Galaxy Z Flip 6 overview: Iterative upgrades

Most smartphone reviewers can be harsh on Samsung’s Galaxy Z Flip 6 as a result of it is so much like final 12 months’s Z Flip 5. Whereas that is a good argument, tech YouTubers and bloggers usually overlook the typical smartphone consumer is not upgrading their smartphone yearly. In reality, individuals are hanging onto smartphones for longer than ever earlier than, due to improvements in hardware durability and multi-year commitments to software program updates, significantly on the Android facet.

That is the place Samsung’s Galaxy Z Flip 6 is available in. If you happen to evaluate the system to final 12 months’s Flip 5, there is not so much right here past a number of minor spec bumps. The brand new clamshell foldable incorporates a extra squared-off design, a quicker chip, a long-overdue rear digicam improve, and some surprisingly intelligent AI tips, however past these adjustments, it is practically similar to final 12 months’s Flip 5.

Which means for those who’re into foldables and already a Flip 5 proprietor, there is not sufficient right here to warrant an improve. However, for those who’re nonetheless utilizing a Flip 3 or Flip 4, otherwise you’ve been on the fence concerning the wild world of folding gadgets, now is a superb time to dive in, primarily as a result of the notable trade-offs beforehand tied to foldables are practically totally gone.

Really helpful

Galaxy Z Flip 6

Samsung’s Galaxy Z Flip 6 would not mess with factor, however it does include a bigger battery, higher cameras, and extra RAM to make your total foldable expertise smoother.

Execs

• Beautiful design
• Affordable price ticket for a foldable
• Upgraded rear digicam and chip

Cons

• Not a lot of an improve over the Galaxy Z Flip 5
• Cowl Display screen would not wrap round lenses just like the Razr+
• You continue to should be extra cautious with foldables

See our course of

How we test and review products at Pocket-lint

We do not do arm-chair analysis. We purchase and take a look at our personal merchandise, and we solely publish purchaser’s guides with merchandise we have really reviewed.

Value, availability, and specs

Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold 6 is out there in two storage configurations: 256GB for $1,100 and 512GB for $1,220, straight via the Samsung Retailer. This 12 months’s Samsung Retailer unique colours embody crafted black, peach, and white. The remainder of the choices are yellow, mint, silver shadow, and blue. The smartphone is out there as of July 24.

On the specs entrance, the Fold 6 provides a {hardware} array similar to the Fold 5, although there are a number of upgrades price highlighting. This consists of the identical 50-megapixel important digicam accessible within the Galaxy S24 and S24 Plus, and the 12-megapixel ultrawide has a brand new sensor. The foldable additionally options Qualcomm’s highly effective Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chip.

The interior display screen options 2,600 nits of peak brightness (a rise from 1,750 with the Flip 5), and the battery has been upgraded from 3,700 mAh to 4,000 mAh, providing all-day battery life in my expertise, so long as you follow average use. Lastly, the Flip 6 options 12GB of RAM over the Flip 5’s 8GB. In follow, this seemingly will not do a lot for the typical foldable proprietor, however for those who’re a giant multi-tasker, you must now have a barely smoother expertise (extra on this later).

Galaxy Z Flip 6 design

An act of refinement

In terms of smartphones, I place a variety of inventory in how a tool seems and feels, with a fair larger precedence on this planet of foldables. This 12 months, the important thing change is the Flip 5’s extra squared-off sides. This offers the system a sleeker total aesthetic and makes it simpler to carry in your hand, however it additionally ends in the Z Flip 6 trying extra like an iPhone. I do not take situation with this, however the extra Apple-adverse Samsung followers on the market may not be followers of this transformation.

I actually like that the perimeters of the Flip 6 are totally matte and do not present smudges or fingerprints. Additional, the telephone’s energy button and quantity rocker stay clicky and responsive, similar to they’ve been for the previous few Flip generations. Alongside the squared-off sides are minimized bezels each on the inside foldable show and the Cowl Display screen. The change is minimal, however it’s welcome as a result of it offers the Flip 6 an total extra trendy look.

