The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip and the Samsung Galaxy S21 have a lot in common and share a lot of features. Both phones have high-end features, cool features, and great features, and they’re both $700 smartphones. The Galaxy S21 has a sleek body, a USB Type-C port, and is water-resistant. The Galaxy Z Flip has a unique design, a fingerprint scanner, and a removable battery. Both phones have been rumoured to be getting an iPhone 12-style design and software, but are these rumours true, and which phone is worth your hard-earned money?
If you’re looking for a smartphone with a large screen and few bezels, you should take a look at the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip. The phone looks similar to the S21, but it boasts a larger 5.6-inch display, giving it a much larger screen than the S21. So, is that enough to justify the higher price? We think this is a hard to answer question, but we’ll start with the positives. The Z Flip features a plastic body that’s really durable and feels great in the hand. The phone is also offered in a ton of different colors, making it a great choice for those who like changing their looks with their phone. The phone is also powerful and
Which is better, the Galaxy Z Flip or the S21? That is a difficult question to answer, and the answer is it depends. The Z Flip is arguably the more powerful phone, featuring a 5.5 inch display and larger battery, but the S21 has an edge as the camera is significantly better. Both the S21 and Z Flip are attractive phones, but if you get the S21, you’re doing yourself a big favor.
CNN —
For the last three years, Samsung has been pounding the foldable drum. While it took Samsung a generation and a half to get the rhythm just right, the company now offers two different versions of what a foldable phone may be. The Galaxy Z Fold is a high-end smartphone that transforms into a tablet-like gadget. Then there’s the Galaxy Z Flip, which is more stylish and more cheap.
However, none of them — nor any foldables — have yet to reach the level of affordability that other top smartphones have. The original Galaxy Z Flip cost $1,380, while the Z Fold is over $2,000 in price. With the Galaxy Z Flip 3, though, that is changing.
The Galaxy Z Flip 3 5G now has a more polished look, flagship-level specifications, and a $999 price tag. It’s now a mass-market competitor based on pricing alone, competing with the iPhone 12 Pro and Galaxy S21 as a phone that will not only grab your eye, but also fit into your budget.
So have foldables worked out their kinks? Are you giving up anything by opting for the fold? Does it fix the issue of a green bubble? We’ve spent three days thus far with the Z Flip 3, so let’s dive in.
CNN/Jacob Krol
The Galaxy Z Flip 3 is a well-rounded smartphone that comes with all of the essential features to be called a flagship at $999.
It all begins with a 1.9-inch cover screen that can be used to check the clock, swipe through alerts (and dismiss them), and control music, among other things. The 6.7-inch Infinity Flex AMOLED display with a tiny notch at the top is revealed when the Z Flip 3 is opened. It’s contemporary in every way, including the 120 Hz refresh rate, and although it’s not as stiff as a traditional panel, we have no immediate worries. However, keep in mind that all foldables have a crease in the screen.
The screen is 30 percent stronger than the original, according to Samsung, and it still includes two nibs on the bottom left and right corners for safe opening and closing. You may use this method to force the phone to shut off. Samsung continues to use the hidden hinge, which ensures a smooth open or closure while also preventing dirt from entering the display. Along with the Z Fold 3, the Z Flip 3 is the first foldable with an IPX8 water resistant certification. It can thus withstand 1.5 meters of water for 30 minutes. Although we wouldn’t suggest putting the Z Flip 3 through this, we did use it in the rain and it worked well. However, there is still no dust resistance here.
The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 3 is a premium flagship smartphone with just a few flaws, most notably in the photography department. Here’s how it compares to the Galaxy S21+ and iPhone 12 Pro, two similarly priced flagships.
CNN/Jacob Krol
The Galaxy S21+ and the Z Flip 3 are almost similar. The Samsung S21+ is ideal for people who prefer a more traditional experience with three lenses to select from while shooting pictures. The Z Flip 3 is a flex-focused folding smartphone with a more compact and pocketable form factor.
Both have a 6.7-inch display with a 120 Hz refresh rate and an 8-gigabyte RAM Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 CPU. They run Android 11 with Samsung One UI, with some modifications for the Z Flip to take use of the folding features. On the topic of cameras, they both feature a tiny notch on the front that houses a 10-megapixel camera that is identical.
If zooming is important to you, the S21 is the obvious option, since it comes with a dedicated telephoto lens. It’s a 64-megapixel telephoto lens that can zoom in 3x optically and up to 30x utilizing Space Zoom to capture a lot of information. That’s a marketing phrase from Samsung, but it blends optical and digital zoom for a clean picture on occasion. Both the Z Flip 3 and the S21 have the identical 12-megapixel wide and 12-megapixel ultrawide lenses, so you have two options for capturing images in almost any situation. However, the telephoto lens on the Z Flip 3 is sorely lacking, particularly considering the price tag of almost $1,000.
