Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3 camera leaks reveal a huge camera disappointment

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3
(Image credit: Ben Geskin)

Despite the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3 being rumored to see several upgrades, there's one key area that won't be changing: the rear cameras. 

While the Galaxy Z Fold 3 is shaping up to be an advanced folding phone, five of the phone's six cameras won't be upgraded from the previous generation. It's disappointing news for photography fans, but at least we're still due to get an under-display camera.

Leaker FrontTron has added more infomation to an earlier leak they published on the Galaxy Z Fold 3, confirming much of what was already rumored. This includes the specs of the three rear 12MP cameras: main, ultrawide and 2x optical zoom telephoto, plus their sensor sizes and f-stop numbers. These are exactly identical to the rear cameras on the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 2, which were already a little underwhelming for such an expensive phone.

The Galaxy Z series' primary focus is being a folding device, and Samsung already leads the pack when it comes to the best foldable phones. Sadly, while you pay a premium for the Galaxy Fold Z 2 it doesn't offer better camera capabilities over the Samsung Galaxy S21. Arguably, Samsung can do this, and supposedly still will with the Galaxy Z Fold 3 as there are no effective rivals to the Fold series or the Galaxy Z Flip 3 right now.

While the rear cameras and the cover selfie cameras may not be changing, the one on the inside is tipped to be a new under-display sensor, which could give the open Z Fold 3 a clean and futuristic look. As a result, it's the only camera that's apparently changing sensors too, increasing in resolution from the Z Fold 2's 10MP camera to 16MP, and decreasing in total size from 1.22 ųm (micrometers) to 1 ųm.

We've only seen one other under-display camera in action, which was on the ZTE Axon 20 5G. The photo quality from this camera wasn't great, plus the portion of display covering the camera could look odd depending on what you had on screen. It'll be interesting to see if and how Samsung deals with these problems on the Z Fold 3.

The new generation of Samsung foldables is expected to be revealed in July or August, likely followed by a fall release. Along with the Galaxy Z Fold 3, at least according to the leaks, there will be a revamped "Split UI" and S Pen stylus support.

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Richard Priday
Assistant Phones Editor

Richard is based in London, covering news, reviews and how-tos for phones, tablets, gaming, and whatever else people need advice on. Following on from his MA in Magazine Journalism at the University of Sheffield, he's also written for WIRED U.K., The Register and Creative Bloq. When not at work, he's likely thinking about how to brew the perfect cup of specialty coffee.