Review: Samsung Galaxy Z Fold6 and Galaxy Z Flip6

Six years on, I'd have liked to see Samsung in a different place with its folding smartphones. Don't get me wrong, the new Galaxy Z Fold6 and Galaxy Z Flip6 are closer than ever to fully matching their nonfolding counterparts, with better durability, slimmer designs, brighter screens, and lighter weight. Every year we've seen small refinements, but these devices cost more than ever: The Fold6 starts at $1,900 and the Flip6 is $1,100—$100 more than 2023's models.

I'd have expected Samsung to figure out how to stuff its popular S Pen stylus from its Galaxy S Ultra series into the Z Fold series by now, truly turning it into a mini drawing tablet. I assumed we'd see far more apps supporting a multipane layout on the 7.6-inch screen instead of the blown-up version from a normal phone (looking at you, Slack). Or more creative ways to use the screen real estate, something the OnePlus Open excelled at on its first try. Dare I ask for a 5X zoom camera like on Google's Pixel Fold? Even with the folding flip phones, I prefer what Motorola's doing with its larger external screen. Samsung's updates on the Flip6 seem stale.

Underrated Build

I might be a little unfair in this criticism. Almost no one else has a lineup of six generations of folding phones, and these handsets now feel equivalent to the traditional smartphone unlike any other folding handset sold in the US. You don't have to worry about water resistance, overall durability has improved (they've been tested for some dust resistance now at IP48!), and the specs are more or less identical to the Galaxy S24 flagship phones (you can read all the full details about these phones here).

Samsung is even offering a free replacement screen protector on its folding devices if you scratch the internal screen one year from your purchase date, or a reduced $200 screen repair price if you crack the display two years from the date you bought it. That helps remove some apprehension when dropping wads of cash on a phone with a hinge.

Photograph: Julian Chokkattu

I like the new angular, sharp edges of the Fold6 and Flip6, but the Fold6's wider front screen is what's most impressive. Yes, the device is still a bit thick, but using this 6.3-inch screen feels completely normal, unlike in previous years. Apps don't feel squeezed in, and I've been comfortably using it roughly 70 percent of the time. The other 30 percent is with the phone opened to its expansive 7.6-inch display. It's remarkable how flat this unfolded device is; it's an engineering marvel.

The Flip6 continues this impressive build quality, though I wish there were an indented lip to more easily open the device with one hand (I don't have long nails, so this could be a me problem). I find the external screen on the new Razr+ more useful and easier to navigate, whereas you need to do more work to customize the Flip6's cover screen to get what you want. Samsung has added a vapor chamber to dissipate heat and cool the Flip6 during intense processing. But on my day out with it in the Paris heat (around 80 degrees Fahrenheit), snapping pics and using Google Maps, I got a notification telling me the device needed to cool down.

Still, it is so much easier to recommend the Flip6 to anyone. Who doesn't want a tiny phone in their pocket that expands to a 6.7-inch screen with a flick? The battery life, thanks to a beefier 4,000-mAh cell, is a little better, though it requires a once-a-day charge with average use. On busy days, like when I walked throughout Montparnasse in Paris for half the day, I had to borrow someone's charger so I wasn't stranded without a phone.

The Fold6, despite the slightly larger 4,400-mAh battery cell, has considerably more screen to power, so my battery experience has been roughly the same. A full day with average use (maybe a bit extra) or heavier use (aka watching lots of Instagram reels) will likely require a top-up by the evening, especially if you use the 7.6-inch screen a lot. I have been able to take it to two days with minimal use. It's also great having the option to expand your screen estate on a whim.

I've multitasked with split-screen apps and enjoyed the larger view in some apps that take advantage of the bigger screen. There's still a crease in the middle, but that never gave me much issue. It does bug me that I have to rotate the phone to landscape view to get the much nicer two-pane view in Gmail (where I can see my email list on the left and email contents on the right). I know this isn't Samsung's fault, but there's plenty of collaboration between the two companies and I wish this was resolved by now.

