I just tested the Galaxy Z Fold 3's under-display camera — and it's not great

I just tested the Galaxy Z Fold 3'due south under-brandish photographic camera — and it'due south not great

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3 under display camera

(Image credit: Future)

I'm hither to tell yous that under-display cameras are the future of phones, but that futurity is not quite here nevertheless. At least based on my time in our Galaxy Z Fold 3 review in progress thus far.

The 7.half dozen-inch display on the Milky way Z Fold 3 uses nether display camera engineering science that applies a minimum amount of pixels on top of the photographic camera hole. The goal? To increment the viewable surface area and (nearly) banish the punch hole and then yous get a make clean sail when watching Netflix, playing games or enjoying other apps.

When you're using the under-display camera or UDC for taking selfies, it will announced as a small hole toward the right superlative part of the screen so disappear when yous get out the photographic camera app. It's virtually like magic. Just merely how good is this 4MP photographic camera? Based on my testing, I'd say its decent — but not every bit good as I'd hoped.

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First, permit's take these two selfies taken side-by-side outdoors, one shot with the 4MP under-display photographic camera and the other the 10MP front camera on the Z Fold three's encompass screen. With the under-display camera, my confront and looks a scrap blurry and the overall image has a brume to information technology. It looks and feels like a photograph from a much older photographic camera telephone.

Meanwhile, the shot from the 10MP camera isn't perfect, but my pare tone looks more accurate and y'all can make more than particular out in my shirt and hair. And the background and grass look sharper too, from the grass to the fence.

Things look even worse for the Galaxy Z Fold 3'southward under-brandish camera when I moved indoors. The UDC produced an epitome I'd expect from a laptop webcam, with smoothed over features and a fuzzy overall look. It's not terrible, but it's close.

The 10MP front camera produced much ameliorate results in that it looks more than like a photo than a painting. Seriously, the detail in and around my eyes and my teeth but looks so much meliorate. I would much rather trust this camera with selfies.

And then how about video? I chosen up senior writer Kate Kozuch on Google Meet via the under-brandish cam and she didn't love what she saw. She said overall the prototype quality was only "ho-hum." While it wasn't fuzzy, she expected better in terms of camera quality.

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3 video call UDC — (Image credit: Future)

Kate captured a screenshot of our chat and as you tin can see I come up okay, but in that location'south but not much definition. And this was with a ring calorie-free turned on in front end of me.

Bottom line: The nether-brandish camera on the Galaxy Z Fold three is a very intriguing innovation, just the image quality does non friction match upwards to the wow factor that having a disappearing photographic camera provides.

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Mark Spoonauer is the global editor in main of Tom's Guide and has covered engineering science for near 20 years. In improver to overseeing the direction of Tom's Guide, Mark specializes in covering all things mobile, having reviewed dozens of smartphones and other gadgets. He has spoken at key industry events and appears regularly on Idiot box to hash out the latest trends. Marker was previously editor in primary of Laptop Mag, and his work has appeared in Wired, Popular Scientific discipline and Inc. Follow him on Twitter at @mspoonauer.