The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 is now official. Revealed at a Samsung Galaxy Unpacked event on July 10, 2024, this new flagship foldable phone builds upon the formula of its predecessor, the Galaxy Z Fold 5, but brings in more power, a tweaked design, and a host of artificial intelligence features baked in.
People expecting new cameras and a titnaium design may be left disappointed, as on paper Samsung hasn't really made any significant changes. But a lot of little tweaks can add up to a big deal. For our verdict on the new Fold, check out our Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 review.
Below we'll breakdown the main upgrades the Galaxy Z Fold 6 brings to the table and whether it looks set to get a spot on our best foldable phones list.
Cut to the chase
- What is it? The latest flagship Samsung foldable
- When is it out? July 24, 2024 / July 31 for Australia
- How much will it cost? It starts at $1,899 / £1,799 / AU$2,749
- What are the core upgrades? New Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chip tuned for Samsung, a bigger battery, a shorter and wider design
- Is it tougher than the Fold 5? Yes. The hinge has been upgraded and the Armor aluminium is stronger
Release date and price
I have some bad news: the price of the Galaxy Z Fold 6 has jumped up from that of its predecessor.
In the US, the starting price has risen from $1,799 to $1,899. In the UK it's jumped by £50, from £1,749 to £1,799. Australians will need to pay an extra $150 as the price has risen from AU$2,599 to AU$2,749.
Now the Galaxy Fold phones were never cheap, but the price hike may be difficult to swallow when the likes of the Google Pixel Fold and OnePlus Open undercut the Fold 6 but hundreds. However, Samsung is pitching the Fold 6 has a high-end device and it comes with a whole lot of feature that could justify the high ticket price. Just bear in mind, that Samsung once again doesn't bundle in an S Pen like it does with the Galaxy S24 Ultra.
As for the release date, in the US and UK, the Galaxy Z Fold 6 went on sale in the US and UK on July 24, with Australia needing to wait for July 31.
New Snapdragon chip
As is the case with all new Samsung Galaxy phones, the Fold 6 gets a new chipset. And like the Galaxy S24 series, the new Fold has access to Qualcomm's Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, only it's not a standard off-the-shelf slice of silicon but one tuned for Samsung.
Now the previous Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chip was no slouch, or indeed the Gen 1. I know this as I've been using a Galaxy Z Fold 4 for some time and it's never felt slow. So the touted 14% boost in CPU performance and 25% jump in GPU performance in benchmarks, does not stir me.
However, ray-tracing performance is up by 53%, which should deliver more visually impressive gaming, and add in a 1.6x larger vapor chamber and the Fold 6 could deliver high performance for longer than the Fold 5.
And a 41% jump in neural processing performance means the Fold 6 looks set to power snappy responses from its baked-in AI tools; more on those later.
It would have been nice if Samsung up the RAM of the Fold 6, but it sticks to 12GB. Likewise storage coms in 256GB, 512GB and 1TB variations. Check out the specs table below for more information and how the phone compares to its rivals, and do read my breakdown of the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 specs for a deeper look and analysis.
| Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 | Google Pixel Fold | Oppo Find N2 Flip specs | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dimensions (folded): | 68.1 x 153.5 x 12.1mm | 139.7 x 79.5 x 12.1mm | 85.5 x 75.2 x 16.02mm |
| Dimensions (unfolded): | 132.6 x 153.5 x 5.6mm | 139.7 x 158.7 x 5.8mm | 166.2 x 75.2 x 7.45mm |
| Weight: | 239g | 283g | 191g |
| Main display: | 7.6-inch QXGA+ Dynamic AMOLED 2XInfinity Flex Display (2160 x 1856, 20.9:18), 374ppi120Hz adaptive refresh rate (1~120Hz) | 7.6 inch (2208 x 1840) OLED | 6.8-inch 21:9 (2520 x 1080) 120Hz LTPO E6 AMOLED, protected by UTG |
| Cover display:: | 6.3-inch HD+ Dynamic AMOLED 2X Display(2376 x 968, 22.1:9), 410ppi120Hz adaptive refresh rate (1~120Hz) | 5.8 inches (2092 x 1080) OLED | 3.26-inch 17:9 (720 x 382) 60Hz AMOLED, protected by Gorilla Glass 5 |
| Chipset: | Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 Mobile Platform for Galaxy | Google Tensor G2 | MediaTek Dimensity 9000 Plus |
| RAM: | 12GB | 12GB (LPDDR 5) | 8GB (LPDDR5) |
| Storage: | 256GB / 512GB / 1TB | 256GB / 512GB | 256GB (UFS 3.1) |
| OS: | Android 14 / One UI 6.1.1 | Android 13 | Android 13 w/ ColorOS 13 |
| Primary camera: | 50MP, f/1.8 | 48MP, f/1.7 | 50MP, f/1.8, 23mm, 86° FoV (Sony IMX890) |
| Ultrawide camera: | 12MP, f/2.2 | 10.8MP, f/2.2 | 8MP, f/2.2, 16mm, 112° FoV (Sony IMX355) |
| Telephoto | 10MP, f/2.4 | 10.8MP f/3.05 | |
| Front Camera: | 10MP, f/2.2 | 9.5MP f/2.2 | 32MP, f/2.4, 21mm, 90° FoV (Sony IMX709) |
| Inner Camera | 4MP | 8MP f/2.0 | |
| Battery: | 4,400mAh | 4,727mAh | 4,300mAh |
| Charging: | 30 mins with 25W adapter (wired) | 30W (wired) | 44W (wired) |
| Colors: | Silver Shadow, Pink, Navy [Samsung.comExclusive] Crafted Black, White | Porcelain, Obsidian | Astral Black, Moonlit Purple |
A shorter, wider design and display
At a quick glance you'd be forgive for thinking the Galaxy Z Fold 6 was identical to its predecessor. But Samsung has shortened the phone's hight and made it a little wider.
