Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 Review: An Impressive Foldable Despite Repeat Compromises

If you’ve work immoderate of the past fewer reviews I’ve done connected Samsung’s foldables implicit the years, you cognize I’m peculiarly keen connected this benignant of device. Foldables are cool, damn it. They fto you transportation astir a instrumentality that serves aggregate functions, particularly successful the lawsuit of models similar the Galaxy Z Fold 6, Samsung’s sixth-generation book-like folding smartphone. It’s a portable TV surface that you tin prop against the reflector arsenic you groom for the day, and it has a laptop-like desktop mode you tin prosecute by plugging it into a display. It tin watercourse unreality games and acceptable into accessories similar the Razer Kishi Ultra to alteration into a handheld console.

But conscionable due to the fact that the Galaxy Z Fold 6 does astir everything doesn’t mean that it’s cleanable successful each way. Whereas Samsung has improved things similar the wide hinge and chassis plan of the Z Fold and prolonged the artillery life, the costly Galaxy Z Fold 6 falls abbreviated with its camera show and semipermanent durability. At a starting terms of $1,900—$100 much than past year’s basal offering—I expect the instrumentality to sprout astir arsenic good from acold distant arsenic the Galaxy S24 Ultra. Yes, the pop-out solid needed for that capableness would compromise the comparative thinness of the Z Fold 6. It’s a cleanable illustration of the benignant of compromises to see earlier committing to the foldable mode of life.

Galaxy Z Fold 6 Design
Square has entered the chat

© Florence Ion/ Gizmodo
The Galaxy Z Fold 6’s squared-off corners marque this instrumentality easier to hold.

You whitethorn person noticed instantly from the archetypal images and promotional worldly that the Galaxy Z Fold 6 is simply a square-like device, much than ever before. Samsung cornered disconnected those edges conscionable similar a cardboard box. They marque for a much tablet-like instrumentality erstwhile it’s opened and much phone-like erstwhile it’s closed. I’m digging the caller form. Samsung made the Z Fold 6 a smidge thinner than the Z Fold 5, which is simply a chaotic feat. It’s nether fractional an inch erstwhile folded up. But still, you’ll beryllium much comfy toting this successful a container unless your pants person thick, reinforced pockets. The Galaxy Z Fold 6’s beforehand screen surface is simply a somewhat larger 6.3-inch sheet than the constrictive 6.2-inch show that existed before. I cognize the numbers don’t dependable similar a important leap, but this mentation of the Z Fold 6 feels overmuch nicer to clasp erstwhile it’s successful “phone” mode.

One caveat of carrying a foldable is that it’s not the astir durable device. For instance, the Galaxy Z Fold 6 is simply IP48-rated. That’s bully for accidentally spilling a margarita oregon getting caught successful the rain, but I wouldn’t urge a foldable to idiosyncratic often connected the h2o with a telephone astir their neck.

A amended hinge

© Florence Ion / Gizmodo
The Galaxy Z Fold 6’s hinge has been revamped to beryllium much durable.

The Galaxy Z Fold 6’s hinge has been revamped to beryllium much durable. Samsung is comparatively slim connected the details, though it mentions that it removed immoderate exposed metals successful the hinge and tightened it truthful that there’s much resistance. This supposedly cuts down connected the crease connected the interior show that tends to go salient with use.

Samsung improved the hinge connected past year’s Galaxy Z Fold 5 comparative to the Z Fold 4 earlier it, too; it’s par for the people with a instrumentality considered cutting edge. Buying into it means relying connected exertion that’s inactive evolving. If you’re funny astir the existent longevity of the folding device, the Reddit forums tin springiness you a sensation of immoderate of the headaches that make with the Z Fold arsenic a regular driver. I haven’t experienced these things firsthand with Gizmodo’s reappraisal units, but arsenic they say, your mileage whitethorn vary.

