If there was a lingering glimmer of hope in your heart that Samsung’s foldables would finally get a groundbreaking upgrade this year, then brace yourself. What you’re getting instead is a couple of handy tweaks.
The Galaxy Z Fold 6 now comes with a starting price of $1,899, while the Z Flip 6 will set you back $1,099. What do you get for this expense? A few millimeters shaved down here, a slightly sturdier build there, and the obligatory nod to the god of incremental improvement.
Both the Z Fold 6 and Z Flip 6 are powered by a specially-tuned Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset, offering seven years of OS and security updates – Samsung’s way of saying, “Sure it’s expensive, but you’re going to be using it for a loooong time.”
Both phones have marginally better resistance to the inevitable clumsy fumble, thanks to an enhanced hinge design and more robust materials. The inner flexible glass is tougher too, and the devices have been given an IP48 rating.
This upgrade sounds impressive until you realize it means they’re protected from objects larger than 1mm. Dust? The perennial foe of electronics? Still very much a concern.
The Z Fold 6’s outer screen is a smidge wider – we’re talking a grand total of one-tenth of an inch. It now boasts a 6.3-inch display, which, coupled with the 7.6-inch inner display, might slightly reduce the sensation of holding a chocolate bar-sized phone to your face. Weight-wise, it’s dropped a few grams, now weighing in at 239 grams compared to its predecessor’s 253.
Cameras? The Fold 6 flaunts a near-identical setup to last year: a 50-megapixel main camera, a 10-megapixel 3x telephoto, and an updated 12-megapixel ultrawide lens that performs better in low light. Given Samsung’s track record, it’s safe to assume ‘better’ means your midnight snack photos will be marginally less blurry.
Now, for the Z Flip 6. Its cover screen remains unchanged at 3.4 inches – a full 0.6 inches smaller than this year’s Motorola Razr Plus. Samsung has graciously endowed the Flip 6 with a larger 4,000mAh battery and a vapor cooling chamber, features that might make a tangible difference for once.
The camera setup mirrors that of the Fold 6, and the base model now includes 12GB of RAM and 512GB of storage. These are the kind of upgrades that prove Samsung is at least trying.
Of course, the obligatory AI features are present, because what’s a modern smartphone without them these days? There’s even a “sketch to image” feature using AI to transform your S Pen scribbles into images.
In the end, Samsung’s new foldables might not set your world alight (especially if you have last year’s model).
The Z Fold 6 and Z Flip 6 are available for preorder, with the usual smattering of perks like the Z Assurance program for screen repairs. They hit stores on July 24th.