I tried Samsung’s new Galaxy Z Fold 6 smartphone brimming with AI camera features – but the price is a big problem
SAMSUNG is standing by its folding dreams with a new version of the Galaxy Z Fold.
Now into its sixth-iteration model, the South Korean tech giant has made some changes but you may struggle to tell the difference from last year’s Fold.
We said as much about its more compact sister device, the Galaxy Z Flip 6, which has taken a more evolutionary approach sticking to the same design.
There are some decent upgrades to the Z Fold 6.
But it comes at a hefty price – and a bigger one compared to last year too.
Read on for The Sun’s full review below.
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6: Look and feel
Despite packing a 7.6-inch flexible AMOLED screen, the Fold 6 is pretty compact when folded with a tall and narrow form factor I quite like.
The outside display is 6.3in, so it fits nicely in your hand to do things without going for the big screen.
One pleasant surprise is the Fold 6 doesn’t feel heavy – in fact it’s 14g lighter than before, and it’s thinner too.
This makes it only 7g heavier than Samsung‘s flagship S24 Ultra.
It has tough matt aluminium sides which help when opening the device, though the hinge does feel a little on the stiff side.
I’m testing the navy colour which looks gorgeous – the full choice of colours include:
- Navy
- Silver Shadow
- Pink
- White
- Crafted Black
The main foldable display still has a noticeable crease – I don’t know if anyone will ever get around that – but you forget it’s there after a while.
It’s a much brighter display than before too, making it easier to read things outside when exposed to sunlight.
Samsung has also upgraded to a IP48 rating, which can withstand 1mm-sized foreign objects and larger, as well as being able to survive in up to 1.5m of water for around 30 minutes.
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6: Performance and features
The Fold 6 handles anything you throw at it as smooth as butter.
That’s in part due to the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chip and 12GB RAM.
I have no troubles multitasking between several apps – and can manage up to eight apps on screen at the same time without any issue.
And playing games like Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas has no trouble at all.
The Fold 6 runs on Samsung’s own version of Android 14, One UI 6.1.1 which is a pretty clean version of the operating system.
As I’ve said with the Flip 6, Samsung has its own apps which I’m not that keen on, alongside the Google ones – but you can uninstall most of pre-installed apps you don’t want.
My big concern is the hefty price tag
As part of Samsung’s big push for Galaxy AI you’ll find a lot of cool features on the Fold 6.
The handy translation features introduced in January are there, so you can translate a real-time phone call (and it translates your voice back to the other person too regardless of what phone they have).
Text messaging translation has also been rolled out to third party apps, such as popular platforms like WhatsApp – meaning you can translate messages directly within the app.
And if you’re struggling with language barriers on holiday you can translate conversations here too, the translation will not only read out verbally but appear on the external screen for the other person to read.
Samsung has continued its pledge to offer seven years of free software upgrades and security updates on the Fold 6.
Who offers free updates longest?
The longer you receive updates, the longer you can safely continue using your smartphone - with the latest features thrown in too for free.
Samsung
Since the Galaxy S24 series, Samsung said it would provide at least seven generations of OS updates and seven years of security updates.
OnePlus
At the launch of the OnePlus 12, OnePlus committed to at least four years of Android updates and five years of security updates.
Xiaomi
Xiaomi offers four years off Android updates and five years security updates.
Google
For the Pixel 8, Google said that devices would receive at least seven years of support.
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6: Battery
The Z Fold 6 has a 4,400mAh dual battery – which is the same as last year.
This got me a full day’s battery when using it as my main handset for a week, with a steady mix of surfing, gaming, calls, streaming and picture taking involved.
Wired charging is stuck at the same speed of 25W as before too, which gets you around 50 per cent after 30 minutes of charging.
Wireless charging is at 15W – and you can reverse charge for your friends at the slow speed of 4.5W.
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6: Camera
The camera setup on the Z Fold 6 is another element that is virtually the same as before.
There’s a main 50-megapixel snapper, alongside a new 12-megapixel ultrawide-angle lens, as well as a 10-megapixel telephoto camera with 3x optical zoom.
They take some bright, truly colourful pictures with good natural lighting and equally stunning, detailed portrait shots.
Just don’t bother zooming to the max – photos will become really quite naff.
There are some fun AI camera tricks on the Z Fold 6 – such as the ability to draw a rough object with your finger on your photos and the AI will figure out what it was you drew before converting it into something more authentic – see our examples below.
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6: Verdict
There is definitely something luxurious about having a huge foldable screen in your pocket.
The fact that the Z Fold 6 is thinner and lighter while having a bigger display – and being more powerful – adds to that value.
But my big concern is the hefty price tag.
Yes, it is a premium offering but a starting price of £1,799 / $1,899 is, to put it simply, steep – and slightly more expensive than last year’s Fold as well.
You can trim a few hundred off if you trade-in an old phone, so if you are interested, be sure to check that offer out.
- UK buyers: Buy the Galaxy Z Fold 6 from £1,799 on Samsung.com
- US buyers Buy the Galaxy Z Fold 6 from $1,899 on Samsung.com
All prices in this article were correct at the time of writing, but may have since changed.
Always do your own research before making any purchase.