Galaxy Z Fold 3 might be launching early with a smaller battery

Despite global economic and mobile market conditions, the Galaxy S21 series seems to be doing quite well. This might have emboldened Samsung to push through with its plans for the rest of the year, no matter how disruptive they may be to its usual rhythm. The Galaxy Z Fold 3 is up next and, judging by leaks, it might be everything that some may have hoped it would be. Considering it would be taking the place of the Galaxy Note this year, however, there might not be much of a choice anyway.

Samsung already admitted, though not yet officially stated, that there will be no Galaxy Note phone this year. The market and component situations are being blamed for this sudden change but, at least for the time being, there may be plans to continue the S Pen-toting phablet next year. For now, however, Samsung seems to be positioning the Galaxy Z Fold 3 to fill in the gap.

That's because Samsung will be announcing it along with the Galaxy Z Flip 2 sometime in July, a month ahead of the Galaxy Note's usual debut and two full months earlier than the Galaxy Z Fold 2 last year, according to The Elec. Given the similarly early launch of the Galaxy S21 earlier this year, it's not unreasonable for Samsung to also hold its next Unpacked earlier as well.

The same report, however, may have some bad news for Samsung foldable hopefuls. According to sources, the Galaxy Z Fold 3's battery will be rated at 4,380 mAh, slightly smaller than the Galaxy Z Fold 2's 4,500 mAh but exactly the same as the first Galaxy Fold. If, however, this means that the foldable phone will be thinner and lighter, some might consider it an acceptable sacrifice.

There are also rumors that the Galaxy Z Fold 3's screen will be slightly smaller at 7.55 inches versus its predecessor's 7.66 inches. Again, the slight reduction might not mean that much, especially if Samsung was making room for an S Pen inside to compensate.