Purchased my first foldable today!

[Mr Segundus]

I purchased the Z Fold 3 today at Best Buy. Best Buy has a sale on unlocked Z Fold 3s right now and I was able to pick one up for $899+tax with activation today. I traded in my Sierra Blue 256GB iPhone 13 Pro Max, got $1,000 trade-in for it, and ended up paying nothing for the Fold 3. What a deal!

This is, by far, the most excited I have ever been about a phone! It's so much different from everything else! I've had the iPhone X, iPhone XS Max, iPhone 11 Pro Max, iPhone 12 Pro Max, and iPhone 13 Pro Max, and unless you're coming from the X to a later generation, there was no real noticeable change from one phone to the next.

As for first impressions, the Z Fold 3 is more durable than I imagined. The display is kind of hard to bend at first, but I'm sure it'll loosen up over time. The battery life is average, but again, I'm sure it'll get better once the set up process is finished. Other than that, everything else about it is great! I can't believe how great Genshin Impact looks on that inner display!

The Fold 3 got me excited for phones again and I can't wait to see what is in store for their future!

 

[bandofbrothers2112]

Congratulations at getting such an awesome trade in deal !

Also congratulations on moving to Android to which I'm sure your going to be impressed that you can pretty do much as you like with your phone and not what Apple dictates with their idevices.

Enjoy your journey

 

[TMavC5]

I purchased the Z Fold 3 today at Best Buy. Best Buy has a sale on unlocked Z Fold 3s right now and I was able to pick one up for $899+tax with activation today. I traded in my Sierra Blue 256GB iPhone 13 Pro Max, got $1,000 trade-in for it, and ended up paying nothing for the Fold 3. What a deal!

This is, by far, the most excited I have ever been about a phone! It's so much different from everything else! I've had the iPhone X, iPhone XS Max, iPhone 11 Pro Max, iPhone 12 Pro Max, and iPhone 13 Pro Max, and unless you're coming from the X to a later generation, there was no real noticeable change from one phone to the next.

As for first impressions, the Z Fold 3 is more durable than I imagined. The display is kind of hard to bend at first, but I'm sure it'll loosen up over time. The battery life is average, but again, I'm sure it'll get better once the set up process is finished. Other than that, everything else about it is great! I can't believe how great Genshin Impact looks on that inner display!

The Fold 3 got me excited for phones again and I can't wait to see what is in store for their future!

Fantastic, glad you can play with something different other than iPhone.

 

[bkdodger2]

Congratulations ..awesome deal and device ..you will be happy with it ...have fun with all the customization and set ups ..

 

[srgonu]

Welcome to the brighter side in this new year and congratulations for choosing this awesome device. Am sure you will see how powerful tool a phone can be when you aren't limited.

 

[mustang7757]

Congrats, definitely different from whats out there and look forward to its growth, my favorite device .

 

[eshropshire]

I am sure you will enjoy the Fold. I bought mine from Best Buy a little over a week ago. Not quite as good of a deal, mine was $1,099, I got the 512 version. I traded in my almost 3 year old phone so my total was a little under $900 out the door. I am really enjoying the phone. I do have a little learning curve, but fun. I agree with your observations on the device. I had not even considered getting a Fold, I was in Best Buy getting my daughter a Flip and was playing around with the Fold and I really liked the device. Then the Best Buy deal on unlocked phones came up and decided to get the Fold.

 

[vimagreg]

Congrats!

I’m using my Fold3 since day 1 of release here in Brazil, and absolutely enjoy it. I couldn’t give my iPhone 12 Pro Max, though, so I keep using both on a daily basis. Couldn’t be happier with both!

I’m sure you’ll enjoy your new Fold3 as well.

 

[Mr Segundus]

Thanks everyone!

I've been playing with the device nonstop for the past 24 hours or so and I absolutely love it! There are some compromises (battery life in particular) but that's what you live with when you use a folding device. I absolutely love the fact that I can open it up as a tablet and write on it with an S Pen. I tried the Samsung S Pen case but it was almost worthless. Instead, I picked up the VRS Design Terra Guard case on Amazon and it delivered this morning. It's so much better than any case you can get at Best Buy for sure.

