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Six years might not seem like a long time but in the world of tech, it certainly is. Long enough to start an evolution. Long enough to learn, improve and be better with every generation. The idea is to keep improving in a way that’s functional and practical and if nothing works then keep trying and giving your best. That’s what the Samsung foldable smartphones have done. Especially the Galaxy Z Fold6, the sixth iteration of the book-style foldable smartphone.
There aren’t many changes here compared to the previous generation – Galaxy Z Fold5. Just enough to take the foldable experience for users from meeting expectations to excellence, at least marks the steps in that direction and that’s not specific to the Z Fold6. With every generation, things have changed and improved and each time, we’ve said – “the changes are there where it matters the most to users”
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold6 once again does the same thing – brings changes where it matters the most.
Take the new sturdy hinge for instance or the new more industrial design language, the new chipset or the entire suite of Galaxy AI features. All these features and changes are part of Samsung’s ongoing journey of making the foldables deliver – excellence.
The question is: has Samsung managed to achieve “excellence” with the Galaxy Z Fold6? We have a direct answer to the question, but let’s just delve deeper into the phone to find out the answer.
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold6 design
It’s easy to gain weight, but reducing it is something that takes a lot of effort and diet control. Well, we don’t know if Samsung sent the Galaxy Z Fold5 to the gym and put it on a strict diet to reduce weight. But, the Galaxy Z Fold6 has lost around 14 grams which has brought the weight down from 253 grams to 239 grams. This does not seem to be a big deal unless you start looking at the weight of other regular phones. For instance, the Apple iPhone 14 Pro Max weighs 240 grams and Galaxy S24 Ultra weighs 234 grams. So, it weighs like a regular phone and feels like a regular phone too as a daily driver.
When you lose weight, you also get slim and get fit. That’s exactly what has happened with the Galaxy Z Fold6. Compared to the Z Fold5, the Z Fold6 is slimmer – 13.4mm vs 12.1mm. Once again, even if the change does not seem to be big, from a phone’s perspective, it’s a lot. The difference is 1.3mm. That’s exactly how much Apple has reduced the thickness of the iPad Pro 2024 from the 2022 model. Coincidence. Maybe.
The change in the thickness of the Z Fold6 makes the phone feel more compact and handy in the folded state. Samsung has also made the phone shorter and broader than the Z Fold5. The cover display has also become wider. While the thickness does not feel like a regular phone, it does make the cover display more practical. Also, while the size is unchanged, the foldable display is wider than before. That brings two things to the table – fits more content and makes the phone more balanced allowing one to hold it with one hand without the fear of accidentally dropping it.
Now, let’s talk about the major change – how the phone looks. The new flat-edge design looks industrial and professional. It now has sharp edges and we like that design language. The foldable mechanism has also been improved with the new FlexHinge. Samsung has said that the hinge has been strengthened to add to the durability quotient. Also, the phone closes completely flat with no space between the folded displays to keep the dust at bay.
Galaxy Z Fold6 has the IP48 water and dust-resistant rating which makes it the first and only foldable smartphone with both water and dust resistant rating. These are the small, yet important changes that we are talking about. The simple addition inspires confidence in using the phone without having any second thoughts. While we would have loved to see an IP68 rating here. Maybe next time. But, that’s the thing about evolution – it takes time.
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold6 display
We’ve already told you that Galaxy Z Fold6 packs a bigger display. The size has gone up from 6.2-inch to 6.3-inch. The difference is again not much, but a broader aspect ratio makes it easier to type with two hands and also feels less cramped as well. It’s not that other brands haven’t but broadened displays at the front, but we kind of like the more compact form factor of the Z Fold6.
Talking about the foldable display. It is unchanged in terms of size – 7.6-inch. The crease is reduced relatively, but it’s not totally gone. You can still feel it, but it’s a lot less pronounced compared to the Z Fold5.
Both the displays are Dynamic AMOLED 2X panel with 120Hz refresh rate and 16 million colours. The quality of both panels is top-notch. Colours, saturations, blacks and even viewing angles are just perfect. Well, the reflection is there and we wish that Samsung should have found a way to add the Corning Gorilla Glass Armor from the Galaxy S24 Ultra.
