Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 review: delightful, refined, and recommended

The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 divides opinions. On the one hand, it’s an engineering marvel that still turns heads and delights onlookers, but on the other, it’s barely any different from the last model and isn’t the spec sheet monster many expect for the price.

As I’m about to explain, whether any of this matters or whether you should consider buying it is a matter of perspective.

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6: design and screens

Taking the right perspective requires thinking about the Galaxy Z Fold 6 differently from a phone like the Galaxy S24 Ultra. Samsung’s Z Fold range has been about small changes making a big difference for a few generations now, and the latest version continues the trend. Tiny alterations to the dimensions, screen aspect ratio, and weight of the device will disappoint spec-peepers, but in the real world, they make the phone more usable, comfortable, and manageable than ever before.

You can compare the relevant numbers elsewhere, so lets talk about using, holding, and living with it instead. The Galaxy Z Fold 6’s weight and dimensions have been refined to the point where it’s less cumbersome to carry around than my iPhone 15 Pro Max inside a case. I’m convinced Samsung has improved weight distribution, too, as it feels wonderfully balanced in my hand, and the minimally altered 6.3-inch, 120Hz Cover Screen dimensions have improved one-handed use even more than the Galaxy Z Fold 5.

However, if you’re genuinely wanting to use the phone with one hand, it’s still a bit of a juggling act. My preferred way is to cradle the closed phone with one hand and swipe-type and navigate with the other. Open the phone up, and the 7.6-inch adaptive 120Hz screen is still as excellent as previous versions for games and video, and because it’s thin and quite light, it’s not fatiguing to hold in front of you and read on it either. I adore that the Z Fold 6 is such an accomplished all-rounder.

It’s much more durable these days with its Armor Aluminum, improved hinge, IP48 dust/water resistance rating, Corning Gorilla Glass Victus 2, and alterations to the inner screen’s cover. Plus, the size and weight aren’t as much of a hurdle anymore. I feel the same about the screen’s crease. I know people notice it, and I understand it’s different from viewing an all-glass flat screen, but once there’s color and activity on the screen, it does blend into the background.

I don’t even notice it that much when swiping over the screen, and when I do, it’s not uncomfortable or a hindrance. It’s still there, but it has been minimized over the years, which actually neatly describes most of the hardware aspects that may once have been a problem for Samsung’s foldables.

This is where perspective comes into play. The Galaxy Z Fold 6 is not a perfect piece of hardware, but don’t fall into the trap of being put off by small quirks or outdated concerns that Samsung has worked hard to minimize or fix, to the point where they are now almost inconsequential.

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6: software and Galaxy AI

I have a well-practiced routine in place when I use a new Samsung phone. I change the keyboard from Samsung’s version to Gboard, alter the ringtone and notification sound, change the default screen layout to a 5×5 app grid, and make sure the Do Not Disturb and the always-on screens are active and correct. I change the default browser to Chrome, plus a few other tweaks to get it just right. Once it’s set up like this, I find Samsung’s One UI interface comfortable and effortless to use. I say all this to illustrate it does need to be personalized extensively out of the box, as the stock setup is a bit of a Samsung-ified blank slate.

The one thing about my usual setup I find isn’t as applicable on the Z Fold 6 is the keyboard, as Samsung’s version is more tailored to the cover screen’s size and is more accurate when swipe typing. It’s also better spaced than Gboard for typing on the open screen. One UI is filled with features, some of which feel superfluous. I don’t know why there are so many ways to swap between apps, including the Taskbar and a pull-out shortcut menu, in addition to the usual helicopter view of open apps and the app drawer. I really only need one.

Multitasking continues to be excellent, and the phone happily runs three apps on the open screen at the same time, with the option to add a fourth floating window if really necessary. If you buy an S Pen stylus, it works with the Z Fold 6, and there’s a special case available to hold it, too. However, this is all unchanged over the Z Fold 5. What is new is Galaxy AI, which “assists” you with everything from translations to formatting notes and producing summaries. The option to perform all this assistance on-device rather than in the cloud is welcome, but none of the features make the phone worth buying, and a whole lot of them are available on other Samsung phones.