As a result, the cover display is bigger by 0.1 inches. That might sound inconsequential but it makes the display that bit more usable in one hand when the Fold 6 is folded shut.
It's long been an issue with reviewers and myself that the cover display on the Fold phones feels too tall and narrow to be easily usable; Samsung may have fixed that with this design tweak.
The Fold 6 is also slimmer and by a millimeter or two, and weighs 239g to the Fold 5's 252.3g. As such, the new Fold feels that bit nicer in the hand. Add in an improved dual-rail hinge that can better withstand shocks and pressure, along with a 10% improvement in the 'Armor Aluminium' chassis, and you're looking at a tougher overall foldable phone.
The range of Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 colors is also pleasant if a little uninspired. I like the look of the pink model and the gray-meets-sliver of the Shado Silver option, but the navy version is basic. Exclusive through Samsung, there's also a 'Crafted Black' option and a white color; I've not seen these in the metal and glass, but neither shade sets one's pulse racing.
Clever cameras and a stealthy upgrade
It's arguably a little disappointing that Samsung didn't take the 200-megapixel main camera found on the Galaxy S24 Ultra and put it into the Galaxy Z Fold 6 , given the latter phones price. Insead the South Korean tech giant has suck with a 50MP main camera much like the one it gave the Fold 5.
However, a Samsung representative explained to me that give the AI processing and improved image signal processing, there's no need for a higher resolution main camera sensor. Be that as it may, but I tend to think the more megapixels to play with the better.
The telephoto camera has also stuck to a 10x telephoto camera with a 3x zoom. That's fine but it's not likely to compete with something like the 5x optical zoom of the iPhone 15 Pro Max's periscope camera.
However, the ultra-wide camera is new. Despite sticking to a 12MP sensor, aperture and pixel size, Samsung says the camera has improved low-light photography thanks to a dedicated image signal processing unit. And it can now capture HDR photos.
A small upgrade, but add in AI features and you're still looking at a rather flexible camera system, especially when you add in there's the front-facing camera and an under-display camera on the foldable display. All this is helped by Samsung's ProVision engine having an overall upgrade, which should deliver better photos that are more balanced in terms of colors and contrast.
AI features baked in
Out of the box, the Galaxy Z Fold 6 is running Android 14 with One UI 6.1.1 on top of it. So you'll get features like enhanced lock screen customization and Magic Compose that'll serve up smart responses to messages with different tones.
But the significant thing here is the implementation of Samsung's Galaxy AI. We've already see this with Generatvie Edit on the Galaxy S24 series, which lets you basically recompose a photo using AI to fill in the gaps or get rather artistic with a real-world shot.
For the Galaxy Z Fold 6 these features have been retooled to work on the foldable display. This means Circle to Search can address search queries across the tablet-like screen on the Fold 6. That screen can also be used to better tweak photos with the Smart Select, a AI-powered image overlay and selection tool, and the new Sketch to Image tools, which recognises S Pen scribbles as trying to put sunglasses on an image of a dog, for example.
There's now a new transcription feature for the Note app that can provide a summary of one's notes. And a new Composer feature in the Samsung Keyboard can generate text based on simple keywords for emails, social media posts and comments.
Probably the smartest new AI feature is how the Interpreter app can work across the Fold 6's displays by providing a conversation mode that shows two-way translations of the main and cover displays, the idea being it aids more natural interactions between two people speaking different languages. Live Translation also works in third-party apps.
A battery boost, but charging remains static
Take a deep breath as the Galaxy Z Fold 6's battery has been boosted by a whole... 400mAh. Ok, so that's not a lot as it puts the Fold 6's battery at 4,400mAh compared to the Fold 5's 4,000mAh.
But this is notable as the Fold 6's more-powerful chip and AI features means it's silicon heart will likely be running harder and faster for longer, meaning it needs more energy. So that 400mAh could make the difference between a phone that last a day and one that gives up the ghost mid commute home.
I'm a little disappointed that the charging is still stuck at 35 watts when wired, as that's not fast at all, But then again, the Fold 6 can apparently charge to 50% in around 30 minutes, which ins't bad and may help prolong the battery's health.
Should you buy the Galaxy Z Fold 6?
Having fully reviewed the Galaxy Z Fold 6, which achieved a hefty 4.5 out of 5 stars from Editor-at-Large Lance Ulanoff, I think it's safe to say the new flagship foldable phone is the one to get if you want a top-tier foldable experience.
There's an argument that it doesn't deliver quite enough for people to upgrade from the Galaxy Z Fold 5, but for newcomers to foldables it may just be the high-end phone to get.
Ulanoff noted that the "Galaxy Z Fold 6 is Samsung's most comprehensively thought-out foldable to date" and the combination of a cleaner design and AI features make it very appealing indeed. The cameras leave a little to be desired, but they still deliver solid phone photography. The price is the only real sticking point.
If you baulk at the high price tag, may I suggest waiting a few months and the Black Friday sales as that's when we tend to see price cuts on the Fold series.
