Samsung Galaxy Z Fold6 Review: A New Standard for Foldable Phones with a Price Tag to Match
I’ve long been a fan of Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold line of foldable smartphones, having used both the Fold4 and Fold5 for extended periods of time. However, there’s one design choice that I’ve always found mystifying and, if I’m honest, a little frustrating: the width of the cover screen (or lack thereof).
I also know I’m not alone in this. During a 2023 visit to Samsung’s HQ in Seoul, I and a couple of other Australian journalists cornered a senior engineer working on Samsung’s Fold series and bullied him—in the kindest way possible—until he conceded that a wider cover screen might not be a bad idea.
What’s more, while in the engineering workshop, we saw mockups of various incarnations of would-be Folds that Samsung’s team had toyed with before settling on the form factor of the then-about-to-be-released Fold5. These inspired hope that a Fold with a broader cover screen might one day grace us with its presence. Less than a year later, that device is here in the form of the Galaxy Z Fold6, and it’s the most compelling the line has produced thus far.
I’ve been using the Fold6 for the last couple of weeks, so let’s dive into its strengths and shortcomings as we consider whether this extremely high-end device (prices start at AUD$2,749) will shift the smartphone needle in favour of foldables.
Fold6 Screens & Design
The Fold6 is the best-looking foldable device that Samsung (or anyone, for my money) has produced. It trades the Fold5’s polished metal surfaces for a classier matte finish and expands the width of its cover screen by a full millimetre. I know that doesn’t sound like much, but trust me when I say it makes a noticeable difference during use. Do I think Samsung should have expanded it even further? Sure. Do I believe Samsung will? Absolutely, but only incrementally over multiple generations. Such is the unfortunate nature of evolving smartphone design from one generation to the next.
For now, the Fold6’s larger cover display delivers a more practical and functional surface than that of its predecessor. This improvement is further enhanced by the introduction of less rounded corners, which add even more real estate and are undeniably more appealing visually than the curved design of the Fold5.
The Fold6’s hinge has also received a protective upgrade, offering a level of resistance to dust that previous models did not. That means you’ll no longer have to worry about grit getting caught up in the complex mechanism, causing an unpleasant grinding sound when used and hindering the phone’s ability to lay completely flat when opened, as ultimately happened to my Fold4.
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This is due to the new phone’s IP48 water and dust resistance rating, which means it scores 4 out of a possible 6 for resistance to particles like dirt and dust and 8 out of a possible 9 for resistance to moisture at varying depths, periods of immersion, etc. For comparison, the Fold5 has a rating of IPX8, meaning it offers the same level of water protection, but zero dust resistance due to the design of its hinge. As such, Samsung’s latest effort with its upgraded hinge definitely gets a tick when it comes to delivering greater peace of mind. I’d still refrain from taking it to the beach, though.
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Speaking of the hinge (or FlexHinge, as Samsung calls it), like previous incarnations, the Fold6 opens and closes with ease, offering just enough resistance to feel secure in either the closed or open position. When open, the device’s added width is even more apparent than when it’s closed (doubly so, funnily enough), and the squared corners make the Fold5 look somewhat unsophisticated and even cheap by comparison (quite a feat when you consider that device started at AUD$2,599 when it launched last year).
The internal screen has also received a significant brightness boost since the last generation, boasting a maximum brightness of 2,600 nits compared with 1,750. While I never had any trouble viewing the Fold5 screen in direct sunlight, more brightness is never a bad thing.
All in all, the Fold6 delivers a more refined, elegant, and premium take on the Fold blueprint, such that I imagine Fold5 users will be looking at their phones and either experiencing a pretty hefty dose of buyer’s remorse or looking to trade up as soon as possible.
Fold6 Functionality
When it comes to new functionality launched with the Fold6, much of it is focused on the Galaxy AI suite of tools unveiled with the Galaxy S24 range at the start of the year. Some of the upgrades deliver Fold-centric takes on those tools, while others are just enhanced versions of what came before. As such, it’s worth remembering that this is software, so I’m willing to bet you’ll find it on your Fold5 or other Galaxy devices sooner or later, provided you keep on top of your updates.
In the months since its launch, I’ve found Galaxy AI to be an impressive collection of features that are genuinely useful on a weekly, if not necessarily daily, basis. While I’m not inclined to go through the whole suite all over again—you can read more about it in my Galaxy S24 Ultra review—there are a few upgrades and tweaks that are worth noting.
The first of these is an adjustment to the Interpreter function, which takes advantage of the Fold series’ dual-screen construction. As the name suggests, Interpreter is a function that provides real-time written and spoken translation between a wide range of languages. Here, Samsung has introduced a conversation mode, in which you can have the Fold open at a 90-degree angle with the outer screen viewable to the person you’re talking to and the inner display facing you. Across both screens, written translations of what the other person is saying will appear, making it easier to communicate across language barriers.
