At its Unpacked launch event, Samsung made several bold claims about the improved durability of the Galaxy Z Fold 3. It's supposedly good for up to 200,000 folds, a new metal frame protects the exterior, and you get IPX8 water resistance.
We will not be torture testing our Galaxy Z Fold 3, but the Allstate Protection Plans team isn't as gentle. After its machines folded, dropped, and dunked the Galaxy Z Fold 3, the Allstate team certified the Z Fold 3 as the "most durable foldable phone" it has ever tested.
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The Allstate DropBot dropped the phone onto a sidewalk from six feet, both with the phone open and closed. The face-down closed test didn't go well, with the screen shattering on the first drop and rendering the panel unusable. This was expected given the added weight versus a traditional flagship, and no phone screen has survived the Allstate drop test completely intact.
That is, until the Galaxy Z Fold 3 with its internal screen. The face-down six-foot drop test onto the internal screen with the phone open did minor damage to the frame and caused some pixel damage, but the screen was left completely intact. That's the first time this has happened in eight years of Allstate running these tests.
The Allstate FoldBot also opened and closed the phone to simulate years of use, and while it is still trying to find the fail point, the team indicates it had no problem making it to the 200,000 folds that Samsung claims.
Finally, the Allstate team put the new IPX8 certification to the test and dunked the Galaxy Z Fold 3 in a pool for 30 minutes at a depth of five feet. The phone continued to work perfectly after that test, so rest assured, a spill or a little rain isn't going to hurt your foldable.
While the exterior screen cracking so easily isn't great news, the rest of the results are extremely encouraging. Allstate is quick to point out how costly a mistake can be given the $1,799 price of the phone and $479 to replace the internal screen and $149 for the external screen.
Allstate Protection Plans wants you to invest in one of its plans, but a sturdy case is another option if you aren't into that idea. For those who want to use the new S Pen support, a case is a great option anyway as somewhere to store the stylus.