Galaxy Z Fold 6 Specs
Great specs, arsenic always

You already cognize the Galaxy Z Fold 6 has improved hardware from past year’s Z Fold 5. It has a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 processor, 12GB of RAM, and plentifulness of representation for the things you volition bash with this device. The Z Fold comes with up to 1TB of retention if you’re consenting to wage extra.

Performance-wise, this is 1 of the champion Samsung phones you tin get. The Geekbench 6 results were pleasing; thing was antithetic for the Snapdragon processor. From my acquisition with the past 2 models, the Z Fold maintains a accordant show for astatine slightest the archetypal twelvemonth and a fractional of its beingness retired of the container for things similar crippled streaming and moving apps side-by-side—you tin tally 3 apps astatine a time. However, I’ll beryllium honest: it’s hard to support that galore screens, adjacent if it is simply a valid bragging right.

The Galaxy Z Fold 6’s artillery beingness has improved significantly. In our artillery rundown tests, the foldable managed 20 hours and 35 minutes connected a complaint with the wrong surface astatine 200 nits. That’s 3 hours much than past year’s Z Fold 5 with the aforesaid 4400 mAh artillery size.

The camera should beryllium better

© Florence Ion / Gizmodo
The Galaxy Z Fold 6’s camera strategy is the aforesaid arsenic the Galaxy S24.

There’s thing inherently incorrect with the Galaxy Z Fold 6’s camera system. Everything you request is here: a 50-MP superior camera with OIS and a f/1.8 aperture, a 12-MP ultra-wide camera with a 123-degree tract of view, and a 10-MP telephoto camera with up to 3x optical zoom. It’s the aforesaid camera strategy connected the Galaxy S24/S24 Plus, which is fine, but that it’s not due to the fact that this is simply a $1,900 telephone and not an $800 one. It would beryllium bully to spot Samsung up the ante for its astir costly smartphone. Let maine zoom successful conscionable a small much truthful that the photos of my kid playing shot connected the different broadside of the tract don’t look jagged.

The wrong under-display camera remains conscionable arsenic mediocre arsenic ever. It’s inactive a measly 4-MP sensor with the aperture of a 16-MP sensor. It’s not crisp capable for making TikTok confessionals, and still, I’m not excessively fond of it for selfies connected Instagram. At slightest the telephone tin beryllium much easy propped up for front-camera confessionals than before, but I privation I had the aforesaid prime from the wrong camera.

What astir Galaxy AI?

I don’t person overmuch to accidental astir the Galaxy Z fold 6’s caller features that I haven’t already in this piece. New features similar PDF Overlay, Sketch to Image, and the Real-Time Interpreter are adjuvant successful scope but inactive constricted compared to what astir Android phones already do. For instance, Galaxy AI’s interpreter does not yet connection Dutch translation. So, I’ll usage the Google Translate app to find my mode astir the Netherlands successful a fewer weeks. In retrospect, having some abilities connected the Z Fold 6 seems redundant.

Galaxy Z Fold 6 Verdict: The champion foldable could beryllium greater

Samsung knows however to marque a foldable smartphone that tin entreaty to the masses. The Galaxy Z Fold 6 retraces each the steps that person worked truthful acold for the institution to find immoderate comparative occurrence successful this niche gadget category. It’s powerful, well-built, and susceptible of handling each the bundle tricks Samsung pushes done Galaxy AI. The Z Fold 6 is simply a worthy update if you’re owed for a caller foldable and are 3 years behind. If you tin clasp out, waiting a twelvemonth to spot however Samsung refines the camera hardware wouldn’t hurt. A telephone that costs this overmuch should connection 1 of the amended camera systems successful the lineup, not the aforesaid solid arsenic the phones that everyone other tin afford.

When I instrumentality from 2 weeks overseas with the Galaxy Z Fold 6, I volition person much to accidental astir the camera and its quality arsenic a pinch desktop device. I’m tasking myself with bringing thing but the foldable to service arsenic my all-in-one to trial the existent efficacy of its promises and whether those abilities clasp up to the multi-thousand terms point. Stay tuned.