Other annoyances? I don't love the side-mounted fingerprint sensor on these phones anymore. I'm too used to accessing an in-display sensor, which is easier to reach with any hand holding the phone, but the capacitive sensor on the side often requires me to swap grips or use my other hand to unlock it. (It's a nitpick, but hey, we're six years in!)

The cameras now more closely match what you get on the Galaxy S24 series, and they're pretty great. I rarely had gripes with the resulting photos, though I wish Samsung stuffed a longer telephoto zoom camera here, like the 5X optical zoom on its Galaxy S24 Ultra. That said, I do like the addition of Camcorder Mode on the Flip6—launch the camera, go to video mode, and put the fold at a 90-degree angle and sideways in your hand like you're holding a camcorder. I find it easier to film and access the onscreen controls one-handedly and get stable footage.

Photograph: Julian Chokkattu

Photograph: Julian Chokkattu

The number-one camera feature is the same as before: You can see your preview on the external screen on either of these phones, allowing you to take your own travel pictures hands-free in front of a subject without giving a stranger your phone. As I was setting up the Flip6 to snap a picture in front of the Eiffel Tower, a fellow tourist asked whether I wanted her to take the photo. I said no thanks; she saw the Flip6 angled to me and said, “Whoa, is that a flip phone? That's so smart.” Indeed.

It's a great travel buddy, especially with the new updates to Samsung's Interpreter mode. Toggle on this mode and you can fold the screen to have your words translated into text on the external screen for the other person to see. They can tap a button on the external display to start talking, and their translated words will pop up on the internal screen. It works well enough to get by when you're in optimal noise conditions and people speak relatively clearly, though you still have to get through the awkwardness of gesturing how the whole process works first.

The AI Tax

Much of what is new on the Fold6 and Flip6 is Galaxy AI, the wave of artificial intelligence features Samsung first launched on the Galaxy S24 series. I rarely found the need to use most of them, but some are handy, like the Voice Recorder app, which does a decent job of transcribing audio recordings (though it's not anywhere near as instant as Google Recorder on Pixel phones). More impressively, it can translate those notes into another language.

Photograph: Julian Chokkattu via Portrait Studio app

Another new addition is Portrait Studio, which lets you turn photos of people into a specific art style, like “watercolor” or “sketch.” It's kind of like Prisma from a few years ago, but the generative AI produced renders of my wife and I that don't look much like ourselves. Neither of us felt a particular connection to our AI-generated supposed likenesses.

Far and away the breakout AI feature, however, is Sketch to Image. I have spent more time than I'd care to admit drawing over my existing photos and adding hats and glasses to pictures of my dog, all generated based on my sketches. I had moments where it refused to generate sketches, like when my drawings were too far apart in the image. But when it works, it's shockingly good. Like when I added a UFO over the Louvre Pyramid.

Photograph: Julian Chokkattu via Sketch to Image app

Samsung still needs to sort out its AI story though. Press and hold the power button and these phones still summon Bixby, Samsung's long-neglected voice assistant. Am I supposed to use Bixby? Galaxy AI? Or swipe in from the corner of the screen to access Google's Gemini chatbot? It's a bit confusing, and Samsung has mentioned it has plans to bring Bixby back from the shadows, but it also never uttered the assistant's name a single time during its recent Galaxy Unpacked press conference.

All this to say, I think the increased competition in the folding space is good for Samsung. These are fantastically refined devices that are almost as polished as nonfolding phones, but they're still not necessarily the phones I'd gravitate toward. The Motorola Razr+ has a bit more personality and a nicer cover screen, and I liked the OG Pixel Fold so much that I'm holding out for its sequel. For the inevitable Fold7 and Flip7 next year, I hope to see a few of the features I've been waiting for without a price jump. And would it be so hard to make a low-cost flip? After six years, I think it's about damn time.