Galaxy Z Fold3 users probably won't want to interfere too deeply in the software of this device.
Over the years, Android phone manufacturers have built certain barriers to keep their devices safe from hackers.
One of them is the bootloader key. Bootloader is the first software component that launches every time the user powers on the device, responsible for controlling the operating system boot process. In order to prevent malicious code from interfering with this process, most smartphones today are locked to the bootloader, making it impossible to modify.
However, due to the "openness" of Android and the requirements from the developer community, some manufacturers still allow users to unlock the bootloader. Of course, users will have to accept some terms, for example, they will be fully responsible for the security of the device, or warranty benefits may also be forfeited. .
With Samsung, the company has long had a security system called KNOX with the ability to detect whether a Galaxy device has been "played" with software or not. If the bootloader is unlocked, KNOX will disable the Samsung Pay payment feature. In addition, it will also signal to Samsung about the status of the machine through a binary code, so that the technician can deny the warranty in case of need. This term is often called "KNOX jumping" by experts in Vietnam. In addition to the above limitations, all other remaining features of the machine "jumping KNOX" still work normally.
But with the Galaxy Z Fold3, Samsung has created new barriers if users unlock the bootloader of this device. Specifically, not only jumping KNOX, losing Samsung Pay and losing warranty, unlocking the bootloader will also make Galaxy Z Fold3 users unable to use the camera.
As noted by some XDA-Developers forum members, when unlocking the bootloader of the Galaxy Z Fold3, the device warns that the camera will be disabled. Indeed, after successful unlocking, all camera-related features stop working, including taking photos and recording videos (both with the original camera app and third-party apps), even including face unlock feature.
It's still unclear why Samsung is making these restrictions, and if the developers will have a solution to bring the camera feature back after unlocking the bootloader. However, at the present time, users should not "play" too deeply into the software of the Galaxy Z Fold3 if they do not want to encounter trouble.