I’ve found One UI 6.1.1 on the Z Fold 6 is keen to send more notifications around hints, tips, and alerts about saving battery life or setting up an unused feature. It’s annoying and unnecessary. I have also had some bizarre issues. One very odd situation was when I was awoken in the middle of the night by the phone verbally announcing something was updating, and it let me know about each 10% change as it was downloading and then updating. I still have no idea what app did this. Unbeknownst to me, it also added an alarm for 7 a.m. to my Do Not Disturb settings. I think there are multiple ways to deactivate it, and I don’t think I’ve unchecked all the options because it still seems to activate.

Samsung has committed to providing seven years of Android software updates and security updates for the Galaxy Z Fold 6, which should more than easily cover the amount of time anyone will actually keep the phone. I haven’t experienced any app compatibility problems or reliability issues, and aside from it needing careful setup and some very odd behavior around the Do Not Disturb setting, I find it pleasant to use. However, don’t expect to use all the Galaxy AI features very often, and they certainly aren’t a reason to buy the phone.

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6: camera

Don’t go looking for dramatic changes in the Z Fold 6’s camera compared to the Z Fold 5. It’s the same 50-megapixel main camera, 10MP telephoto for a 3x optical zoom, and 12MP wide-angle camera on the back. On the cover screen is a 10MP selfie camera, and on the open screen is a 4MP under-display camera. It’s not a competitor to the Galaxy S24 Ultra, but it can still take good photos.

It’s a very “Samsung” camera with strong reds, greens, and blues dominating photos and very capable HDR that makes them pop off the screen. Sunny day photos are vibrant, colorful, and exciting, if not technically very accurate to what you see in real life. For a lot of people, this will be exactly what they want. However, if you want to be a “mobile photographer,” it’s not going to satisfy you at all.

Why? When you look at the Z Fold 6’s images critically, the wide-angle camera takes muddy, low-quality images, especially in sub-optimal lighting, and at any zoom level apart from 3x, the photos are disappointing, just like the 4MP under-display camera. Lens flare using the main camera is quite common (but not always unwelcome), but it’s great otherwise. It’s good when you’re not demanding too much of it, but very keen photographers will find it does not provide the versatility and quality they want.

There’s AI sprinkled throughout the camera app, and it’s fine, but nothing more. Give the generative AI a relatively simple shape to remove from photos and it’ll just about do it well, but anything that has a busy or complex background just ends up looking smudgy. Sketch to Image changes rudimentary scribbles over photos into something more realistic. It’s sometimes cute and enjoyable, but it’s also quite dimwitted and unable to think too far out of the box. I can’t imagine how often I’d use it outside of the initial experimentation phase.

While the camera is good but not amazing, the Z Fold 6 is easily one of the best phones to view and edit photos on due to the big screen. It’s much easier and quicker to isolate subjects you want to remove from an image using AI, it’s better to see how different edits affect the image overall, and it’s glorious to swipe through your gallery and admire the shots you’ve taken. The simplicity of use and the punchy camera make the Z Fold 6 the keen Instagrammer’s dream phone, but not one for someone looking for more accomplished and versatile camera hardware.

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6: battery and charging

Hidden inside the Z Fold 6’s folding panels is a 4,400mAh battery, which is the same capacity as the one in the Galaxy Z Fold 5. At the time of writing, I’ve not been that impressed with its performance, as quite often, I’ve looked down at it and wondered where all the battery life had gone. It’s shaping up to be a one-day-battery phone. I don’t think this is the way it should be, and it’s potentially an efficiency problem, as the Z Fold 6 doesn’t seem to enjoy working hard, which is at odds with other Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 phones I’ve used.

For example, a one-hour video call takes 18% of the battery, and 30 minutes of Asphalt Legends Unite drains 11%. A full-screen 30-minute YouTube video at 2160p takes only 4%, though, and I don’t notice much excessive drain just browsing Chrome or Reddit, suggesting the phone isn’t as efficient as it should be when doing power-intensive tasks. Aside from a little heat build-up around the camera, the back of the phone doesn’t get hot when playing games.

Overall, I’ve found about two-and-a-half hours of general-use screen time takes 50% of the battery, leaving you with at most five hours of screen time a day, provided you don’t play games. This is all very frustrating as the Galaxy Z Fold 6 is a great productivity phone, and a single day of use may not be enough for power users. However, I am only a short time into using the phone, and Android does take its time optimizing itself to your use, so the battery life may improve somewhat the longer you use it.

