“Samsung unveiled the Galaxy Z Fold 3, Galaxy Z Flip 3, Galaxy Watch 4 and Galaxy Buds 2 at the August 2021 Unpacked event. We’ve got all the details you need to know about with our hands on reviews”
Foldable phones have two major barriers to entry among those rocking the traditional form factors. They’ll cost you more money and, as perceptions would have it, won’t be as durable.
However, Samsung has been working towards lessening those concerns since the expensive and fragile Galaxy Fold first arrived, then left, then arrived again, a few years back. Now the company is looking to take durability concerns off the table with the Galaxy Z Fold 3 and Galaxy Z Flip 2, according to a SamMobile report.
The sources say these will be the first Galaxy foldables to carry an IP rating for water and dust resistance. The report says the Ingress Protection rating may not be the high-end IP68 certification offered by the Galaxy S21 range, but it will be an improvement on the big fat nothing that’s there right now.
For example, the IP67 rating we see from most higher-end phones would enable users to get the phone wet without worrying and about knackering it completely. If you’re so inclined you could even swim for 30 minutes in 1 meter of water. Here’s our lowdown on IP67 vs IP68.
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Of course, it’s not because Samsung just can’t be bothered to add it that we haven’t seen waterproofing yet. It was one of the first companies to provide true water resistance on Galaxy phones. Protecting a phone from water and dust just becomes a far greater challenge when you’re adding additional hinges to what has been a largely unchanged form factor for over a decade.
If the report comes to fruition, Samsung will hope it’ll improve the perception of its foldable phones, which hasn’t quite recovered from the initial Galaxy Fold recall in 2018. The Galaxy Z Fold 2 did fix all of the issues and there were no durability issues with that handset.
The next question will be whether Samsung can bring the prices down enough to ensure they’re a little more in line with the cost of a current flagship phone. Recent rumours have suggested we could see the phones in late summer.
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