Samsung displays have always been class-leading and the Z Fold6 is no different. What’s new is that both the displays get super bright – 2600 nits of peak brightness. And, the brightness level does help cut down on the reflective nature of the display. The added brightness also helps with outdoor visibility. All we can say is that the Z Fold6’s displays are one of the best on a foldable phone.
User experience – Software and AI features
Software has become a key part of the entire Galaxy ecosystem – be it the Galaxy smartphone, Galaxy Book, Galaxy Tab, buds or watch. That said, the Galaxy Z Fold6 comes with the One UI 6.1.1 custom user interface that’s based on the Android 14 operating system. However, it comes with certain improvements and changes that are meant to improve the foldable user experience.
For instance, the entire user interface feels smooth in terms of navigation and animation. Remember we said learning and implementing is what Samsung does with every iteration. Well, a few things have changed in terms of software experience as well. For instance, when you open the multi-window mode, the recently opened apps in the thumbnails are on the other side. That allows the user to see which app they want to open in the multi window mode. The same goes when opening the third app.
The dock is still there and it functions as expected with up to 4 recent apps and the ability to pin multiple apps for a faster multitasking experience. The thought here is that the Z Fold6 with its improved software experience continues to offer the best multitasking experience on any smartphone.
While the software on Z Fold6 is polished, practical and functional, the added suite of AI features also known as Galaxy AI adds to that experience by making things easier for users.
This time around Samsung has optimised the AI features for the foldable display and also managed to take advantage of the foldable form factor. Take the Live Translate for example. With the update, users can now use the cover display to have a conversation with someone while keeping the texts visible to them on the cover display.
Samsung has also added a dedicated “Galaxy AI” option in the Settings for easier access to the features and put more control in users’ hands.
The new Sketch to Image in Samsung Notes allows users to draw a rough sketch and generative AI turns it into a full-fledged image. Watercolour, illustration, sketch, pop art and 3D cartoon are a couple of design styles available.
The feature also extends to photos. You can draw something on top of an image and convert that sketch into a realistic-looking object. For instance, you can add sunglasses, a hat, a cat, or anything else that you want. We were surprised to see how well this entire thing worked. It’s impressive.
Another new AI feature is the Portrait Studio. The feature turns the portrait photos into 3D cartoons. We liked what Samsung was trying to accomplish with the feature. However, it is a hit or miss at times and the renders aren’t that accurate.
Existing AI features like Note Assist can now record, transcribe and also summarise meeting notes. Well, we used this feature to transcribe interviews and automatically highlight the key takeaways in real-time.
Circle to Search is also available and works as it should. We find the feature extremely useful at times in identifying something from videos, images and even reels.
Our personal favourite is the Samsung Keyboard AI features that can rewrite, and check spelling, and grammar with just a tap of a button.
The Galaxy ecosystem has significantly improved over the years, and the Galaxy Z Fold6 embodies all the advanced features Samsung offers. This includes seamless keyboard and trackpad connectivity with Galaxy Book devices, as well as comprehensive integration with Galaxy Buds and SmartThings. This integration not only unifies Galaxy devices but also connects other Samsung products and even devices from other manufacturers.
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold6 performance
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold6 is powered by Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 for Galaxy chipset, same as the Galaxy S24 Ultra. Samsung has also made the vapour chamber a little bigger to make the phone run a little cooler and keep the thermals in check. The chip is paired with 12GB RAM and up to 1TB storage. In addition to this, the Galaxy Z Fold6 also supports Extended RAM of up to 8GB which further helps enhance the overall performance of the phone.
The phone has enough horsepower to support all kinds of apps and games that the Android ecosystem has to offer. The phone can handle three apps in multiwindow along with a couple of them open in the popup window without breaking a sweat.
Games too run smoothly on the phone, thanks to the faster RAM, better memory management and 120Hz refresh rate display. We played games like Genshin Impact, Diablo Immortal, Asphalt 9 Legends and Apex Legends on it and the entire gaming experience is simply impressive. Also, the bigger vapour chamber helps with the sustained performance for longer period of time.
