One of the weakest elements of most foldable phones is their cameras, as while they often have a reasonable selection of sensors, they can rarely match up to the best camera phones – with the arguable exception of the OnePlus Open. Sadly, it doesn’t sound like Samsung plans to change that with the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6.
According to @UniverseIce (a leaker with a respectable track record), the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 will have the same cameras as the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5, meaning a 50MP main snapper, a 12MP ultra-wide, a 10MP telephoto (with 3x optical zoom), a 10MP cover screen camera, and a 4MP under-display camera built into the foldable screen.
This isn’t a terrible setup, but to see no change would be disappointing, especially as these are also the same cameras as the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 has. So this would mean three years in a row with the same camera hardware.
Don't expect much change in Galaxy Z Fold6. At least we can be sure of the camera. It is the same as Fold4 and Fold5, that's for sure.October 19, 2023
Of course, we’d take this with a pinch of salt, but we’ve previously heard similar from @Tech_Reve (another leaker with a decent track record), who added that a change is apparently planned for the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7.
Now, we mentioned above that most foldable phones don’t have great cameras, but that doesn’t mean Samsung can afford to keep the same hardware year after year, especially as this has been a big year for foldable phones. And it’s likely Samsung’s competition will only continue to grow in 2024.
For a few years, there weren't many great foldable phone options other than Samsung’s, which might have left the company feeling it could be complacent, but the landscape is very different now.
Lots of rivals with more to come
From the OnePlus Open to the Google Pixel Fold and the Motorola Razr Plus, just to name some of the best foldable alternatives of 2023, Samsung now has a lot of competition. As such, it needs to impress people – which keeping the same cameras for another year arguably will not; there's always scope for Samsung to do a lot on the software side to improve image processing.
Of course, there’s more to foldable phones than their cameras, and some things are bound to change in the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6. It’s sure to have a more powerful chipset for one, while we also know Samsung is working on dust proofing future foldables, and leaks suggest the Z Fold 6 might have a different aspect ratio for its cover screen, making it less narrow.
But these don’t sound like massive upgrades, and if that’s all Samsung has planned then the Galaxy Z Fold 6 might struggle to rank among the best foldable phones.
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