First look at the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 and Z Flip 6

For me, the foldable Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 was the revelation of the year. I used it as my primary smartphone for six months, which I detailed in a separate review. Overall, I was satisfied with the device, but several issues, including the lack of dust protection, raised some concerns.

Before the official announcement of the Galaxy Z Fold 6 and Z Flip 6, I made a conscious effort to avoid any leaks about these smartphones, wanting to experience them firsthand and determine whether Samsung had addressed the previous shortcomings. So, let's delve into it.

First and foremost, these are the first foldable smartphones from Samsung with dust protection

The previous generation of Samsung Galaxy Z Fold and Z Flip had IPX8 certification, meaning they were water-resistant but lacked dust resistance. As an owner of such a smartphone, the absence of dust protection proved to be problematic. After six months of use, summer arrived, and with it came sand. A grain of sand getting into the hinge caused the inner screen to malfunction.

Before seeing the new Galaxy Z Fold 6, I was skeptical and firmly decided that if dust protection wasn't included, I wouldn't switch to it. Spoiler: I changed my plans.

In the Galaxy Z Fold 6 and Z Flip 6, Samsung introduced a new hinge that provided both devices with IP48 certification, meaning they are protected against both water and dust. In previous generations, the hinge had exposed mechanisms that allowed sand or dust to enter. This is now less likely to happen. However, I can give a more definitive answer on this matter only after some time and a detailed review with extended use.

For me, as a user and fan of foldable smartphones, dust protection is the main innovation.

The new Galaxy Z Fold 6 and Z Flip 6 are lighter, thinner, and more durable

Besides dust protection, the new hinge reduced the crease on the internal screen of both smartphones, but it is least noticeable on the Galaxy Z Flip 6.

Now, when the smartphone is unfolded, the screen feels completely flat. However, in practice, the crease may become more noticeable over time. We'll have to see how this plays out with extended use.

The Galaxy Z Fold 6 boasts a less prominent hinge.

When the smartphone is folded, the left edge is almost the same size as the right, making the phone look symmetrical. This effect is especially pronounced with the rectangular body, which no longer has rounded edges—a design decision I consider the best they could have made.

This design gives the smartphone a new, business-like appearance that will likely appeal to business users. When opened, it even resembles the BlackBerry Passport (remember that one?).

In addition to the hinge, the body materials have been updated—the frame of the Galaxy Z Fold 6 and Z Flip 6 is now made of reinforced matte aluminum (without titanium this time).

In previous generations, the frame was glossy, making it easy to scratch and, along with the previous color lineup, it made the smartphone feel cheaper. Now, this issue is fully resolved.

The Galaxy Z Fold 6 looks especially impressive in gray—it’s, in my opinion, more attractive than the "natural titanium" of the Galaxy S24 Ultra and iPhone 15 Pro. Meanwhile, the Galaxy Z Flip 6 looks best in mint. If you decide to buy a clamshell phone, I recommend considering this color. However, the other colors are also good: the new lineup includes blue, yellow, and gray. The Galaxy Z Fold 6 is available in three colors: gray, pink, and blue.

In addition to visual updates, the smartphones are thinner and lighter. The Galaxy Z Fold 6 is 0.5 mm thinner—the body thickness is now 5.6 mm when unfolded, compared to 6.1 mm in the Galaxy Z Fold 5.

This makes the smartphone feel much nicer in the hand, and the reduced thickness makes it feel lighter than its predecessor.

The Galaxy Z Fold 6 now weighs 239 grams, compared to 257 grams for the Galaxy Z Fold 5. The weight of the Galaxy Z Flip 6 remains the same as the Galaxy Z Flip 5—187 grams. Overall, kudos for the ergonomics of the new bodies!

Cameras — Unchanged

This year, the Galaxy Z Fold 6 did not receive updated cameras; however, when directly compared with the Galaxy Z Fold 5, the photos appear slightly more textured.

But it's too early to talk about any software changes in post-processing algorithms. We will provide photo samples and analysis in a full review.

The Galaxy Z Flip 6 received an improved main camera — now it’s 50 MP (compared to 12 MP in the Galaxy Z Flip 5). Overall, this should enhance the level of detail in both photos and videos. The second camera is a 12 MP ultra-wide. However, it doesn’t include a telephoto lens.

