I have owned almost every model of Galaxy Note phone and written extensively about them. If you have read many of my other posts then you know of my appreciation for writing with digital pens. The Note and I were a match made in Heaven. Taking Samsung’s S-pen support bait and moving to the Fold 3 was not a decision I made lightly.
My chief concerns were the lack of internal storage for the stylus and the fragility of the device in general. I’m sure Samsung had to decide between launching the 3 now, or waiting for the engineers to solve the problem. The question is does the folding screen make up for the lack of a garage?
I opted for the S-Pen and flip case combo. The case is fine, not the best and not the worst. It fits the device well, offers some protection, and feels good in your hand. I replaced it with a wallet and kickstand model that I found on Amazon. Reports are that units are moving well. Expect a decent third party accessories market to be available. Watch for a future post on the accessories I have been using with my Fold 3.
The stylus and writing experience are greatly improved in my opinion. The extra space for your hand and the little ledge the case makes for your thumb, make holding the Fold fully open a pleasant experience. I always felt a little cramped writing on even the Note’s gargantuan screen, but that isn’t the case with the Fold’s internal screen. I can comfortably write in my full normal strokes.
The sylus is shaped like a normal pencil. Round and flat on one edge it reminds me of the previous gen Surface Pro pen. The single button is on the flat edge, the stylus is light and more comfortable to hold than the Note’s is.
The writing experience can be more customized than I had expected. You can control which keyboard is presented in which screen mode. “S-Pen to text” allows you to fill out on-screen forms with your handwriting. There is also a free app to change the shape of the hover icon and the sound your S-pen makes among other tweaks. I’m not quite sure why the apps aren’t pre-installed, probably an effort to get you to use the Samsung app store.
I have always really enjoyed using the Apple Pencil on my wife’s iPad Mini. The size and weight of the screen are perfect to hold and write on. The Fold 3 and S-Pen are actually a little better than that. So the answer to my question is, “yes”. From my point of view, the screen makes up for the lack of a garage. I personally wouldn’t have wanted to wait another year for this device.
When paired with a folding keyboard and touchpad, the result is a full office that fits in your pocket. I have challenged myself as an IT professional to work soley from this platform. I’ve witten numerous documents, worked on Excel and Word at the same time, and had a whiteboard Zoom session from just what was in my pockets and nobody noticed.
When combined with my Jabra headphones and the keyboard, the Fold 3 is everything I need to work. The hi-res screen and extra space let me run two apps at once without issue. The mobile versions of apps have come a long way and the Internet’s conversion to HTML5 means most sites and web tools work well.
Gaming on the Fold’s screen is just amazing. The big screen running at a full 120Hz is stunning. Playing CoD mobile or running an Xbox Game Pass game with a controller is hands down the best mobile gaming experience to be had.
The screen is larger than even the new OLED Switch. The color, brightness, and 120Hz refresh are fantastic. With twelve gigabytes of RAM and the fastest Snapdragon yet, games play smooth and look epic.
I’ve intentionalley given the Fold 3 no special quarter. It is stuffed in my pocket, mounted to the dash in my truck, tossed on my desk, and otherwise treated like my Phone. I’ve folded and unfolded the screen countless times and it shows zero signs of wear. I feel like the third generation of Samsung’s foldables have hit the everyday durability mark.
I’ve been very pleased with my decision. The Galaxy Fold 3 is spectacular. As with all technology, there is room for evolution and future innovation, but the age of folding screens has arrived.
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