Last year it was the Galaxy Z Fold 2, that won, but this year it’s the Galaxy Z Flip 3. A big reason for that is price and the functionality of the Flip. The Galaxy Z Flip 3 is appealing more to everyone than the Fold 3 is, and that’s because of its size. And let’s not forget that it also brings back memories of the flip phone era. The price makes it a lot more appealing since it is essentially the same as a regular, non-folding flagship smartphone.
Samsung continued pushing the foldable envelope in 2021
The Galaxy Z Flip 3 saw quite a few changes from the previous generation, but they were all somewhat small. This is actually Samsung’s second iteration of the Galaxy Z Flip, but technically the third model. As they released the Galaxy Z Flip last year, then the Galaxy Z Flip 5G, and this year they went to Galaxy Z Flip 3. Likely to keep the names in line with the Galaxy Z Fold 3 – Samsung’s other foldable. Like the Cover Display is now larger, so you can see multiple notifications at once. It’s also now waterproof. Which is quite the feat for a foldable phone. All around, it’s more durable this year. But perhaps the most important aspect of the Galaxy Z Flip 3 this year is the fact that it is now under $1,000. Allowing it to really compete with other flagship smartphones on the market today. At $999, it’s the same price as most other smartphones, which helped Samsung to gain more market share. The internal display got updated to 120Hz this time around, and it’s not a weird aspect ratio like some other foldables. Making it still very usable. Particularly for multi-tasking, since it’s a 21:9 aspect ratio. It’s really incredible that you can fold a 6.7-inch display smartphone in half and fit it in your pocket. It means that you don’t need larger pockets for your phones. Which is a much bigger deal for women these days, since their pockets are very small and shallow. We’ve started to see more foldables coming from other competitors recently, but none of them are able to compete with Samsung just yet. Samsung has been working on foldables for nearly a decade already, starting with its curved displays back at CES in 2013. And now we’re really starting to see that work pay off. That is how Samsung is able to sell the Galaxy Z Flip 3 for such a low price, as it is mass-producing the components, making it cheaper to make. The fact that Samsung is continuing to push foldables into the mainstream helped make the decision easy for the AndroidHeadlines award for the Best Foldable Smartphone in 2021, and the Galaxy Z Flip 3 earned this award.
