Samsung Galaxy Z Fold6 Review: Unfolding the AI flag in the foldable zone

The Fold has always been a serious one of Samsung’s foldable portfolio. While the Galaxy Flip has been about portability, style, and fun, the Fold is bigger, more able, and more oriented towards productivity. And this is more the case than ever when it comes to the Galaxy Z Fold6. The latest big fold in the Galaxy Fold series is perhaps the most refined and the most powerful, not just in spec but in actual performance terms, thanks in no small measure to the dollops of AI Samsung has packed into it (with a little help from Google).

Galaxy Z Fold6 design and appearance: Bigger and better, yet slimmer and lighter than before

Unlike the latest Galaxy Flip, the latest Fold cannot be mistaken for its predecessor. It follows the same basic Fold design of opening vertically from the longer side to reveal a tablet-like larger display and has a loud and proud “Samsung” branding on its spine over the hinges and a triple camera capsule on its back, but is clearly different. The external display has been made larger (6.3 inches as compared to 6.2 inches) and also slightly wider.

As a result, while the Fold remains one of the narrowest phones out there (68.1 mm as compared to 70.6 mm of the Galaxy S24), it no longer gives those ‘TV remote’ feels and is actually more comfortable to use, especially while typing. Opening the Z Fold6 reveals a 7.6-inch display, similar to the one that seems on the Z Fold5, but with a smoother hinge and a crease that is not as visible, although you can feel it when you run your finger across the middle of the display. Like the front display, this one too is significantly wider at 132.6 mm (as compared to 129.9 mm), but is also slimmer – a crazy 5.6 mm as compared to 6.1 mm.

The new Fold is also significantly slimmer at 12.1 mm as compared to the 13.4 mm of the Z Fold5 and is lighter too, at 239 grams (the S24 Ultra is 232 grams), as compared to the 253 grams of the Fold5. In other regards, the Galaxy Z Fold6 is a relatively compact phone with a height of 153.5 mm (close to the 152.8 mm of the Pixel 8) and, again, is actually smaller than its predecessor (154.9 mm) in spite of having a larger front display. It also has a more refined and more elegant look than the Z Fold and also shuts very snugly with hardly any gaps. Opening it requires both hands, and the improved hinge feels reassuringly solid.

As always, the Galaxy Z Fold6 is made of premium materials with Gorilla Glass Victus 2 and an Enhanced Armour Aluminium frame. Unlike the Z Fold5, which came only with water resistance, comes with IP48 dust and water resistance, allowing it to survive even in water and also mild dust. Thanks to its slimmer and slightly wider profile, the Galaxy Z Fold6 actually looks like a normal yet premium phone when folded, which is exactly how it should be. Although our Silver Shadow edition looked quietly elegant with its matte-finished back and straight sides, we hope Samsung will be looking at slightly more flashy colors for its Fold!

Galaxy Z Fold6 specs: Totally flagship level

The Galaxy Z Fold series has always boasted top-of-the-line hardware, and the Galaxy Z Fold6 continues this tradition. Both the 6.3-inch external display and the 7.6-inch internal one are Dynamic AMOLED with 120 Hz refresh rates. Rather surprisingly, the external display is not a full HD one and has a slightly odd resolution of 2376 x 968 px, giving it a slightly ‘tall and narrow’ feel, although not as narrow as the 2316 x 902 px of the Z Fold5. The 7.6-inch internal display has a very high 2760 x 1856 px resolution, which is more than the 2176 x 1812 seen on the Z Fold5. Both internal and external displays are significantly brighter than the ones on their predecessor as well.

Powering the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold6 is the powerful Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 processor, with a massive 12 GB of RAM and storage options of 256 GB, 512 GB, and 1 TB. The cameras on the back remain broadly similar to the ones on the Z Fold 5 – a 50-megapixel main sensor with OIS, a 10-megapixel telephoto with OIS and 3x zoom, and a 12-megapixel ultrawide. The front display also has a 10-megapixel camera, while the internal display has a 4-megapixel under-display camera – again, broadly similar to the Galaxy Z Fold5.

In spite of being much slimmer, lighter, and more compact, the Galaxy Z Fold6 has a 4400 mAh battery like the Galaxy Z Fold5, although charging remains a relatively slow 25W over wired and 15W over wireless, with no charger in the box! You also get stereo speakers and a fingerprint sensor mounted on the side (we would have liked an in-display one on the external one, but this is not a deal breaker!), and of course, the device supports Samsung’s iconic S Pen stylus, although that has to be purchased separately.

Running all this is Android 14, with Samsung’s OneUI on top of it, packed with the AI goodness of Galaxy AI. Samsung assures users of seven years of updates, which is right up there with the best! In spec terms, the Galaxy Z Fold6 is very well stacked, although the competition is closing in: the Vivo X Fold 3 Pro and the OnePlus Open both come with larger internal and external displays and also bring special cameras to the table.

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold6 performance: The fold made for AI!

