“I think the idea is neat,” states junior Riley Richardson, “it’s taking something associated with the beginning of mobile phones and bringing it into the present and future of mobile phones. However, I fail to see the practicality.” Phones such as the Samsung Z Flip 3, the Motorola Razr, and the Galaxy Z fold have come out in recent years reminding consumers of phones of the past. 

     Consumer technology editor Samuel Gibbs of The Guardian said, “the flip phone continues its march back into mainstream thanks to Samsung’s folding-screen technology [Samsung Z Flip 3]. Now cheaper, smoother, water resistant and more durable than last year’s model, it may leave you questioning why you would buy a standard phone at the same price.” 

     The Flip 3 is Samsung’s third generation folding screen device, it replaced the original Z flip. A similar device that goes alongside the flip 3 is the “Galaxy Z Fold 3 tablet-phone hybrid” which is about putting a tablet in your pocket whereas the Flip 3 is “essentially a smartphone that folds in half like a makeup compact,” states Gibbs. 

     Junior Brynn Hoffman believes these phones sound more like a “gimmick” than a real phone. Whereas junior Jacob Sack believes, “there is definitely a group of people that would happily purchase these phones. People who want a larger screen, or people who remember their first phones that were flip phones.”

     Gibbs describes that “the new Flip 3 is an evolution of Samsung’s previous foldable device. It is slightly thinner, shorter and narrower, the hinge has been refined, the design on the outside is less showy and it feels a bit more sturdy.” 

     A concern for this phone is the hinge located in the center of the screen, Gibbs addresses this with “There’s still a crease where you can feel where the screen folds, but it is only visible when the screen is off and at certain angles, making it easy to overlook.”

    Another concern regarding the hinge is the fragility, “they now have a new thing that causes [a phone to] break and that is the middle where they fold at [hinge]. If that breaks then you only have the two halves of your phone rather than one working phone,” states junior Reagan Kaplan. Gibbs states that the “screen is softer and less scratch resistant than a regular phone, no dust resistance, no telephoto camera, only a day’s battery life, and it’s expensive.”

     According to Gibbs, the Flip 3 is very efficient compared to the previous model. It operates just like a typical android smartphone but also has water resistance features. The Flip 3 has an IBX rating of IPX8,  if a device has an IPX8 waterproof rating, it means that it can withstand continuous immersion in water.

      “Day-to-day performance is excellent. The phone feels fast, apps load and perform immediately, and gaming performance was on a par with top Android rivals. Unlocking the phone using the fingerprint scanner on the side works considerably faster than the previous model,” said Gibbs.