The lack of a new camera module in the Galaxy Z Fold 6 honestly seems odd. The new model uses the same set of cameras as the Galaxy Z Fold 5, which, in turn, were also used in the Galaxy Z Fold 4. So, these are the same cameras from two generations ago!

In my opinion, it would have been worth including something newer. Ideally, I would have liked to see the same cameras used in the Galaxy S24 Ultra. As someone who regularly works with content and takes photos for reviews, I would gladly shoot with the Fold for one simple reason — I can comfortably edit photos in Lightroom on its large internal screen. Samsung should definitely take note of this.

Now one of the most powerful smartphones on the market: Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3

The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 and Z Flip 6 feature the latest flagship chip, the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, in a special "for Galaxy" version. Compared to the standard version, it has slightly higher frequencies for the ARM Cortex-X4 super-core and the Adreno 750 GPU.

New and actually useful Galaxy AI features

When I tested the Galaxy S24 Ultra, I found only a couple of AI features useful in real life — correcting text errors using AI integrated into the Samsung keyboard, and Circle to Search, which allows you to search any information on the screen in Google.

The Galaxy Z Fold 6 and Z Flip 6 have received several new Galaxy AI features. I’ll highlight those that seemed useful to me.

"Synchronized Translation"

By placing the Fold or Flip in Flex Mode and opening the built-in translator, you can use the external screen to translate your speech into the listener's language. Meanwhile, you will see what they are saying to you on the internal screen.

In my opinion, this is an ideal feature for traveling — when you need to ask a non-standard question at a hotel reception and don’t know how to phrase it in a foreign language. We’ll definitely test the accuracy and speed of this feature later.

Creating detailed sketches in Samsung Notes

By drawing a schematic image of anything, you can turn the sketch into a detailed image using the built-in AI.

This should be a top feature for those who regularly make presentations for work or study, as it allows for quickly adding original illustrations. Image generation is available in several styles.

Translating web pages along with text in images and summarizing content

A very cool feature of Galaxy AI is the ability to translate web pages along with embedded images. This feature has long existed in Safari on the iPhone, but often the translation of text in images is done poorly (in every sense).

Galaxy AI places the translated text quite accurately over the original. The translation accuracy may suffer in some situations, but it’s sufficient for understanding the context of what you’re reading.

Additionally, the AI can analyze the text of a web page and create a summary with the main facts. This feature appeared in Samsung Notes for the Galaxy S24 series. For web pages on the Galaxy Z Fold 6 and Flip 6, it works well right out of the box.

Other new Galaxy AI features

I was impressed with the generation of portraits from photos. The AI creates several versions of your portraits, all of which look equally good in different styles.

Obviously, not many people will use portrait generation daily, but I would definitely use this feature for creating avatars on social media and for presentations.

I also want to highlight the decent performance of the "Assistant for Audio Recordings" feature, which uses AI to transcribe audio tracks, separately highlighting and summarizing each speaker’s speech. I can see this feature being very useful in a university or during business meetings, saving time on manually taking notes.

Additionally, Galaxy AI has learned not only to change the style of your written text and check it for spelling errors but also to generate text on demand, similar to ChatGPT.

As I noted in the Galaxy S24 Ultra review, Samsung needs to integrate all these AI text features into the main interface, not just the keyboard, so that Galaxy AI can be used with Gboard or SwiftKey. Personally, I don’t like the standard Samsung keyboard for working with text. This approach would fix the situation and make it much better.

We’ll discuss other new Galaxy AI features in more detail in a full review.

Conclusion

As an active user of foldable devices, I’m pleased that Samsung continues to work on improving the hinge.

The introduction of dust protection is a very important innovation that makes the foldable smartphone more reliable and durable. Additionally, the new design of the Galaxy Z Fold 6 with straight edges and corners has truly refreshed the feel of the body and appearance. Special thanks for the matte frame, which now doesn’t collect fingerprints and scratches (unlike the glossy one).

It’s a pity that the cameras weren’t updated — I’m eagerly awaiting a new camera module in the next generation. Overall, all the innovations are small but important, ultimately creating a desire to get to know the Galaxy Z Fold 6 and Z Flip 6 better, even for a sophisticated gadget enthusiast like me.