Samsung Galaxy Z Fold6 review

Samsung introduces the Galaxy Z Fold 6, their latest flagship foldable phone. This model promises new innovations aimed at enhancing user experience and functionality. The review explores whether this device is worth pursuing for those interested in cutting-edge foldable technology.

The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 features a foldable design with a large inner screen that transforms into a typical smartphone using an external secondary display. Key improvements include refined aesthetics, brighter screens, and upgraded chipsets alongside enhanced durability through Gorilla Glass Victus 2 panels and an armor aluminum flex hinge. The hinge is more compact for better usability but still doesn’t allow the phone to unfold completely flat. It’s thinner, lighter at 239g, offers waterproofing like its predecessor, and integrates advanced Galaxy AI capabilities seen in recent flagship models.

The cover screen now features a slightly larger 6.3-inch display with an improved aspect ratio of 22:9, offering better usability when folded. Despite the improvement, there is still room for enhancement as other foldable devices offer even wider screens. Additionally, the device has upgraded its dust protection to an IP48 rating.

The inner screen features a 7.6-inch foldable OLED panel with a high refresh rate of 120 Hz, offering smooth visuals. Its aspect ratio is closer to 20:9, providing an immersive viewing experience on its nearly square design.

The Z Fold 6 boasts significant brightness improvements, reaching over 750 nits manually and exceeding 1,600 nits in auto mode. Both the inner and cover displays are sharp, contrasty, support HDR10+ video playback, and maintain consistent brightness levels. The under-display selfie camera on the main screen remains unobtrusive while offering a larger viewing area for various tasks. Despite no changes to the crease where it folds or built-in stylus storage, Samsung retains stylus compatibility with exclusive apps designed for productivity.

The Z Fold 6 features stereo speakers that deliver improved sound quality compared to its predecessor, despite being slightly quieter. The loudness is rated as good, and the audio output offers a more pleasant listening experience with enhanced tonal balance.

The side-mounted fingerprint reader doubles as a power button, enabling users to wake up and unlock their device seamlessly. This design combines functionality and convenience, offering quick access without additional steps.

The Zold S features a side-mounted fingerprint reader that is both fast and dependable. Although it lacks expandable storage via microSD, users can opt for the Zold 6 as an alternative.

Samsung’s Z Fold 6 runs on One UI 6.1.1 atop Android 14, offering a familiar interface with foldable-specific enhancements. A taskbar at the bottom provides quick access to recent apps, similar to tablets, and seamless transitions between cover and inner screens can be customized for uninterrupted use when folding or unfolding the device. The Flex Mode panel optimizes app interfaces by splitting them across both screen halves when partially folded. Multitasking is streamlined through split-screen mode supporting up to three simultaneous apps or floating windows that minimize into side bubbles.

The Galaxy S24 series introduces groundbreaking AI features, enhancing user experience. These include voice recording transcription, Circle to Search functionality, a keyboard-integrated composer tool, and Google Gemini integration. Samsung's live interpreter adapts for foldables by enabling real-time bilingual conversations with translations displayed on separate screens for each participant. Additionally, the stylus-specific "sketch to image" feature allows users to transform rough drawings into refined images.

The Zold 6 will receive extensive software support, including seven generations of OS upgrades and seven years of security patches. This matches the level provided to this year's S series devices. Additionally, AI-generated art is set to replace older elements in its interface.

The Galaxy Z Fold 6 features Qualcomm's latest Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset, a slightly overclocked version of the one in the Galaxy S24 Ultra. This upgrade marks a significant difference from last year's model, the Z Fold 5. Despite this advanced hardware, benchmark results for the new device were not as impressive as expected.

The performance benchmarks for the S24 Ultra are impressively high, showcasing flagship-grade capabilities. It delivers ample power suitable for demanding tasks and ensures a seamless user experience.

Samsung's claim of improved thermal management through a larger vapor chamber falls short during prolonged stress tests. Significant thermal throttling was observed, performing similarly or worse compared to previous models.

The battery capacity remains unchanged at 4,400mAh compared to last year. Battery life is slightly reduced, achieving an active use score of 11 hours and 31 minutes in tests—still a decent performance. The device supports up to 25W charging power but lacks an included charger; its charging speed has decreased from the previous model. Using a proper adapter, it charges from zero to only 38% in half an hour and takes one hour and forty-one minutes for a full charge.

The Zold 6 retains its camera setup from previous years, featuring a 50-megapixel main camera and a 10-megapixel telephoto lens with three times optical zoom. Additionally, the device supports reverse wireless charging alongside standard charging capabilities.

The main camera delivers excellent daylight photos with natural colors, good dynamic range, and well-exposed skin tones. However, fine facial details could be sharper. In low light conditions, automatic night mode processing enhances detail capture while maintaining pleasant color rendition despite some graininess.

The telephoto camera delivers good photo quality with a slightly contrasty look, but results can be inconsistent. Some shots appear hazy or soft, possibly due to misfocus issues specific to the review unit. When sharp photos are achieved, they exhibit excellent detail, vibrant colors, and impressive dynamic range. In low light conditions, it captures detailed images with manageable noise levels while maintaining pleasing colors and solid dynamic range.

The ultrawide camera delivers adequate performance despite modest specifications. In daylight, it produces noise-free images with good detail, high dynamic range, and pleasing colors though sharpening is pronounced. At night, the camera maintains decent quality by using minimal noise reduction to preserve details.

Foldable devices offer the unique advantage of capturing selfies with rear cameras, using the cover screen as a viewfinder. These shots deliver excellent quality comparable to regular main camera photos. Alternatively, users can opt for traditional selfies via a 10-megapixel front-facing camera in the cover screen, though these images tend to have excessive sharpening. Additionally, there’s a 4-megapixel under-display selfie camera within the inner screen designed primarily for basic use.

Video quality for video calls and selfies is soft and lacks clarity. For recording, the main camera supports 8K but 4K proves more practical with good results across all rear cameras. While detail isn't flagship-level, color rendition is vibrant yet balanced, dynamic range wide, and consistency between cameras commendable. Electronic stabilization ensures smooth footage while low-light performance of the main camera delivers solid quality.

The Galaxy Z Fold 6 is a high-quality foldable flagship with minor updates compared to the previous model. It features slight improvements like being thinner, having dust protection, a brighter and slightly wider screen, and the latest chipset. However, these changes may not justify an upgrade for those who already own the Galaxy Z Fold 5. The older model provides nearly identical functionality at potentially better value.

The video discusses the selfie and main camera quality of affordable foldable phones. It highlights reviews on devices like Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 and OnePlus Open, emphasizing their value for money. Viewers are encouraged to share opinions about these models.