The Flip 6 is a pleasure to make use of, and most significantly for a foldable, it feels sturdy and well-made, significantly in the case of the hinge. I nonetheless take situation with the general sturdiness of foldables, however the Galaxy Z Flip 6 has me questioning this opinion — it feels extraordinarily strong, significantly when quickly opening and shutting the system. The important thing can be if it holds up over a number of years of use like a typical smartphone. I am additionally keen on the very cute rear lenses and their coloured outlines. The Flip 6 is already a flashy telephone, and this simply provides to its distinctive look.

Individually, I have never been a fan of clamshell foldables. I understood the enchantment of book-like foldables as a result of they provide you a pill in your pocket, however the clamshell design? What is the level. I’ve performed a 180 on this opinion, and this is the place I am at now: they’re cool. The design may not be for everybody, however on a base-level, it is enjoyable to open and shut the Z Flip 6. In an business filled with boring smartphones that look the identical, this makes clamshell foldables thrilling and, extra importantly, totally different.

I am a sucker for a novel smartphone shade, so I am a giant fan of the mint Galaxy Z Fold 6 Samsung despatched me. It seems nice underneath assorted lighting circumstances, and the matte inexperienced rear is satisfying to run my fingers down. I really like a matte smartphones, and this 12 months, Samsung has embraced that design route totally.

Associated

Smartphone durability is about more than crack-free screens

Smartphones are higher than ever at surviving a fall, however sturdiness is extra difficult than simply exterior look.

Galaxy Z Flip 6 Show

A strong hinge and foldable show

Whereas I’ve frolicked with each Flip era, the final Samsung clamshell foldable I used as my every day smartphone was the Galaxy Z Flip 2. Quick-forward to the Flip 6, and it is clear Samsung’s foldable show know-how has come a great distance. The plastic really feel of earlier generations is gone, and as a replacement is a folding display screen that looks like a typical smartphone show — solely it folds.

On the specs facet, the 6.7-inch AMOLED panel incorporates a 2,640 x 1,080 pixel decision and a quick 120Hz refresh price. Every thing from YouTube movies to shopping the web seems gorgeous on the Galaxy Flip 6’s display screen. Samsung’s display screen prowess is on full show right here, and at instances, the Flip 6’s display screen matches the 24 Extremely’s constancy. That stated, the crease remains to be very seen, particularly when utilizing the telephone outdoor. I rapidly received used to it, similar to I’ve with practically each foldable, however for those who have been hoping this could be the 12 months the crease dies, I am sorry to be the bearer of dangerous information. It is barely extra noticeable than the Razr+’s foldable show crease.

Sadly, the Flip 6’s Cowl Display screen disappoints this 12 months. The three.4-inch 720 x 748 60Hz Cowl Show seems dismal subsequent to the Razr+’s edge-to-edge entrance show that wraps round its rear lenses. Hopefully, subsequent 12 months Samsung opts to enhance the clamshell foldable’s entrance show. I proceed to query the utility of the Cowl Show, and in my a number of days with the Flip 6, I have never discovered that I’ve used it fairly often (it is primarily a straightforward solution to view and activate notifications for me).

Samsung nonetheless would not allow you to run any app on the Cowl Show straight out of the field, forcing customers to make use of Good Lock. It is unclear why the corporate insists on doing this, however given Motorola’s Razr has allowed customers to run any app for a number of generations now, it is an odd determination.

Associated

Samsung’s Galaxy Watch 7 and Galaxy Watch Ultra are familiar but impressive

Samsung’s annual summer season Unpacked occasion ushered within the arrival of the brand new Galaxy Watch 7 and the Galaxy Watch Extremely.

Galaxy Z Flip Digicam upgrades

Flagship-level digicam efficiency in a foldable

One of many key points with all of Samsung’s foldables has been lackluster important digicam efficiency. Due to the brand new 50-megapixel major shooter, that is modified, leading to images that is on par with the Galaxy S24 and S24+. The Fold 6’s different shooters, which embody a 12-megapixel ultrawide and a 10-megapixel selfie shooter, carry out effectively, too.

So long as you are keen on Samsung’s out-there picture post-processing, you will be happy with all of the Galaxy Z Fold 6’s cameras, with the principle digicam being the star of the present. That stated, I do not like how the foldable usually blows out highlights and struggles to snap pictures of transferring topics, however I’ve additionally encountered this situation with each Samsung telephone I’ve ever used. General, photos are crisp, clear and have ample element, particularly when shot with the principle digicam.

