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Phones Samsung Z Fold 3
- Thread starter The Game 161
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Yeah, I've always found it really annoying how tech reviewers tend to all get on the same bandwagon to bash one single issue ad nauseam. After a while it just feels like they're not even testing the device for themselves but just watching the other videos and repeating the same complaint without really putting it into any context of their own. With the iPhone 12 Pro Max it was "ommmmmg it's so huuuuuuuuge" when it was just a few mm larger than the previous Max and a ton of other phones.
That said though, I can understand at least part of the criticism against Samsung's choice with that UDC. For example, now and then my wallet starts twitching a bit for getting the Fold, and one feature I've always wanted to have is that thing where you can bend it to ca 90 degrees and put it down to be a perfect video call device on the go, like a mini laptop. For that it'd kind of suck to have a drastically lowered quality display side camera.
And for normal selfies too. They're not only for self obsessed social media posers. These days I'm spending a lot of time with my mom who is very ill, and selfies have come to mean something totally new to me; we capture these precious moments together and share with the family, and its invaluable. For that I could definitely benefit from having a larger display like the Fold's to position ourselves within. So there again the low quality cam is a bit of a disappointing choice. I wouldn't be happy paying big bucks for the Fold 3 only to struggle to get me and mom into the Snickers size outer display when we want to take a photo of us together.
Their choice might have been easier to understand had the display been totally undisturbed by the cam, I mean if it had been virtually invisible. As it stands, I would much rather have had a better quality camera but moved as far into the corner as possible. Maybe if they'd put the same effort into that, they might have got it to sit really right in the corner and out of the way.
I had a mess around on one in Curry’s (uk store for anyone not familiar) on Saturday, I was very impressed.
Oh they have them in pc world? I’ve got one in my town centre. I was gonna go to O2 as someone on Reddit said they were on display in there but I will check out Pc world first.
I would definitely agree as far as phones holding value. Samsung does hold a higher standard of trade-in for their products (as Apple would for theirs). My Note 20 Ultra at launch was $1,400. Samsung offered me $850. Thats roughly 60% value after a year. I will say that its the highest trade-in value I've ever been offered. Even Apple doesn't give $800 on their last gen phones when going to current. Try trading in a 512 GB 12 Pro Max and only getting $500-$550.Isn’t that approximately $3600 USD (or more depending on storage options) in original retail prices for those phones? I understand that phones are not an investment, nor generally hold much value but that’s doesn’t exactly feel like a great value, IMO.
Certainly not judging though..almost a prerequiste to be a serial phone user/flipper to hang in this forum.
Then maybe your not susceptible to these subtle presentation tricks, that good to hear
But to me its quite noticeable that most of these reviewers tend to do flat on behind the camera close-ups of screens or the 180 degrees where the phones are in the foreground but still flat on and reviewer in background
Without being all nerdy I quickly scrubbed through on YouTube at his last few reviews on Iphone 13 models, purple Iphone, why iphone features were late, etc before my previous posting to check it was not by chance
Other than some snaps on cases or back of the Iphone, he almost never uses a quartering angle shots of screen in the few I looked at, agreed not conclusive but enough for me to observe, but not you.
Now its almost too easy to grab these on the Fold 3 review and there are plenty more
Even some of the straight on shots were deliberately with white/black contrast to again make the crease more predominant
These guys make 100's of video per year and are well aware of lighting and angles.
His lips may say one thing his directing says another subtly IMO
PS I ignored the USC as you can only see that impact from quartering
Stop it want one
and maybe you can helpAfter 2 years break I finally getting a trip back to blighty now I have had my 2 jabs here in Malaysia
That's the good news, the bad is it clashes with release dates here and I am likely to miss it
However I noticed compared to here the trade in's on my Note 20U is 650 ukp where only 350ukp here, but the Fold is cheaper, so comes to similar amount overall and my usual sources that buy my old stuff are feeling the pinch so can't sell my note so easily elsewhere
I cannot see in the trade in deals if the phone must be a UK version you trade in , also I assume the UK ones are unlocked but are they esim enabled too ?