The Galaxy Z Fold6 packs in some fantastic hardware, but its real star is its software. We have seen Galaxy AI on the S24 series and the Galaxy Z Flip6, too, but Samsung’s AI tools take on a new dimension on the Z Fold6, thanks to the option of using most of these tools on a bigger display. For instance, we found ourselves taking pictures while keeping the phone folded and then opening it to edit using Photo Assist, which lets you move or remove an object from an image or even change its size. Features like Portrait Studio, which converts portrait snaps into painting-like portraits, and Instant Slow Mo, which slows down parts of videos, are simply easier to handle on the big display.

And if you have an S Pen handy, you can use the totally magical Sketch to Image feature, which lets you add something to an image by roughly sketching it, very effectively indeed – we even added a bird by making a rough ‘r’ with our fingers! Even features like translating and transcribing, as well as composing notes, messages, and emails, work much better on the big display, as you can simply see more. The best part is that if you are in a hurry, you can even use these features on the front display, which is now reasonably large enough to be comfortable to use – we seldom open the display for using Circle to Search. The Galaxy Z Fold6 serves up the best AI experience we have seen on a smartphone. Period.

Its excellent hardware also means that the Galaxy Z Fold6 turns in a very good performance in other regards as well. The larger external display means that one can actually do a whole lot more without having to open the phone and bring the bigger display into play, mainly for functions like viewing attachments, watching films and shows, and gaming sessions. And all that processor power and RAM that the Galaxy Z Fold6 is very capable of handling heavy-duty gaming and multimedia department – Genshin Impact looks beautiful on that larger internal display, and we were able to open multiple apps side by side on that internal display without any lags (we advise sticking to two apps at the most for best results. More than that and the app windows get too small). There is some ‘banding’ in some videos, but by and large, the Galaxy Z Fold turns in a very good performance in large display mode,

When it comes to photography, the Galaxy Z Fold6 is a bit of a mixed bag. The main sensor takes very good images in good light conditions and even churns out some decent low-light snaps with slightly saturated colors, but the telephoto and ultrawide sensors are both best used in good light conditions only. Portrait shots are impressive, and the bokeh is good, but. selfies are best left to the 10-megapixel sensor on the external display, as the 4-megapixel camera under the internal display does not deliver good detail or color.

The Galaxy Z Fold6 is not a flagship-level camera phone but will get the job done in most conditions. As with previous Fold devices, editing images and videos is easy and convenient on the large display. This, allied with the plethora of AI tools on board, enables one to tweak images and videos very comprehensively, making even relatively modest snaps shine.

The battery life of the Galaxy Z Fold6 really depends on how heavily you use that internal display and AI. If you use both a fair bit, the 4400 mAh battery will not see out a day. Stick mostly to the external display (which is perfectly possible), and the Z Fold6 will sail through a day easily. Charging speed is not the greatest. Although a 33W charger can charge the phone up to 50 percent in about 30-35 minutes, a full charge will take around an hour and a half.

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold6 pricing: Super premium, as always

The Galaxy Z Fold series has always come with a premium price tag, and the Galaxy Z Fold6 is no exception to this pricing rule. The Galaxy Z Fold6 is available in three RAM and storage variants at the following price tags:

• 12 GB/ 256 GB: $1899 / Rs 1, 64,999
• 12 GB/ 512 GB: $1699 / Rs 1,76,999
• 12 GB/ 1 TB: $2259 / Rs 2,00,999

This is significantly more expensive than the Galaxy Z Fold5, which started at $1799 / Rs 1,54,999, although the Galaxy Z Fold6 does bring better hardware and a notably larger external display to the foldable table. Also, unlike in the past, the Z Fold6 faces a fair deal of competition. In terms of specs, it goes up against the Vivo X Fold 3 Pro, which actually boasts larger displays, better cameras and faster charging, and is available for a price of $1299 / Rs 1,59,999. There is also the OnePlus Open, which comes with a slightly older processor but has impressive specs, faster charging, and very consistent performance at a price of $1399 / Rs 1,39,999. Finally, its own predecessor, the Galaxy Z Fold5, is still very much around in the market, has Galaxy AI tools, and still works very well for a price in the vicinity of Rs 1,40,000.

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold6 Review Verdict: Unfold your wallet for this Fold? Yes, if you love AI!

The Galaxy Z Fold6 does not come cheap, but if you are looking for a productivity-oriented foldable with really effective AI, this is as good as it gets. While something like the Vivo Fold can match it in the specs department, Samsung is a step ahead of it in terms of implementing AI tools and utilizing both screens. It has its weak points, most notable of which is that low-resolution external display and cameras that are good rather than great (the Vivo Fold has changed expectations in that regard), but in terms of overall performance and software (with its array of AI tools made in collaboration with Google), the latest Fold in the Galaxy family remains a formidable proposition. Its lead over the competition is not as great as it once was, but the Galaxy Z Fold6 remains the Fold to beat when it comes to the phone-tablet form factor!

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