We also used the phone to edit photos, videos in resource hungry apps like Lightroom, Premiere Pro and even AI photo editing features. The device remains calm and composed without reaching to the too-hot-to-handle stage.
Samsung has also improved the speakers of the phone and it offers deep bass and detailed sound output.
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold6 camera
It’s largely the same as Galaxy Z Fold5 but only in terms of camera megapixels and a new 12MP ultra wide sensor. So, the phone comes with a 50MP updated main camera sensor, a 10MP 3x telephoto with up to 30x digital zoom, and the new 12MP ultra wide sensor. There are two front cameras – a 10MP sensor on the cover display and a 4MP in-display sensor on the foldable display.
Again, Samsung has updated the algorithm of the Z Fold6’s camera setup to offer more details and an overall better output. That reflects in the photos too. In simple words, the images from Z Fold6 are impressive, if nothing else. Well, it’s not at the S24 Ultra’s 200MP level but it’s best not to judge a book by its cover.
The main camera – 50MP sensor – has splendid dynamic range. It’s on point. Take a look at the image below. In this, you can see how well Z Fold 6 has managed to capture the clouds and also retain the shadows, details and vibrance.
In daylight shots, the Z Fold6 delivers elegant shots with sharpness, details and noise well in control. While the images are just a little bit saturated.
In the next image, the photo once again has really good dynamic range, but if you look closely, you’ll find that the building is well-lit and sharp and the shadows are well in control without making the building appear too dark.
Moving on to the portrait photos, the background blur feels natural and has gradual blur effect to it. Additionally, the cutout is just perfect and the phone managed to detect glass too and cut it out accurately. There are ample portrait effects including the new Portrait Studio as well.
We also captured a couple of photos using the new 12MP ultra wide sensor and one thing that we noticed is how much better this sensor is at capturing more light from the surroundings and delivering a distortion-free, vivid and rich output. The difference becomes more prominent in low light conditions.
Coming to the 3X telephoto shots, it’s unchanged, but tuned to preserve more sharpness and details.,
As far as low light photos are concerned, the Z Fold6 does a good job there as well. The photos do not feel overworked to boost the details and light. The Night mode triggers automatically and it also captures shots pretty fast. The images turned out to be crisp, detailed and clear most of the time.
The video capabilities of the Galaxy Z Fold6 are equally impressive, supporting up to 8K resolution. One standout feature is Flex mode, allowing the phone to serve as its own stand for stable video recording without the need for a tripod. Overall, the camera performance of the Z Fold6 is sufficient for most users without any compromise.
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold6 battery
The phone is backed by a 4400mAh battery with support for 25W fast charging. Now, the 4400mAh battery is good enough. We are not saying that a bigger battery wouldn’t have made a difference. But the battery on Z Fold6 manages to last throughout the day with mixed usage of the cover display and the foldable display. During our review period, we used the phone on a daily basis and not once the phone died on us in the middle of something. We often ended up with around 10% battery at the end of the day. The phone easily returned around 6 hours of screen on time and this number is with both the displays, gaming, watching videos, scrolling through social media apps and even scrolling through deals and offers during online shopping carnivals.
Like the battery, the fast charging speed is also limited to 25W and we are not a big fan of it. We were expecting a little bit faster – at least 45W – like the S24 Ultra from the Z Fold6. However, with 25W the tops up in around 1 hour 15 minutes.
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold6 verdict
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold6 price starts at Rs 1,67,990 and that’s not an ordinary price bracket. However, this price gets you a phone that delivers on all fronts. Yes, the fast charging could have been better. Apart from that, it really looks like Samsung has learned and improvised things on Z Fold6 over Z Fold5 keeping the best interest of users in mind. For instance, the new industrial design makes the phone appear more professional. Samsung has also added the IP48 rating for that added piece of mind. And, if all of these aren’t enough, the onboard AI features do bring something extra to the entire user experience. What we want to say is that the Galaxy foldables open the portal to another universe and the Z Fold6 is the latest tool for that.
If you are looking for a foldable smartphone that looks premium and offers premium features and a complete user experience, be it in terms of hardware, software, features or camera, then the Z Fold6 is the phone for you.