Appreciate some advice
Yeah they did, though the one near me has Carphone Warehouse inside, not sure if all Curry's now have them.
I have no doubt. I also hate the lazy comps with the Flip. They are two different devices aimed at two different audiences. No, it’s not just about phones that fold. What do they do? Why do they do what they do?
They’re lazy and entitled.
Playing with the Fold 2 for the first time a few weeks ago convinced me 3 would be the one. Handling the device tells you Samsung “gets it”.
We are going to look back on these folds same as we did the original note. Tech reviewers mocked, guess who got it right.
Bingo
Galaxy Z Flip 3 and Galaxy Z Fold 3 buyers are nothing alike, survey finds
The demographics buying Samsung's latest two foldable smartphones have surprisingly little in common, according to a new market survey. Namely, ...
Was showing my wife the various Fold unboxing/review videos and her first response was “if Apple did one I’d probably get it”.
I expect that will be the same opinion of the general public.
Samsung are doing a great job with every iteration of these it has to be said.
I expect that will be the same opinion of the general public.
Samsung are doing a great job with every iteration of these it has to be said.
I'm glad Samsung added water resistance and S-Pen support but for me to personally purchase I want a less noticeable crease and an under display camera that I truly can't see until I'm using it. But I get why Samsung made these choices, as the Z-line is where Samsung takes risks and is willing to try new tech that isn't fully developed yet.
I feel a bit underwhelmed by the downgrade from 10mp to 4mp on the inner display cam (which is the camera I use the most on the phone). I mean the trade-off of an underdisplay camera (in the current state) is weak. The disorienting pixels on the camera module (which are clearly visible) are not worth it. I will happily keep my Fold 2 for that matter. But for the people who are going to experience foldable phones for the first time; enjoy it
From what I understand the sensor on the newer 4mp lets in almost twice the light, so that will make a positive difference, especially with low light content. I haven't seen the camera pixels yet in person so have to withhold judgement, but from what I understand it's the worst on a white background. I'm not 100% if I'm keeping mine since it will now just be a tablet for me, as I'm forced to go back to an iPhone for a daily driver. I may just keep my Fold 2 and save the money.
Just back from my first ever hands on with a fold. I tried to go in the morning but the store didn’t have any on display so I waited until this afternoon when I was taking my son for his opticians appointment to have a quick look. I’d like to go back again when I don’t have my son with me and I can take as long as I want lol
Impressions are very good. It was tethered down to the display so I couldn’t hold it. However it felt very sturdy and compact. I didn’t even notice the crease. I felt like it was a perfect size as an iPad mini owner. The ipad mini has a lot of unnecessary bezel. This is very compact. A perfect size for reading news articles and even books. It didn’t feel like to would be heavy, although I couldn’t hold it. The 12 pro max is a chonker anyway and I’ve had so many big and cumbersome phones over the years and not had any issues. The display being UTG didn’t bother me. Maybe it’s because I’ve been using glass screen protectors on all my devices for years, that I’m not familiar with the feel of glass anyway.
I think the only potential drawback for me could be camera quality. I’ve accepted that it won’t be as good as the S21 ultra, however I‘d like to see some samples from the main cameras and see what the software improvements are.
I will go back and have some more hands on time with it.
I saw the Z flip 3 too. It looked very nice but I couldn’t fold it because of the way it was tethered to the display.
What I will say about both of the devices is that I was impressed by how well made they were. They are very high quality. You would’t think that they were cutting edge technology due to the high level of polish.
Here is a long hands on video from the Samsung store in Westfield that I found on youTube. I wish I had a Samsung store near me.
