Samsung adds Galaxy Z Fold 3 and Flip 3 features to older foldable phones

You won’t need to buy a Galaxy Z Fold 3 or a Flip 3 to get their software upgrades. Samsung is rolling out a One UI 3.1.1 update which brings a lot of multitasking and app resizing features from these phones to the original Fold, Fold 2, Flip and Flip 5G versions.

Unsurprisingly, the Fold line benefits the most thanks to its larger, tablet-like screen. Features like the multi-active window (up to three apps at a time) and App Split View (seeing additional content for an app) make this collapsible view much more useful. You can also force apps to resize and rotate on your Fold, pin your favorites with the taskbar, and mirror your internal view to the cover screen.

Not that the owners of Flip are unlucky. Drag & Split allows all foldable Samsung owners to create a new window for an app that’s already open, and you can invoke Flex mode to show media controls when the phone is partially folded.

Most of these features are being rolled out, although you’ll have to wait an extra week if you’re using the first Galaxy Fold. You probably won’t mind. This could dramatically improve the usefulness of your old foldable, and suggests that Samsung wants to gain loyalty from early adopters, if only to increase the chances of you buying another Fold or Flip when you need to upgrade.