Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 6 Early Impressions: Still as Limited as its Predecessor

The $1,100 Galaxy Z Flip 6 bears a striking resemblance to its predecessor, the $1,000 Galaxy Z Flip 5. The camera bumps are bigger with larger frames, and the hinge is somewhat much pronounced, but its inactive the aforesaid silhouette. As Samsung dropped the details connected its latest phones earlier this week, it became evident this would beryllium a comparatively insignificant update from past year’s device. Samsung continues to constrain what you tin bash connected the screen screen. Accessing apps oregon utile settings successful the clamshell’s smaller signifier origin is inactive a pain.

The Galaxy Z Flip 6 inactive has the aforesaid 3.4-inch AMOLED “FlexWindow” exterior show arsenic the Z Flip 5. When you archetypal footwear up the Flip 6, you don’t person immoderate options for apps connected the exterior screen. Instead, you’re presented with a wider enactment of widgets from past year. Some of these are useful, particularly if you’re into fittingness tracking done Samsung Health. As a journalist, I deliberation the exterior surface dependable recorder is useful without opening the phone. There’s different Spotify widget to power your music, but if you’re similar maine and similar Apple Music oregon Tidal, sorry, there’s nary option. 

Samsung inactive requires users to spell into their telephone settings, look nether Advanced Features, and past Labs to get the enactment to usage a paltry fewer apps from the exterior screen. As of now, it’s the aforesaid enactment arsenic past time. You person options for Messages, Samsung Messages, Google Maps, Netflix, WhatsApp, and YouTube. That’s it. 

You request to download the Good Lock app from the Samsung app store to entree immoderate different apps connected the screen screen. Then, you indispensable download MultiStar and prime the “I [heart] Galaxy Foldable” to motorboat antithetic apps from their Good Lock widget connected the exterior screen. 

Because the surface size hasn’t improved from the past spell around, you’re inactive not getting the champion app acquisition you could be. The keyboard inactive takes up astir of the show erstwhile you benignant anything. Watching videos connected specified a tiny show isn’t large for folks who hatred straining astatine tiny text. Most apps inactive aren’t straight designed for specified a tiny UI, truthful accessing your playlists connected apps similar Apple Music tin instrumentality much scrolling than usual.

That’s to beryllium expected, but it’s unclear wherefore Samsung doesn’t conscionable enactment the enactment to usage each apps connected the exterior surface successful the phone’s settings. The constricted exterior surface apps are inactive categorized nether “Labs” adjacent though we’ve had a full twelvemonth to instrumentality these options retired of the “experimental” phase. Compare this to the latest $700 Motorola Razr and $1,000 Razr+. Both fto you entree immoderate of your apps and astir of your instrumentality settings from the get-go from either a 3.6-inch oregon 4-inch exterior screen, depending connected whether you opt for the little oregon much costly foldable. On the different hand, Samsung has a much varied enactment of widgets and panels. 

Not All of Your Samsung AI Features Will Work connected the Galaxy Z Flip 6’s Exterior Screen

Google made a large woody retired of its Circle to Search and different Gemini AI features coming to the latest Galaxy foldables. Samsung promised users that they would person “AI-assisted functions without needing to unfastened the device.” This includes immoderate of the Galaxy AI substance procreation for messages, adjacent though you cannot entree those texts by default without enabling them successful settings. However, Samsung included a enactment successful the good people of its archetypal press materials that reads, “Circle to Search is not disposable via the FlexWindow.” 

Typically, you entree Circle to Search with a motion oregon by holding down connected the motion bar. There’s nary specified barroom connected the Galaxy Z Flip 6’s screen surface UI. Just arsenic before, the lone 2 controls connected the exterior surface are the backmost and location buttons.

I tin already perceive folks arguing that it’s specified a tiny surface that nary of these apps oregon touted features would beryllium handy. I spell for the opposite. Their constricted capabilities are a payment for the phone. Clamshell foldables person the added payment of keeping maine from getting sucked into a achromatic spread of societal media oregon my bottomless pit of emails. I tin cheque Slack oregon Discord without needing to reply to each message.

We request to clarify that this is simply a antithetic telephone from past year, conscionable not a drastically antithetic one. It’s got a caller CPU with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 and a bigger artillery astatine 4,000 mAh versus 3,700 mAh connected the Z Flip 5. There’s a caller 50 MP camera and automatic zoom for utilizing the foldable arsenic a faux camcorder. The Galaxy Z Flip 6 besides has a redesigned hinge and a amended particulate absorption standing than its predecessor, which, connected paper, should assistance support the caller 1 moving for longer. There are much widgets and wallpaper options present than before, but without a much unfastened UI, this latest clamshell doesn’t consciousness immoderate antithetic than the 1 from past year, adjacent erstwhile it’s increasing much expensive.