EDIT: Today is the day of Samsung's Galaxy Unpacked event, where the Galaxy Z Fold 3 is expected to be unveiled Here's how to watch the event and the Galaxy Unpacked live blog

Today, the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3 was unveiled to the world at Samsung's Galaxy Unpacked eventThe Z Fold 3 has been unveiled to the world with design, display, and software The Z Fold 3 has undergone significant changes to its design, display, and software However, some aspects, such as the camera, remain unchanged While some details are interesting, such as the under-display camera and S Pen support, the Galaxy Z Fold 2 does not appear to be a major generational change from Samsung's Galaxy Fold

Read on for a feature-by-feature breakdown of what the Galaxy Z Fold 2 and Z Fold 3 have to offer and how they compare to each other

Currently, the Galaxy Z Fold 3 and Z Fold 2 are priced the same, at $1,799 The Z Fold 2, however, starts at $1,999 This indicates that the price of foldable phones is slowly coming down, although still much more expensive than the standard premium flagship Samsung

The Z Fold 2 is available now, but the Z Fold 3 is only available for pre-order for the time being; it will go on general sale on August 27

Both Z Folds look similar, but Samsung has made many invisible innovations to make the Z Fold 3 tougher: IPX8 water resistance, which the Z Fold 2 does not have, an "Armor Aluminum" body, Gorilla Glass Victus The combination of an outer screen and a new PET layer on the inner screen should make it more resistant to scratches and drops than the Z Fold 2

Both models use the same size display, 62" on the outside and 76" on the inside; the Z Fold 3's outer screen has a slightly higher pixel count on the front, 2268 x 832 (from 2260 x 816 pixels), and a refresh rate of Z Fold 2 has been upgraded to 120 Hz from the basic 60 Hz of the Z Fold 2

On the inside, the selfie camera punch hole in the upper right corner of the inner display from the Z Fold 3 is gone, replaced by a camera below the display that is only visible when in use The two displays are nearly identical in terms of specs, but Samsung says the Z Fold 3 is brighter than the Z Fold 2 thanks to the new Eco display technology

The rear camera of the phones is perhaps the part that has no obvious changes Both models use a 12MP main sensor, a 12MP ultra-wide sensor, and a 12MP 2x telephoto sensor The front camera has the same 10MP resolution

A notable change is the internal camera Not only has it been moved from the punch hole notch to below the display, but the resolution has also been reduced from 10MP to 4MP We have not yet tested the Z Fold 3's camera, but it will be particularly interesting to see if the move to a below-display camera has weakened its shooting capabilities compared to the older model

Not surprisingly, Samsung used the Snapdragon 888 in the Z Fold 3 The new Z Fold comes with 12GB RAM and 256GB storage by default, but unlike the Z Fold 2, it also offers a 512GB storage option

Samsung has taken a small step back according to the specs; the Z Fold 2 offered a 4,500mAh battery capacity with two cells, while the Z Fold 3 offers 4,400mAh instead We hope that Samsung has made other optimizations to reduce battery consumption, otherwise the battery life of the new model may be worse than the old one

Both models support Samsung's 25W wired fast charging standard They also offer up to 10W wireless charging and 45W reverse wireless charging if needed

Both models are powered by Samsung's One UI, but while the Z Fold 2 shipped with Android 10, the Z Fold 3 ships with Android 11 This version is optimized for the foldable form factor and offers special versions of apps that fill the inner display and provide additional functionality Both models offer a flex mode that allows the phone to stand with the hinge at 90 degrees for video calling and video viewing, and a multi-active window, a feature that allows users to open three apps at once and quickly navigate between them

However, there is one hidden change to the Z Fold 3's capabilities It is hidden in the Settings app, but in doing so, it provides constant access to frequently used apps, much like a PC or Mac desktop

The biggest change in the Z Fold 3 user experience comes in the form of S Pen support: the S Pen Fold Edition and S Pen Pro are available as options, with the S Pen Pro being the basic S Pen, and provides remote functionality via Bluetooth

The jump between the Z Fold 3 and Z Fold 2 is not as big as the jump between the Z Fold 2 and Galaxy Fold, but Samsung still made many meaningful changes to the newer foldable Highlights include an S Pen, improved durability, and improvements to both displays

While the Z Fold 2's replacement will inevitably bring the price down, there are several reasons why the Z Fold 2 may be better for some users compared to the Z Fold 3 The main camera has not changed at all, and the change to a camera inside under the display in the Z Fold 3 may actually hurt overall photo quality While the refresh rate on the front display is higher, the Z Fold 3 has a smaller capacity, so battery life may also be slightly better Also, with the exception of stylus support, once the Z Fold 2 is upgraded to Android 12, the software experience is expected to be the same on both models