Impressions are very good. It was tethered down to the display so I couldn’t hold it. However it felt very sturdy and compact. I didn’t even notice the crease. I felt like it was a perfect size as an iPad mini owner. The ipad mini has a lot of unnecessary bezel. This is very compact. A perfect size for reading news articles and even books. It didn’t feel like to would be heavy, although I couldn’t hold it. The 12 pro max is a chonker anyway and I’ve had so many big and cumbersome phones over the years and not had any issues. The display being UTG didn’t bother me. Maybe it’s because I’ve been using glass screen protectors on all my devices for years, that I’m not familiar with the feel of glass anyway.
I think the only potential drawback for me could be camera quality. I’ve accepted that it won’t be as good as the S21 ultra, however I‘d like to see some samples from the main cameras and see what the software improvements are.
I will go back and have some more hands on time with it.
I saw the Z flip 3 too. It looked very nice but I couldn’t fold it because of the way it was tethered to the display.
What I will say about both of the devices is that I was impressed by how well made they were. They are very high quality. You would’t think that they were cutting edge technology due to the high level of polish.
Here is a long hands on video from the Samsung store in Westfield that I found on youTube. I wish I had a Samsung store near me.
I have to say after hands on with it this morning this just might be the most impressive aspect of the phone to me. That inside 7.6” display looks way sharper by than its 374 PPI would suggest. Switching back and forth to the sharper by pixel density cover display at close viewing distances was jarring.
Attachments
Here is some more information on the inside display. https://www.anandtech.com/show/16887/samsung-display-announces-polarizerless-oled-with-25-less-power
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Thanks for posting @Shanghaichica this is the first video I've seen where someone is using the SPen on the crease. I'm glad to see that it doesn't seem to effect writing or drawing on the screen. The amount of technology Samsung into this phone is amazing!
Then maybe your not susceptible to these subtle presentation tricks, that good to hear
But to me its quite noticeable that most of these reviewers tend to do flat on behind the camera close-ups of screens or the 180 degrees where the phones are in the foreground but still flat on and reviewer in background
Without being all nerdy I quickly scrubbed through on YouTube at his last few reviews on Iphone 13 models, purple Iphone, why iphone features were late, etc before my previous posting to check it was not by chance
Other than some snaps on cases or back of the Iphone, he almost never uses a quartering angle shots of screen in the few I looked at, agreed not conclusive but enough for me to observe, but not you.
Now its almost too easy to grab these on the Fold 3 review and there are plenty more
View attachment 1819410
Even some of the straight on shots were deliberately with white/black contrast to again make the crease more predominant
These guys make 100's of video per year and are well aware of lighting and angles.
His lips may say one thing his directing says another subtly IMO
PS I ignored the USC as you can only see that impact from quartering
Tbh, I own a Fold 2 - and I don't know what else he could have done.
You need studio lights to film - and you can't always film a device straight on. Off angle, or with any reflective lights, is always going to show off the crease.
Remember that in that video you're referring to above - reviewers got access to the device 2 hours before the event. That's not enough time to do any clever directing!
They got the better deal financially Lol
I understand your point but it's likely you can scrub through many of his videos even other ones where he had limited time as you note and you are likely to see far less quartering camera angles
These guy have their studios set up and know lighting etc day in day out
Played with one at Best Buy yesterday, as well as the Flip. Both are extremely cool devices. Big negative for me is that the Fold is quite thick when closed, especially compared to the Duo. Other than that I really like them, especially the Flip. I look forward to seeing what Apple comes up with in this space
I cant quite understand Samsung's website. Over the last few days their prices on things vary wildly. They had a deal running in the Shop Samsung app where you could get the 512GB version for cheaper than the 256GB version, with a slight loss of promo code money. Now, the Fold Ecosystem bundle is somehow $100 cheaper. So, by trading in my S21 Ultra and 2 hold Active watches, I managed to get the Fold 3 256GB, spen case, Watch 4 Classic, and Buds 2 for $960.
Bargain.
Bargain.
