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Samsung adds new foldable features to its older Z Fold and Z Flip phones with One UI 3.1.1

Samsung adds new foldable features to its older Z Fold and Z Flip phones with One UI 3.1.1

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Old phone, new tricks

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Photo by Vjeran Pavic / The Verge

Samsung’s new Z Fold 3 and Z Flip 3 phones add a bunch of clever new features designed for foldable phones as part of its One UI 3.1.1 update, but if you already own a Fold 2, Z Flip, or even the original Galaxy Fold, you’ll still be able to get some of the new additions without shelling out for a new phone.

Available on all five foldable models is the new Drag and Split feature, which — as the name implies — allows you to tap and drag on a link to open it side by side with the original webpage or message.

Samsung’s larger Fold models will also be getting the adjustable app windows for its multitasking mode, allowing you to adjust the height and width of the individual apps when you have multiple apps open at once. The older models will also get the automatically rotating app function, custom aspect ratios, and a newly added split view for messaging apps.

Lastly, for both the Z Fold 2 and the earlier Z Flips, Samsung is adding the option to force apps to use its “Flex mode” that puts video content on one half of a folded display, with playback controls on the other.

Samsung has worked to help keep its older foldables relevant even while rolling out new software features on its newer devices before. It offered a similar update for the original Fold last year when it released the Galaxy Z Fold 2 that added several new features it had introduced with the second-generation foldable. It’s a testament to how new the foldable field is in general. Samsung is still figuring out the best ways to use these new form factors, but it’s also not leaving behind early adopters.

The One UI 3.1.1 update should be rolling out to Fold 2 and Z Flip owners starting today, while the original Galaxy Fold is expected to get the update “around a week later.”