its larger foldable sibling, Samsung has given this device an IPX8 water resistance rating so it can survive in liquid as deep as 1.5 meters for 30 minutes and has also made the housing stronger so that it will better survive drops when the device is open and closed - which Conor Pierce, Corporate VP at Samsung UK, told The Independent are the major features that foldable consumers were looking for.

Perhaps most importantly though is the price: Samsung has dropped the Galaxy Z Fold 3 to sub-£1000. The 128GB-storage version is priced at £949, while the larger 256GB is only £50 more at £999.