With full transparency, I haven’t found myself in a scenario where I’ve been able to put this to the test, but it’s a good idea in theory, and I have tested the translation software on which it’s based and was impressed with the results. I should also note that Australian English has now been added to the list of languages on offer, meaning it can better handle our unique accent and slang, which is a welcome upgrade.
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Second, the new Sketch to Image feature is a surprisingly fun addition. Simply take any photo you care to tweak, press the edit button and enter Galaxy AI mode. From there, in the bottom left corner of the screen you’ll find a toggle to activate Sketch to Image mode. This will enable you to add even the crudest of sketches to your image and Galaxy AI will interpret your scribblings and replace them with an AI-generated interpretation of what it thinks you’re trying to draw—see my plane example in the image above. The final result gives you multiple options, which are hit-and-miss, but I’m happy to put that down to my limitations as an artist. You may ask what practical real-world uses this feature has, but I’d argue it’s just a bit of fun. Sometimes, that’s justification enough.
The final Galaxy AI feature I’ll call out is the transcript feature that’s now embedded in Samsung’s Notes app. As someone who attends more meetings and conducts more interviews than I can keep track of, in-app transcription, translation, and summarising of voice recordings is very handy indeed. While the results aren’t always perfect, they’re solid and save me a lot of time and effort.
Looking outside of Galaxy AI, I should mention that the Fold6 also introduces upgrades aimed squarely at gaming enthusiasts, with an upgraded processor (Snapdragon® 8 Gen 3 Mobile Platform for Galaxy) and a vapour chamber that’s 1.6 times larger than its predecessor. I’m not much of a gamer—particularly on mobile platforms—so I won’t tell you that this is the portable gaming machine you’ve been looking for. What I will say is that I expect a lot from my phone, and the Fold6 didn’t appear to break a sweat throughout my testing, which bodes well for its ability to handle taxing gaming titles.
This also seems like an opportune moment to bring up the device’s battery. At 4,400mAh, it’s the same capacity as that of the Fold5, but Samsung claims to have optimised it further, adding an extra two hours to its video playback time (23 compared to last year’s 21). In my real-world experience, I found that the Fold6 comfortably managed to get to the end of each day with around 40 per cent of its battery left and with a little awareness about my usage, I could easily get through two full days without having to search for my charger in a panic.
Fold6 Camera
When it comes to the Fold6’s photographic hardware, it’s more or less the same five-lens setup as the Fold5. The 12MP ultra-wide, 50MP wide-angle, and 10MP telephoto lenses on the rear, joined by a 10MP cover-screen camera and 4MP lens under the folding screen, all come together to do a perfectly serviceable job that more than meets my requirements. Samsung’s “Nightography” functionality continues to deliver impressive results in low light, and not once did I feel let down by images captured across the five lenses.
Nonetheless, I stand by an observation I’ve made in the past. Given it’s the most expensive line in Samsung’s smartphone arsenal (again, starting at AUD$2,749), purchasers of the Fold6 would be well within their rights to expect the best hardware across the board. However, when it comes to the camera, the Fold6 holds back.
The simple truth is that Samsung’s S24 Ultra is a better photographic proposition than the Fold6, and while that’s not a dealbreaker for me, you might understandably balk at the idea of laying down such a thick stack of cash for a phone that does not include the very best camera package Samsung has to offer. Instead, you have to settle for one that’s merely very good. Whether that’s something you’re comfortable with will depend on your priorities when it comes time to purchase your next handset.
Fold6 Pricing
At the risk of labouring the point, Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold6 is a highly premium and polished device with a price to match. This is not a phone for anyone light of wallet and there’s a reason why the far more accessible Flip range is perceived as the key to converting the broader market to foldables.
Pricing for the Fold6 starts at AUD$2,749 for the 256GB model, rises to AUD$2,949 for the 512GB model, and maxes out at AUD$3,299 for the 1TB device. That’s a big chunk of change no matter how you look at it, but you are getting a whole lot of phone for your money.
Fold6 Final Verdict
Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold6 is clearly not a device for everyone, nor is it intended to be. Instead, it sits proudly at the very top end of smartphone technology (camera aside), offering improvements like a wider cover screen and more elegantly squared design that make the Fold5 look like an unpolished draft by comparison. That might sound harsh, but the difference is stark.
Put simply, the Fold6 is the most impressive foldable device I’ve encountered from any brand. It sets a new standard for the category, but you should expect to pay accordingly. We’ll have to revisit the topic when Google’s Pixel 9 Pro Fold launches later this year, but for the moment, there’s nothing out there quite like the Galaxy Z Fold6, and I, for one, am glad that it exists.
DISCLOSURE: The author of this article, Rob Edwards, was provided the product by Samsung for the purposes of this review. All opinions expressed are those of the author. For more information on our independence, testing and review guidelines, you can read our full editorial policies here.