I also picked up an LTE version of the Galaxy Watch 4 (44mm) at Best Buy this morning and just got that all set up. I'm all-in at this point!

 

[bandofbrothers2112]

Thanks everyone!

I've been playing with the device nonstop for the past 24 hours or so and I absolutely love it! There are some compromises (battery life in particular) but that's what you live with when you use a folding device. I absolutely love the fact that I can open it up as a tablet and write on it with an S Pen. I tried the Samsung S Pen case but it was almost worthless. Instead, I picked up the VRS Design Terra Guard case on Amazon and it delivered this morning. It's so much better than any case you can get at Best Buy for sure.

I also picked up an LTE version of the Galaxy Watch 4 (44mm) at Best Buy this morning and just got that all set up. I'm all-in at this point!

Awesome.

Battery life has been fine on my Fold however we all know battery stats and screen on time is a subjective topic.

I also chose not to use the Samsung Flip style case that came in the Samsung Starter box, however I do use the plastic silo that slides off to carry my sPen around in.

I choose to use the Samsung Aramid case.

I'm using the Samsung Gear s3 Frontier Watch right now but when that fails I'll be looking at the Samsung Watch 4 Classic 46mm model.

 

[trucksmoveamerica#AC]

Awesome.

Battery life has been fine on my Fold however we all know battery stats and screen on time is a subjective topic.

.

I compared to my fold 2 and I would say battery life is a little worse on the fold 3. I will also say battery life on any smart phone won't last all day for a power user.

 

[Mr Segundus]

I compared to my fold 2 and I would say battery life is a little worse on the fold 3. I will also say battery life on any smart phone won't last all day for a power user.

Battery life is a compromise, but thankfully I work from home so I'm always within arm's reach of a charger; however, if I do plan on going out on long day trips, I'll be bringing a power bank with me. I think that compromise is worth it though for the overall experience.

 

[Mr Segundus]

Awesome.

Battery life has been fine on my Fold however we all know battery stats and screen on time is a subjective topic.

I also chose not to use the Samsung Flip style case that came in the Samsung Starter box, however I do use the plastic silo that slides off to carry my sPen around in.

I choose to use the Samsung Aramid case.

I'm using the Samsung Gear s3 Frontier Watch right now but when that fails I'll be looking at the Samsung Watch 4 Classic 46mm model.

I took my S Pen from the Samsung cover and super glued it to the spine of my case so now I have my S Pen with me at all times without having to carry it in a separate pocket. It's a little clunky with the main display open, but it's worth it, to me.

 

[mib1800]

I compared to my fold 2 and I would say battery life is a little worse on the fold 3. I will also say battery life on any smart phone won't last all day for a power user.

My fold 3 battery is good. Getting 7-8hrs SOT over 18hrs period.
https://ibb.co/fCNtnF7

 

[trucksmoveamerica#AC]

My fold 3 battery is good. Getting 7-8hrs SOT over 18hrs period.
https://ibb.co/fCNtnF7

I did better on the fold 2.

 

[gendo667]

Hey! Congrats! I'm finally starting to see more foldables in public. More Folds than Flips. I gotta say my curiosity is piqued. Maybe in couple of years. I'm pretty set for 2022. Again, congrats.

 

[Mr Segundus]

My fold 3 battery is good. Getting 7-8hrs SOT over 18hrs period.
https://ibb.co/fCNtnF7

Dang, hope mine gets that good. Maybe the whole setting it up process had something to do with the weak battery life.

 

[cknobman]

I dont care about winning a battery endurance test.

For me all I care about is if I take the phone off the charger in the morning will it last until bedtime without needing a top up?
And this applies to a normal usage scenario not gaming for 3 hours straight or leaving the screen on all day watching videos, etc.....

 

[BigMosley]

My fold 3 battery is good. Getting 7-8hrs SOT over 18hrs period.
https://ibb.co/fCNtnF7

I don't see any social media apps in that list, probably why I only get 4.5 hours of SOT max.

 

[trucksmoveamerica#AC]

I dont care about winning a battery endurance test.

For me all I care about is if I take the phone off the charger in the morning will it last until bedtime without needing a top up?
And this applies to a normal usage scenario not gaming for 3 hours straight or leaving the screen on all day watching videos, etc.....

Good luck.