If you've picked up a Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3, you've probably opened up that big beautiful screen only to find out that some of the best Android apps don't quite fit onto Samsung's most unique foldable phone. That's because the inside screen is a very different aspect ratio from a normal phone and acts a lot more like a tablet. Thankfully, it's pretty simple to make apps like Instagram full screen on the Galaxy Z Fold 3, but you have to know where to look.
How to make apps full screen on the Z Fold 3
While we could argue over how much easier Samsung could have made it to adjust app sizes, there's no question that the setting shouldn't be as buried as it is. To get to it, you'll need to navigate to the Samsung Labs feature and toggle each broken app individually. Here's how to do that:
- Open up system settings by selecting settings in your app list or pulling down the notification shade and clicking the settings icon. It looks like a gear.
- Scroll down to advanced features.
- Select labs from the list.
- Select customize app aspect ratios from the list.
- Find the app you want in the list of apps.
- Click on the app and select full screen from the list of aspect ratios.
As you're scrolling through the list of apps, you'll notice that any apps that don't use the right aspect ratio have a different tag under the app name. In the case of Instagram, the tag says App default (16:9). This extra text should make it easy to identify any apps that might look strange ahead of time.
Remember that this adjustment is under the Labs section for a reason. While all apps should theoretically work in any aspect ratio, since Android allows apps to scale dynamically, some on-screen elements within apps might appear broken. For example, in-app buttons may not work, UI elements might be cut off, or things might just look weird when opting to use anything other than the app default ratio.
If you experience problems like this, be sure to set the scaling back to App default to ensure the greatest compatibility. It might look weird, but at least it works!
Our top equipment picks
Samsung's latest foldables are what we've been waiting for since the first announcement many years ago. Better displays, better screen protectors, faster processors, improved cameras, and a unique experience that's nothing like what you'll get with other phones. The Galaxy Z Fold 3, in particular, is an almost perfect hybrid of phone and tablet in one awesome device and totally worth checking out thanks to a new lower price and some sweet deals from carriers and Samsung alike.
Two-in-one
The Galaxy Z Fold 3 represents among the best that Samsung offers, with a more durable, refined design, a new Under Display Camera for uninterrupted viewing, and S Pen support for better productivity.
