5 reasons why you should upgrade to the Galaxy Z Flip3 5G coming from an old iPhone

If you are coming from an old iPhone and you are looking for a new smartphone, one of the most attractive devices to check out for us is Samsung's new Galaxy Z Flip3 5G.

It looks like your regular Android flagship, but it is not...

With a starting price of PHP 52,990, the Galaxy Z Flip3 5G is the South Korean firm's attempt to bring the flagship foldable smartphone experience at a more affordable price point. (Remember that the Galaxy Z Flip last year without 5G initially retailed for PHP 79,990.)

So without any further ado, these are the reasons why you should consider the new Samsung flip phone as your next buddy.

5 reasons why you should upgrade to the Galaxy Z Flip3 5G coming from an old iPhone:

Compact when folded

1. Fresh, durable, and pocketable design - The iPhone has a battle-tested design that is premium-looking. But, we won't be surprised if you have grown tired of it as it hasn't changed its design much since the iPhone X.

So, if you want something fresh or new, the Z Flip3 5G could be it.

Why? First, the design is very different from any iPhone model. In fact, it is different from most smartphones in the world. It's like a fashion accessory that goes in a clamshell-like body that flips. No pun intended.

It has a glossy two-tone back cover design in Lavender, Cream, Green, and a matte finish in Phantom Black with a vertically-aligned dual-camera setup on the upper left portion.

Second, it has two displays. The first one is the new large cover display. It uses a 1.9-inch Super AMOLED secondary display with 512 x 260 resolution (302 ppi). This could be even customized to display date, time, battery level, notifications, and more. Yes, you can even capture crisp selfies without opening your phone.

Then the main display is a foldable 6.7-inch "Dynamic AMOLED 2X Infinix Flex Display" with a small punch-hole for the selfie camera.

Durable build

Third, it was built with durability in mind. When you think of foldable smartphones, they aren't expected to be as durable as regular phones. But, that is not the case with the Galaxy Z Flip3 5G.

The material they used is obviously glass with a metal frame making it as premium as any other high-end smartphone.

At the back, it has the Gorilla Glass Victus protection by Corning. For more info about Gorilla Glass Victus, click here. This is the strongest type of glass protection for smartphones yet, designed to scratch less and last longer.

In front, Samsung used ultra-thin glass (Infinity Flex) instead of plastic like most foldable smartphones today. In addition, it has a pre-installed screen protector to further protect its main display.

Samsung also improved its hinge. The Korean firm said that it could survive an average opening and closing of 100 times a day for more than 5 years (tested 200,000 times). Similar to the first flip, it even has a special brush inside the hinge to keep the mechanism free of dirt.

Samsung also said that the new frame is made from "Armor Aluminum" which is the strongest material the company has used in a smartphone. Moreover, this is the first time that a foldable smartphone has an IPX8 water-resistance rating.

It may not be resistant to dust like other premium Samsung devices, but aside from its Galaxy Z Fold3 5G cousin, who has water resistance on a foldable smartphone today? Nada.

Lastly, since you can fold this handset, it is very pocketable. When folded, it measures just 86.4 x 72.2 x 15.9-17.1 mm. When unfolded, it is still quite small at 166.0 x 72.2 x 6.9 mm.

For the weight, it is just 183 grams light despite having all thesew hardware.

Look at that display!

2. Buttery-smooth display - Apart from being flexible (literally), the Galaxy Z Flip3 5G is equipped with a tall, vibrant, and bright display.

The handset is packed with a 6.7-inch large main display with a wide 22:9 aspect ratio. Moreover, it has slim bezels on all four corners, unlike other phones with thick chins making this handset have an even more immersive viewing experience.

The main display also has up to a 120Hz refresh rate that makes the phone's animation more fluid, scrolling faster, and a more responsive and smoother gaming experience on titles supporting HFR or High Frame Rate modes.

This handset also has a crisp enough FHD+ 2640 x 1080 resolution at 426 ppi with HDR10+ support allowing it to produce more life-like yet punchy enough colors.

Like all inward folding phones, the crease will be a bit visible on a closer look. But, with regular usage, you will hardly notice it when viewing photos, watching movie clips, and simply browsing or texting.

Among all the flip folding phones in the market, this has the best main display yet for us.

The Cover Screen is love!

Moreover, it has a second display called the "Cover Screen". This can be used to check your notifications in a glance, scroll through notifications or even see messages, check your schedule, display date and time, use the timer, set the alarm, control favorite apps with widgets on the display, sync with devices' clock faces, customize its wallpaper, and even take selfies using the primary cameras via Quick Shot by double-pressing the power key/fingerprint scanner.

Cover Screen customization and Flex Mode interface

Lastly, it has the Hands-Free Flex Mode that can make you use your phone hands-free by standing it up on a surface.

So, when folded into an "L" shape, your device will turn into Flex mode. In the Flex mode, the layout of supported apps will automatically change for better controls. For example, on the Gallery app, the lower portion of the display will be the touchpad where you can swipe left or right and zoom in or out by pinching.

It also has the hands-free selfie mode on the camera app that can take images by simply showing your palm. So, even if you are alone, just put your phone on a table and you can take selfies as if someone else took your picture. Convenient right?

Look at that speed!

3. It is blazing fast - 2.84GHz 5nm Snapdragon 888 octa-core processor, Adreno 660, 8GB RAM, up to 256GB storage. The chip it is using is the gold standard in high-end Android smartphones of 2021. Do I need to say more?

