Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3 leaks just revealed key details

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Key details of the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3’s battery just leaked

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

With the fate of the Galaxy Note 21 still up in the air, Samsung’s next big flagship looks to be the Galaxy Z Fold 3, and it is apparently on track for a release in the next few months. 

According to SamMobile’s sources, Samsung has now begun work on the firmware for the foldable. It will apparently be based on One UI 3.5, Samsung’s latest custom skin for Android 11.

Elsewhere, Korean publication The Elec has got hold of a key detail of the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3: battery capacity. According to the site’s sources, the foldable will have a slightly lower capacity than its predecessor, dropping from 4,500mAh to 4,380mAh, once again split across two cells on either side of the fold. 

The drop of 120mAh (half the total capacity of the 41mm Galaxy Watch 3) shouldn’t have a serious impact on the device’s stamina, given it only equals a 3% reduction overall, but it is interesting to speculate what has forced the change. One possibility, for example, is that Samsung has taken a small hit on battery capacity in order to give space for the rumored S Pen to dock inside the phone, just as its done in the past with the Galaxy Note. 

If the rumors are true and Samsung really is killing off the Galaxy Note this year, then it would make sense for the S Pen to seek a more permanent home.

While a handful of Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3 rumors are beginning to emerge, there are plenty of areas of contention, with leakers unable to decide even on the size of screens involved. We’ve heard the external display could be a dinky 4 inches, or a significantly larger 6.23 inches, which is quite a big range. It is, however, assumed that the device will use the latest Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 SoC, and boast a minimum of 256GB storage like its predecessor, which didn’t have room for a microSD card slot. 

The consensus is that we’re looking at a handset that’ll emerge in the second half of the year, and The Elec floats a possible July reveal, potentially alongside Samsung’s other new foldable, the Galaxy Z Flip 3. Neither handset is expected to come cheap, and you would imagine that they will at the very least match their predecessors. That means at least $1,399 for the Galaxy Z Flip 3, and $1,799 for the Galaxy Z Fold 3. 

Alan Martin
Alan Martin

Freelance contributor Alan has been writing about tech for over a decade, covering phones, drones and everything in between. Previously Deputy Editor of tech site Alphr, his words are found all over the web and in the occasional magazine too. When not weighing up the pros and cons of the latest smartwatch, you'll probably find him tackling his ever-growing games backlog. Or, more likely, playing Spelunky for the millionth time.