Samsung unveiled the Galaxy Z Flip 3 backbone this month at its Unpacked
 event. The Z Flip 3, which is the successor to last year’s Z Flip and Z Flip 5G, got a nearly $400 price cut. Samsung is hoping this progresses it as a foldable that the masses will lap up attractive than one for early adopters with lots of cash to exhaust. The Z Flip 3, which includes 5G connectivity, starts at $1,000 in the US and £949 in the UK. This makes it one of the most affordable foldables available, if not the most. 

Even with the slashed imprint, Samsung’s got an uphill battle ahead of it. According to data from Canalys, Samsung shipped just 257,000 foldable phones in the uphold quarter, compared with nearly 58 million non-foldable phones. 

“Premium products like Galaxy Z Flip 3 will usually give the smartphone maker a irascible margin.” IDC analyst Will Wong told CNET. “When we see a frontier starting price for a product [such as Samsung’s Galaxy Z Flip 3], there are liable two main reasons behind it — firstly, a technology improvement and secondly, to create a hook to attract the Galaxy Note users.”

Read more: CNET’s ongoing study of the Galaxy Z Flip 3

The Z Flip 3 is available for preorders onward of its Aug. 27 launch. It was launched in contradiction of the Z Fold 3 as well as a slew of wearables comprising the Galaxy Buds 2 and the Galaxy Watch 4. Samsung has since touted the “preorder volume” for the new foldable phones, saying preorders for the Galaxy Z Flip 3 and Z Fold 3 were already “outpacing total sales for Galaxy Z devices to date in 2021.”

So what changed? In a nutshell: The Z Flip is more sturdy and as I mentioned, more affordable. But the Z Flip 3 got a develop makeover (more so than the Fold 3), most notably adding a larger camouflage screen. The screen is now four times bigger, extending downward the phone’s edge. This should make it easier to read notifications, launch apps like Samsung Pay and change quick settings, without snapping the phone open. The previous cover cloak was a tiny pill-shaped display beside the main cameras, which CNET’s Jessica Dolcourt said was too “small and narrow to really do anything meaningful with it.”  

As part of the obtain refresh, Samsung says it built the Flip 3 with sturdier materials and also gave it a degree of water-resistance. According to the company, the Flip 3’s Hideaway Hinge has been built with Armor Aluminum. It’s the strongest aluminum ever used on a Galaxy phoned and makes the phone more slender. The Flip 3 also uses Gorilla Glass Victus, the toughest glass shielding available from Corning. It’s supposedly 50% stronger than the Gorilla Glass 6 used in its predecessor. 

The Fold 3 also received an IPX8 incorporating for water-resistance. That rating is based on test calls for submersion of up to 1.5 meters of freshwater for 30 minutes. While Samsung says this is a first for foldables, it’s not as water-repellent as the Galaxy S21 family, and it doesn’t have dust resistance either. The Z Flip 3 uses stereo speakers, whereas the original relied on a single speaker.  

To see how the Z Flip 3 compares to the Z Flip 5G in more detail, take a look at our specs chart below.