Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 Hands-on
I like Samsung’s Galaxy Fold devices. They’ve been our folding device of the year for several years because of how much the company packs into the two-in-one mobile device. If you’re willing to buy a foldable this year, you can be among the first to enjoy one of the most balanced foldables Samsung has produced in a long time.
Samsung has been generous about bundling everything it can to make the price point of the Galaxy Z Fold 6 seem worth it. But this is the first time since the early generations of the Fold that it feels like a balanced device in the hand. Both the front and inside screens feel congruent, and I’m digging the sharper corners that make the
Z Fold 6 feels like two phones glued together rather than a flimsy plastic screen.
The Z Flip 6 also received its requisite updates for the year, though it still looks the same. It has a better processor and an updated camera system that matches the regular Galaxy S24. Unfortunately, the rumors were also correct about the slight price increase of the foldables: The Z Fold 6 starts at $1,900 while the Z Flip 6 starts at $1,100.
Galaxy Z Fold 6: For square book lovers
The Galaxy Z Fold 6 has a 7.6-inch QXGA+ Dynamic AMOLED display–say that in one go. This year’s book-like foldable is slimmer and lighter than its predecessors. The cover display is a bit wider now, with a 6.3-inch HD+ Dynamic AMOLED display. Everything here runs at a 120Hz adaptive refresh rate and looks smooth.
The Z Fold 6 is nearly 20mm thinner than the Z Fold 5. Indeed, the device feels less dense in the hand this time around. I was especially smitten with the squared-off corners, which make the Z Fold 6 feel more phone-like when closed. The extra width is also much easier for typing with two thumbs on the cover screen, especially if you had trouble with the older models.
The Z Fold 6 has been bumped up to the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 mobile processor with 12GB of RAM. The device is available with up to 1TB of internal storage. I’m sorry to report that Samsung will not resurrect the expansion slot on this device since it would be harder to have an IP48 rated for dust and water resistance. The battery size also stays the same for this model at 4,400 mAh.
Like its predecessor, the Z Fold 6 has three cameras on the back: a 12-MP ultrawide camera, a 50-MP wide-angle camera, and a 10-MP telephoto camera with up to 3x optical zoom. Also, 30X space zoom is available, essentially a fancy term for Samsung’s digital Zoom. The under-display camera is still a paltry 4 MP, which is annoying because when I’m video chatting, I want to use the inside camera with the bigger screen, not the outside one.
Foldable phones are still only for those willing to spend the cash, and with the new batch of Samsung Galaxy foldables, you will have to pay a little bit more. The Galaxy Z Fold 6 costs $1,900 for the 128GB storage equivalent. It comes in silver shadow, pink, and navy blue. If you pre-order before it ships, Samsung will upgrade your storage capacity to 256GB for the same price.
Z Flip 6: A flip phone for the masses
It’s been a delight since Samsung increased the size of the cover screen on the Galaxy Z Flip. This year’s Galaxy Z flip 6 carries on the tradition with a 3.4-inch Super AMOLED Flex window just as saturated as the inside display. The cover screen now allows for more widgets on each home screen, and there’s even an AI-powered cover screen wallpaper that changes with the day and weather.
The inside display is a 6.7-inch FullHD+ Dynamic AMOLED with a 120HYz adaptive refresh rate. It’s a little long in the tooth, but any flip phone you get, including the Moto Razr+, feels this way compared to a regular candy bar phone. The device has also been updated with a new Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 processor and 12 GB of memory with up to 512 GB of internal storage. The battery pack is now a whopping 4,000 mAh pack.
The Galaxy Z Flip 6’s camera system is identical to the Galaxy S24: a 12-MP Ultra-wide camera and a 50-MP wide-angle camera with OIS. There’s also a 10-MP selfie camera on the inside, but the upside of a device like this is that you can use the back camera as a selfie camera when needed. Samsung also added a silly video cam mode that mimics the camcorders from the past. You can even hold the phone on its side to make it look like a Sony Handycam.
The Galaxy Z Flip 6 comes in four colors: silver, yellow, blue, and mint. Several other colors are available on Samsung.com, including black, white, and peach. The device will be on store shelves beginning July 24, when it ships for $1,100.