Samsung has packed in a number of intelligent digicam options that make the most of the Flip 6’s distinctive design, together with the power to snap selfies with the system closed, permitting you to get a transparent have a look at your face as you shoot. You too can place the foldable on a desk half-folded, supplying you with a built-in tripod for group pictures, full with AI-powered auto zoom that works higher than I anticipated. These aren’t options I will seemingly use fairly often, however I can see them being very helpful for many Flip 6 house owners.

You too can as soon as once more fold the Flip 6 and use it like a camcorder, providing a enjoyable nostalgic blast from the previous. These are nice digicam tips that supply genuinely helpful utility tied on to the Z Flip 6’s distinctive design.

Associated

Samsung’s new Galaxy Buds 3 and Buds 3 Pro look more like AirPods

With a brand new stemmed design and higher drivers, it looks as if Samsung cares about its earbuds now.

Galaxy Z Flip 6 efficiency

The Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 provides ample energy

Final 12 months’s Z Flip 5 carried out admirably underneath practically all circumstances, and that continues this 12 months with the Flip 6 and its Qualcomm-made Snapdragon 8 Gen 3. Whether or not I have been watching movies on YouTube, taking part in video games, or doom-scrolling on X, efficiency has been easy. If you happen to’re into benchmarks, the Flip 6 hits 2,271 for single-core and 6869 for multi-core, putting it even above the Galaxy S24 Extremely’s rating with Geekbench 6.

The system additionally stays far cooler than earlier Flip fashions, partly attributable to its bigger vapor chamber that helps preserve the system working at a extra cheap temperature.

Associated

9 apps I install immediately on any new Galaxy phone

From WhatsApp and Microsoft 365 to Fiton and Steam Hyperlink, the must-have apps on your new Samsung Galaxy telephone.

Galaxy Z Flip software program

Welcome to the wild world of AI

I nonetheless contend that One UI is simply too difficult, significantly while you’re looking for a particular function within the Settings app. Sure, you’ll be able to seek for the setting you are in search of, however you should not have to. Nonetheless, for those who’re a long-time Samsung system consumer, you will already be aware of the intricacies of the corporate’s bloated Android pores and skin, so this would possibly not be a problem for you.

The important thing software program choices this 12 months embody a number of AI function, and to my shock, lots of them are literally helpful. I’ve taken a number of Galaxy AI options for a spin, however the important thing standout for me is Sketch to Picture, which lets you draw something on a photograph, and have it seem. The outcomes are combined, however undeniably cool, and I can see a variety of Flip 6 house owners having a good time including enjoyable AI creations to pictures. Nonetheless, the function would not appear to have the ability to considerably change an individual’s look and solely lets you add enjoyable issues like a hat or horns. This can be a good transfer on Samsung’s half given the controversy surrounding AI, however it’s noteworthy nonetheless. The flexibility to simply take away or transfer objects round images additionally works excellently.

To high issues off on a extra detrimental notice, the brand new Potrait Studio AI choices are terrible and in each occasion I examined the function out, the ensuing AI creation was ridiculous (take a look at the GigaChad model of me above — I really feel your ache, Sydney Sweeney).AI options launched with the Galaxy S24 collection, together with Circle to Search and the Interpreter app, are right here as effectively. Just like years previous, Samsung guarantees seven years of software program updates with the Flip 6, which is nice information for those who plan to hold onto the foldable for a very long time.

Associated

From Galaxy S to Galaxy S24 Ultra, here’s a complete timeline of Samsung’s flagship phones

Here is a glance again on the growth of Samsung’s flagship smartphones, from Galaxy S as much as the more moderen Galaxy S24.

Do you have to purchase the Galaxy Fold 6?

That relies on what system you are at the moment utilizing

If you happen to personal the Fold 5, there seemingly is not sufficient right here to warrant an improve to Samsung’s newest clamshell, particularly at launch (await the inevitable six-month low cost the corporate usually provides).

However, for those who’re leaping into the world of foldables for the primary time since you’re in search of a novel smartphone expertise, the Fold 6 is tough to beat, particularly when its cheap value is taken into consideration. In that very same vein, these nonetheless utilizing earlier variations of the Flip will admire the upgrades the Galaxy Z Fold 6 provides, together with a greater major digicam, a quicker chip and a sleeker design.

Really helpful

Galaxy Z Flip 6