We’ve seen patents. We’ve seen low-resolution screenshots. But finally, at long last, we have high-resolution, clear-as-day images of the alleged Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3 and a sneak peek at the clamshell foldable Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 3.
The presumed renders come courtesy of noted leaker Evan Blass, and they look a lot like marketing materials, complete with a font that looks like the kind used by Samsung on its website and store.
Of course, there’s every chance the images could be photos of live devices rather than renders. Either way, they do look official.
Not always. https://t.co/SzBFpRKF5s pic.twitter.com/uf6rJAQhliJune 24, 2021
Per the leaked pictures, not too much has changed from last year’s models, which is news in and of itself. The Z Fold 3 looks very similar to the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 2, with a more matte finish on the back cover, smaller camera block – more of a bump around the vertically-aligned trio of lenses rather than the broad rectangle in the Z Fold 2 – and the same wide power/lock button and volume button rocker on the right side.
The big thing to notice is the S Pen stylus leaning on the phone in the second image with ‘Fold Edition’ printed on it, seemingly confirming rumors that the foldable would get S Pen support. It’s tough to tell whether there’s an S Pen slot, which rumors suggest the Z Fold 3 won’t have, but screen compatibility with a stylus is still a big deal considering the foldable’s flexible display (which we expect to be the same as its predecessor’s plastic OLED material).
What about the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 3?
Also portrayed in that first tweeted image Blass leaked is the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 3 (styled the Flip3 5G in the pic). While we’d seen our first sneak peek of the foldable in an alleged clip of a marketing video, this is a much cleaner look at the clamshell foldable – and since it supports that first look, we’re more confident that this is closer to the final design.
Based on this look, the Flip 3 improves the original Samsung Galaxy Z Flip’s and Flip 5G’s biggest setback: its tiny, barely-visible 1.1-inch external display. While the new screen isn’t huge – i looks like it doesn’t stretch all the way across the phone’s width – it does look three to four times as large as the original’s outside screen. Perhaps more exciting: the two outside lenses look even bigger than on the prior Flip phones, suggesting its photo capabilities will get even better.