Samsung Galaxy Z Flip6 Review: The flippy foldable gets even more fun with AI

Blame it on the legacy of the first REALLY successful foldable phone, the iconic Moto RAZR, but for many people, any phone that folds horizontally (down the middle rather than along the longer side) is identified as being a bit of a style icon. Samsung’s own Galaxy Z Flip series has been largely about looking really cool initially but has been graduating to adding to being more than just a pretty face in the foldable race. And the Galaxy Z Flip6 is easily not only the most powerful Flippable phone we have ever seen, but thanks to some AI sorcery, an incredible amount of fun as well.

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip6 design and appearance: Hello, refined Galaxy Z Flip5!

At first glance, you will not be able to tell the Galaxy Z Flip6 apart from its predecessor, the Galaxy Z Flip5. Like the Flip5, the Flip6 also has a 3.4-inch cover or external display (what Samsung calls FlexWindow) with dual cameras and flips open to reveal a larger 6.7-inch one. It has similar straight metallic sides and even has almost the same dimensions as its predecessor – a super compact, 85.1 mm tall when folded and a rather large 165.1 mm when flipped open, and is an extremely trim 6.9 mm when open. Round that off with a similar weight of 187 grams, and the Z Flip6 seems like a total Flip5 doppelganger.

A closer look will, however, reveal subtle changes. The finish on the back is now matte rather than glossy as on the Flip5, giving the Flip6 a more polished look and also making it more resistant to scratches and smudges. The cameras on that external display also have accents of the same color as the back – a small but elegant touch. The Flip6 also has a more solid feel to it than the Flip5 did – it is difficult to specify exactly why, but it feels much better in the hand.

In the best Samsung flagship tradition, the Galaxy Z Flip6 is made of premium materials. It comes with Gorilla Glass Victus 2 protection, an Enhanced Armour Aluminium frame, and IP48 dust and water resistance, which means it can actually survive a fall in the water, although it is more at risk from dust. The prominent Samsung branding on the side when the phone is folded marks it out as a Flip. We got the Mint Green variant, and in the best Flip tradition, it slipped easily into our pockets and was super easy to carry.

You will need both hands to open it as it shuts very snugly. When you open it, you will notice that the ‘crease’ in the internal display is much less visible than in its predecessor. In fact, when it is open, it looks like a ‘normal’ phone, with hardly any gap between its foldable parts. All said and done, the Flip6 is a subtly refined version of the Flip5, and we do not mind it one bit as the Flip5 was quite a head-turner. The Flip6 is, too!

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip6 Specs: Top-class hardware and a camera and battery boost

The Galaxy Z Flip6 comes with proper flagship-level hardware. The phone runs on the powerful Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 processor, similar to the one seen on the mighty Galaxy S24 Ultra, and comes with 12 GB RAM and storage variants of 256 GB and 512 GB. One of the most significant changes in hardware is the main sensor of the phone, which gets boosted to 50 megapixels and is paired with a 12-megapixel ultrawide camera.

This being a Flip, you can use the main sensor to take selfies too, but there is also a 10-megapixel camera in the inner display. Rather remarkably, as both devices are the same size and weight, the Z Flip6 comes with a larger battery than the Z Flip5 – a 4000 mAh one, with support for 25W wired charging and 15W wireless charging. Alas, there is no charger in the box. Also on board are stereo speakers and a side-mounted fingerprint scanner.

The Galaxy Z Flip6 boasts two AMOLED displays, an external FlexWindow display, and an internal main display. While the brightness of both displays has been improved significantly, they are of the same size and resolution as seen on the Galaxy Z Flip5 – the external display is a 3.4-inch one with a resolution of 720×748 px, while the internal one is a 6.7-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2x display with a resolution of 2640×1080 px. Interestingly, the internal display has a refresh rate of 120 Hz, but the FlexWindow has to make do with a ‘normal’ 60 Hz refresh rate. Running on top of this is Samsung’s OneUI interface with Galaxy AI on top of Android 14, with an assurance of seven years of updates. It is a very flagship-level spec sheet, although some might have expected larger and higher resolution displays on the lines of the Moto Razr 50 Ultra, which has a 4-inch FHD external display and a 6.9 FHD internal one.

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip6 performance: Cameras and AI rock stars in a super smooth performer

With a spec sheet that loaded, it is hardly surprising that the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip6 sails through everything that you throw at it, from regular web browsing to watching videos to even high-end gaming (yep, Genshin Impact!) with a degree of ease.

