First impressions tend to become lasting impressions. The first five minutes of Tom Hanks in Sleepless Seattle has turned many a viewer into long-term fans. The first few pages of Asterix the Gaul have inspired many to buy the entire series.

The first few moments of Anthony Bourdain’s No Reservations TV show have changed viewer perception of what a food show could be. Agreed that first impressions can be misleading — the product of a snap-judgment system — but there’s no denying its importance. Samsung knows it. So while designing the third iteration of its ambitious folding phone, the South Korean company had to iron out every chink in the armour to ensure a lasting impression.

The review unit of Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold3 arrived a couple of days ago, meaning we are still deep diving into all the features that will shape the review copy but early impressions point to a simple fact — folding phones are truly the road ahead.

The first two versions of the phone were more like work in progress and like any new technology there were flaws but these have been ironed out and in a big way. Where the Fold3 and the Galaxy Z Flip3 shine in terms of practicality involve two features — water resistance and usage of Gorilla Glass Victus, which is the toughest glass from Corning to protect the fancy phone in all sorts of unwanted situations.

With almost no competition yet in most markets globally, the two new folding phones from Samsung easily grab the attention of buyers who are planning to buy a flagship product. Imagine a person who is willing to spend close to a lakh on a phone — Android or the iPhone. Or, what if somebody is in the market for a tablet and a phone? The potential customer may just as well get the folding phone.

After using the phone for a few days, it has been difficult to move back to a smaller screen as the Fold3 is a consumption device amped up to 11. Instead of squinting while watching videos on YouTube or a film on Netflix, open up the Fold3 to get into the mini-tablet zone, which is as much a delight as a bucket of cheese popcorn at a movie theatre while the sound on the device is an absolute sonic delight.

Once we start leading a more normal life, there will be plenty of occasions to transition between the two modes — folded and unfolded. Folded, you can do all the tasks possible on your best smartphone (Facebook to Twitter and what not) while unfolded, it becomes a tablet-like device with enough screen real estate to tackle most productivity features.

There is, of course, the question of what happens to the Galaxy Note series of phones to which there is no clear answer at the moment. Looking at the situation practically, the company’s latest Galaxy S series phone — the S21 Ultra — supports the S Pen and so does the Fold3. So there will be fewer people who will miss the Note this year.

More importantly, the Note series has done what it was meant to do — inspire a new generation of phones. When the Note first appeared, critics said it was too big but people fell in love with the stylus experience and now the Note has perhaps reached a new level with the Fold3.

In the coming months we will see an increasing number of people switching between the folded 6.2-inch super AMOLED display on the outside of the Fold3 and the uninterrupted 7.6-inch Infinity Flex display when unfolded. The phone will be seen in use in cafes, in the park, at the workplace and on public transit systems.

Simply put, the first impressions of the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold3 are that phones are no longer boring slabs and the device is ensuring that folding phones become the norm rather than an exception.

Before you buy

Built to last: Samsung Galaxy Z Fold3 5G and Galaxy Z Flip3 5G are equipped with IPX8 water resistance and built with the company’s new ‘armor aluminum’ along with the toughest Corning Gorilla Glass Victus to protect against scratches and accidental drops.

Price: Galaxy Fold3 5G is priced upwards of Rs 149,999 while Galaxy Flip 3 5G is priced upwards of Rs 84,999.