Both the Z Flip 3 and the S21+ operate well and quickly as contemporary smartphones. Almost all applications have enough of space to breathe, even for more intensive activities like creative editing or on-the-go gaming. They both have out-of-the-box compatibility for 5G, mmWave, and Sub-6.
It all boils down to the fold and that extra lens in the end. The Z Flip 3 isn’t your typical flip phone. It can be folded in half and conveniently stowed in a pocket. The Galaxy S21+ fits into the traditional contemporary smartphone mold and performs well in it, plus the extra lens is ideal for picture enthusiasts.
They’re both $999.99, but Samsung is giving substantial trade-in discounts and a variety of promotional incentives.
CNN/Jacob Krol
The most apparent distinction between these two smartphones is iOS vs. Android, which is mostly a matter of personal taste. With the exception of Apple’s services, both platforms have app equivalents. FaceTime will be available on the web, and therefore on Android smartphones, but there is currently no official workaround for iMessage. On Android, Apple Music is accessible in the Play Store, while on iOS, most of Google’s services are available in the App Store. However, both the Z Flip 3 and the iPhone 12 Pro provide a quick experience in daily usage. Both the Apple A14 Bionic and Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 use the most up-to-date processing standards.
Both feature OLED screens, which deliver a crisp and accurate viewing experience. The 6.1-inch display on the iPhone 12 Pro tends to exaggerate colors less and is smaller than the Galaxy Z Flip 3’s 6.7-inch AMOLED display. We’d also say that the iPhone 12 Pro has an entirely glass display, while the Z Flip 3 is a mixture. Both feel strong and are responsive in use.
Face ID, enabled by the True Depth Sensor on the iPhone 12 Pro, pushes for authentication. It’s a quick and secure method to unlock your phone, but it’s not the most practical in these age of masks. The Z Flip 3 features a fingerprint sensor integrated into the power button, which makes it a perfect method to unlock your phone in the event of a pandemic. In our tests, it was also very responsive.
The iPhone 12 Pro from Apple is the finest method to just point and shoot. The A14 Bionic chip, when coupled with the image processing, produces a superb picture almost 99.9% of the time. You may also choose between three different lenses at all 12 megapixels. When you use a wider lens, you won’t have to sacrifice picture quality. The 12 Pro also has a LiDAR sensor, which aids auto focus in low-light situations and speeds up the process.
The Z Flip lacks several of these characteristics, but it does feature a 12-megapixel wide and 12-megapixel ultrawide sensor, which is about half of the equation of the iPhone 12. Samsung has a plethora of settings — sometimes too many — and has gotten into the habit of not increasing picture saturation. Although it is a more realistic experience, processing times may take a little longer. We’ve included some test photos below, however the iPhone favors a colder image, while the Z Flip 3 favors warmer tones. It’s a toss-up when it comes to selfies, but the iPhone 12 Pro lacks a cover screen, which is essentially the ultimate selfie viewfinder.
Apart from software, physical factor, and the extra lens, these two $999 smartphones have a lot in common. If you don’t want a large phone, we recommend the 12 Pro right away. When the Z Flip 3 is completely extended, it is simpler to grasp in the hand and takes up less room. The 12 Pro, on the other hand, loses the ability to fold and has a fascinating new form factor that allows it to slip into smaller pockets.
CNN/Jacob Krol
We’re not ready to give the Z Flip 3 our final verdict, but it’s one of the most polished foldables we’ve seen to far, and it’s certainly the best choice for someone who won’t settle for a smartphone that doesn’t fold.
However, the issue arises: do you need a foldable? Especially at the $999 Z Flip 3 price point, the answer is most likely no. We believe that certain power users would benefit greatly from a device like the Z Fold 3, particularly with the new multitasking capabilities that let you to utilize any program with several windows.
Samsung has created an engaging gadget, and the small clamshell form factor is appealing. We’ll also agree that the cover screen is very nice, and the widgets let you to do a lot more with it. Apart from the fact that it’s foldable, there’s nothing special about it. It’s a fascinating gadget that’s also quite adorable.
The iPhone 12 Pro or Galaxy S21+ are the best choices for most individuals. We’d even suggest the $799 iPhone 12 if you don’t need a telephoto lens, or the S21 if you want a smaller screen. You won’t have to worry about durability, and you’ll still be able to use a contemporary smartphone.
Foldables aren’t quite popular yet, and that won’t happen until we see more acceptance from other phone manufacturers. The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 3 is the most stunning effort at a cheap foldable smartphone, and it’s worth a look for anyone looking for a more compact handset or the newest tech breakthrough. In our complete review, we’ll go over the Z Flip 3 in detail.
November 21st marks the release of two new smartphones, one Samsung, and the other Apple. Both of these new devices are some of the most anticipated smartphones of the year, and although their release date is still over a month away, their reviews and initial sales have already begun.. Read more about samsung galaxy s21 z and let us know what you think.
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