However, almost all of this has to be done on the internal or main display, as the FlexWindow supports limited apps and widgets out of the box. There are ways to get around this, but unlike the Razr 50 Ultra, whose external display lets you do almost everything that you can on the main one (although not as conveniently), the external display on the Galaxy Z Flip6 is a bit more like a large smartwatch – terrific for notifications, weather checks, browsing photo albums and controlling music, but not really designed for heavy-duty work. You will have to flip the Galaxy Z Flip6 open whenever you need to do “serious” work, which is a bit of a pity when you consider how bright that external display is and how super compact the phone is when folded.

What really makes the Galaxy Z Flip6 stand out from its flipping predecessors are its cameras and Galaxy AI, and also the times when they work together. The 50-megapixel main sensor is the star of the Galaxy Z Flip6 show, delivering excellent snaps and videos, although some might find the colors a little too much on the bright side.

The cameras also have perhaps the most talked about feature of the Galaxy Z Flip6, the FlexCam. To use it, keep the phone in a half-open position (like a notebook) and use the cameras to take a photograph or shoot a video, and the cameras automatically zoom in or out to take the best possible snap. It is not always effective, but is a genuinely handy feature and lets you make the most of the fact that you can bend the Flip to take shots from different and very unusual angles. Add features like Instant Slow Mo, which lets you slow down parts of your videos; Sketch to Image, which literally lets you add objects to a photo by roughy drawing them; and option to turn both sketches and actual portrait snaps into artistic paintings, and the Galaxy Z Flip6 becomes one of the most fun cameras to use in terms of versatility. Although the ultrawide camera is a good one, we think Samsung should perhaps consider adding a telephoto in the next iteration of the Flip – it would make the FlexWindow even more insanely cool.

The FlexWindow can also act as a translator in LiveTranslate, letting it display what you speak to the listener in their language of preference. It is surprisingly quick and accurate as well. There are other AI features, too, including the famous Circle to Search and Transcript Assist, which transcribes audio and turns it into text you can edit – it can stumble over names but is generally extremely accurate. AI can also summarise PDFs and notes, and of course, it can draft e-mails and messages and do a whole lot more. There is plenty of AI to go around on the Z Flip6, and although it can sometimes feel a little slow, there is no doubting its utility. What’s more, Samsung keeps improving it. The cameras, the AI, and the magic they often create together are the biggest reasons to go for the Galaxy Z Flip6 in our opinion. We just wish we could do more on the FlexWindow.

While the Galaxy Z Flip6 does have a larger battery than its predecessor, it still struggles to see out a day of normal use if you use AI a lot. Keep the AI in check, and it will get through a day’s use easily. A 33W charger got it fully charged in about 100 minutes, but half an hour’s charging gets it to 50 percent, which is handy enough.

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip6 Price: Flippingly premium

The Galaxy Z Flip6 is available in two RAM and storage options at the following prices:

• 12 GB/ 256 GB: $1099 / ₹ 1,09,999
• 12 GB/ 512 GB: $1219 / ₹ 1,21,999

Those are premium prices and above the $999/₹ 99,999 at which its predecessor, the Galaxy Z Flip5, had started. At those prices, the Z Flip6 runs into some stiff competition, most notably from the recently launched Moto Razr 50 Ultra (razr+ in the US), which runs on a less powerful Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 processor and does not have as good cameras as the Z Flip6 but comes with a larger and more versatile external display and faster charging at $899/₹ 99,999. There is also the slightly older Oppo Find N3 Flip, which might not have the specs of the Z Flip6 but still turns in a good performance, has superb cameras, and is available in the vicinity of ₹ 64,999. And, of course, people will be tempted by the Galaxy Z Flip5, which is a design doppelganger of the Z Flip6 and remains a very good performer (although not in the same camera class) at $750/₹ 99,999.

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip6 Review verdict: A Flip to Flip for if you are an AI fan

It might have got a price increase, but the Galaxy Z Flip6’s cameras and AI tools make it one of the most fun foldables to use. The improved main sensor also makes it one of the best foldables for photography, and while we do wish Samsung would let us do more with the external display out of the box, Galaxy AI makes the Z Flip6 easily the best flip foldable that you can get in the market if budget is not a constraint. It is also the most compact flagship device out there by some distance. When it comes to flip phones, this one is a no-brainer.

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