When it’s time to recharge the Z Fold 6, don’t expect the same 45W charging you get with the Galaxy S24 Ultra, as it tops out at 25W. Considering the cost of this phone, this isn’t good at all. I tested it using a 45W charger from Anker, and it took 82 minutes to recharge, closely matching Samsung’s claim of an 80-minute recharge time. Alternatively, you can use the 15W wireless charging and also charge other products with the reverse charging feature.

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6: its biggest problem

This is an overall positive review of the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 because it’s a very good folding smartphone, and one that’s so easy to live with that you can buy it with very little worry. However, I know people will have a problem with it. It isn’t very different from the Z Fold 5 at all, and it’s not even a top-spec phone for the price. These things considered, I want to tell you that you’re right to think it’s still not good enough.

Because you’re going to pay at least $1,900 for the Z Fold 6, you’re correct to expect more than 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage space, faster wired charging, a better camera, and even a S Pen stylus to be thrown in. Unfortunately, if you want the Z Fold 6 to be the flagship-to-end-all-flagships, it’s just not that. What it is is a delightfully refined, supremely capable phone that perfectly showcases the still incredible folding technology and two-in-one convenience. It won’t disappoint you when you understand what it is and what it isn’t.

That’s what I mean about perspective. The Z Fold 6 is a flagship smartphone when it comes to design and engineering, with an emphasis on media and productivity during use. I don’t think it’s supposed to be a folding Galaxy S24 Ultra or a reimagining of the now-dead Galaxy Note series, which is sometimes how it seems to be viewed. It’s more like a folding Galaxy S24 Plus, and understanding that makes it easier to live with the shortcomings of the specs and the fact it’s very close to being a shameless repeat of last year, as long as you can stomach the price.

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6: price and availability

The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 is yours to buy right now, and you’re going to have to dig deep to get one. In fact, your pockets must be $100 deeper than they needed to be to get the Galaxy Z Fold 5, because the Fold 6 starts at $1,900 for the 256GB model. Shockingly, you could spend as much as $2,260 for the top 1TB model. It’s $100 more than the last model, and while the phone is excellent, it’s really tough to understand why it’s more expensive this year.

What else can you get for this money, aside from a simple used car or a decent luxury watch? Every other top smartphone announced over the last year costs less, even other big-screen foldables like the OnePlus Open and the Google Pixel Fold. That said, it’s definitely higher quality and more durable than both of those, and with more up-to-date tech inside too. If you’re set on a big-screen folding phone, it is the one to buy at the moment. If you want a smaller folding phone, then take a look at the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 6.

If you simply want the best, most high-tech smartphone and aren’t that bothered about the folding part, the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra and Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max have huge screens and huge power, and are also substantially cheaper. We’d normally include the Google Pixel 8 Pro here, but as the Pixel 9 series is coming soon, we’d suggest waiting to see how it shapes up. Similarly, the Pixel 9 Pro Fold (or whatever it will be called) looks likely to arrive at the same time, and you may want to check that one out before buying a Z Fold 6, too.

If you own a Galaxy Z Fold 5, it’s probably not worth upgrading, but from the Galaxy Z Fold 4 back, you’ll really appreciate the difference in size and weight, which make the phone so much more manageable every day. It’s worth taking advantage of Samsung’s generous trade-in offers in this case.

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6: verdict

Open or closed, the Galaxy Z Fold 6 is very good indeed. The new dimensions make it completely usable with almost no caveats when the phone is closed, and with the screen open, its iPad mini-like size means I reach for my tablet or laptop less. It’s a dual-use smartphone that, depending on your own personal requirements, could truly be your one-and-only mobile device.

The problem is the same can almost be said for the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5. We’re still at the point where no foldable is dull, but it is a minimal update compared to the last, which was itself a minimal update, despite the hardware alterations once again making it a better phone to use and own. It’s also still really expensive, even more so this year, and the slow charging, shortish battery life, and strong-but-not-the-best spec make it even harder to justify that amount of money.

Is that still enough to make it a recommendation? Absolutely, but mostly if you haven’t taken that first step into folding phones yet. This is another important perspective, as the Z Fold 6 will certainly be someone’s first folding phone, and if that’s you, I know you’re going to love it.

We should all rejoice that finally you can join the folding fun because the tech has been refined to the point where you won’t have to worry about all those pesky, off-putting early problems. But if you already know this because you’ve got a recent Z Fold phone, you probably don’t need to buy this one, and that’s a bit of a shame.