This simply means that it can run any app, game, and heavy tasks found on Android smartphones with ease. We are also impressed that it was able to maintain reasonable temperatures unlike other smartphones with the same chipset allowing you to enjoy its blazing-fast performance for a longer period of time.

Genshin Impact at max settings? Playable!

Using this phone, we never had issues playing Call of Duty: Mobile, Mobile Legends: Bang Bang, and many more. For heavier games like Genshin Impact, max settings (60fps) are playable.

Mobile content creators will also enjoy a less lag-free overall experience even while editing your photos and videos straight from the phone.

The battery at 3,300mAh can last around 8 hours on a single charge under casual usage. It also has support for 15W USB-C charging, wireless charging, and even reverse wireless charging (Wireless PowerShare).

Moreover, it has the ever-improving One UI skin based on Android 11. It's clean, intuitive, smooth, and feature-rich. Samsung even has a promise of several major OS updates and consistent security updates.

Not bad!

Now and future-ready!

4. 5G connectivity is the name of the game - The Snapdragon 888 chip of this handset has a built-in 5G modem. In particular, it uses the Snapdragon X60 5G Modem-RF System with global 5G support.

If the high-end phone in 2021 doesn't have 5G, don't get it. 5G will allow you to enjoy faster connectivity and download speeds, ultra-low latency, greater bandwidth, superior network reliability, and the ability to connect to more devices.

Even the lowest 5G speed we got is faster than the average 4G speed in the country

In our experience, we were able to achieve a max speed of 515 Mbps with an upload speed of 28 Mbps using Globe's network. The lowest we got is 110 Mbps.

In comparison, the download speed for Mobile in the Philippines grew to 35.03 Mbps as of September 2021, but it is still slower than the lowest download speed we got during the test.

We tested its 5G network performance in our place in Cainta Rizal, roads of Pasig City, BGC, and Ortigas.

As expected, due to Samsung's good antenna design, the Z Flip3 5G has a slightly more consistent signal reception even against our iPhone 12 Pro Max using the same network. It can also go toe-to-toe with most high-end smartphones with 5G connectivity in overall speed and reliability.

Just make sure that you are using a 5G-ready SIM (most 4G SIM cards are 5G-ready) in a 5G-ready location. At the moment, only Smart and Globe have 5G in the country. Third telco DITO has yet to launch its 5G services.

With the help of its 5G network, we were able to enjoy downloading apps at super-fast speeds, lag-free gaming, and streaming without interruption. Moreover, telcos today like Globe and Smart are already offering unlimited 5G promos.

Oh by the way, apart from 5G, it has WiFi 6 that is so much faster, more reliable, and better than the previous WiFi tech. Once connected to a home internet solution that is using a WiFi 6 router with high data plans, ENJOY.

5. Wait what? An affordable price tag for a foldable? - Coming from the original Flip with a starting SRP of PHP 79,990 in Feb 2020, the Galaxy Z Flip3 5G with all the upgrades retails for a starting price tag of just PHP 52,990 for the 128GB model and PHP 56,990 for the 256GB version.

Yes, PHP 52,990 is still a lot of money. But, if you are used to buying iPhones, this is considered value-packed considering all the innovations Samsung added with this device.

Plus, compared to other foldable smartphones with high-end specs, PHP 52,990 is considered affordable.

Attractive price tags

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip3 5G Specs

Display: 6.7-inch Dynamic AMOLED screen w/ 120Hz refresh rate, HDR10+, FHD+ 2640 x 1080 resolution at 426 ppi, 1.9-inch Super AMOLED screen w/ 512 x 260 resolution at 302 ppi

CPU: 2.84GHz 5nm Snapdragon 888 octa-core processor

GPU: Adreno 660

RAM: 8GB

ROM: 256GB UFS 3.1

Rear Camera: 12MP f/1.8 w/ Dual Pixel AF + 12MP f/2.2 123-degree ultra-wide-angle + LED flash

Selfie Camera: 10MP f/2.4 

Battery: 3,300mAh w/ 15W fast charging + wireless charging + reverse wireless charging

OS: Android 11 w/ One UI 3.1

Connectivity: WiFi 6, 5G, 4G LTE, Bluetooth 5.2, OTG, NFC,  GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, BeiDou, QZSS, dual SIM (eSIM + nano SIM)

Sensors: Accelerometer, light, orientation, proximity, gyroscope, sound, magnetic, pressure Others: Side-mounted fingerprint sensor, Gorilla Glass Victus (back), Gorilla Glass DX (camera), IPX8 water resistance, USB-C, Colors: Lavender, Cream, Green, Phantom Black

Dimensions: 166.9 x 72.2 x 6.9 mm (unfolded), 86.4 x  72.2 x  17.1 mm (folded)

Weight: 183 g

Price: PHP 52,990 (128GB), PHP 56,990 (256GB)

Our thoughts

Samsung did nearly everything right with the Galaxy Z Flip3 5G. It has arrived with a fresh look, future-proof speed and connectivity features, and plenty of interesting functions that could make its users' lives more enjoyable and easier at the same time.

So, if you own an old iPhone and you want to switch to Android due to any reason, the Galaxy Z Flip3 5G is one of the upgrades to consider.

To recap, the device is now available through Samsung's official local online store, concept stores, and partner retailers nationwide.

What do you guys think?