It’s surreal to think that Samsung has launched the Galaxy Z Fold 6 when it feels like the first Z Fold was released just yesterday. Now, the company has introduced the Z Fold 6 along with the Z Flip 6, Galaxy Ring, and Galaxy Watch 7 series. If you’re curious about the new features this foldable offers, here’s everything you need to know about the Galaxy Z Fold 6.
Galaxy Z Fold 6: Build and Design
The Galaxy Z Fold 6 features a sharper and flatter design compared to its predecessor, giving it a slightly boxier appearance than the Galaxy Z Fold 5. When unfolded, its dimensions are 153.5 x 132.6 x 5.6 mm, and when folded, they are 153.5 x 68.1 x 12.1 mm. This makes the Z Fold 6 1.4 mm shorter, 2.7 mm wider, and 0.5 mm thinner when unfolded.
Samsung claims improvements in the hinge and the Armored Aluminum frame make the device 14 grams lighter. Thanks to the improved hinge, the phone now achieves an IP48 rating. The digit 4 indicates the design prevents debris larger than 1mm from entering the device, making the Fold 6 more durable than its predecessors.
Besides the boxy design, other elements such as the cameras, microphones, USB Type-C ports, and speakers remain in the same positions as last year. However, there are significant improvements in the display.
Display and Performance
Despite being 2.7mm wider when unfolded, the Z Fold 6 retains the same 7.6-inch diagonal display size. The notable change lies in the panel resolution, now at 2150 x 1856 pixels, with the phone itself being 1.4 inches shorter.
Additionally, the Z Fold 6’s display can achieve a peak brightness of 2,600 nits. The cover display has been extended by 0.1 inch in height. Both displays feature AMOLED 2X panels with a 120 Hz refresh rate, although only the cover display is protected by Corning Gorilla Glass Victus 2.
In terms of performance, the Z Fold 6 benefits from the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset and 12GB of RAM. Qualcomm claims the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 offers 50% better performance than its predecessor, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, and is more efficient due to its latest core setup of:
- 1 x Cortex-x4 @ 3.3 GHz
- 3 x Cortex-A720 @ 3.2GHz
- 2 x Cortex-A720 @ 3GHz
- 2 x Cortex-A520 @ 2.3GHz
Samsung asserts that due to efficiency improvements, users should experience an additional hour of battery life on LTE.
Galaxy Z Fold 6: Cameras and Battery
The cameras on the Z Fold 6 remain unchanged: a 50 MP F/1.8 primary wide shooter, a 10 MP f/2.4 telephoto, and a third 12 MP f/2.2 ultrawide camera. There’s also a 4 MP under-display camera on the internal screen and a 10 MP selfie camera on the cover screen. It’s disappointing that there are no improvements in the camera department.
Likewise, the battery retains its 4,400 mAh capacity, identical to that of the Galaxy Z Fold 5. However, the charging speed has been upgraded to 45W, matching that of the Galaxy Z Flip 6.
Storage and Software
The Z Fold 6 features UFS 4.0 storage and LPDDR5 RAM. Unlike the Z Flip 6, which received a RAM upgrade across all models, there’s no storage enhancement with the Z Fold 6. The RAM remains at 12 GB across all variants, and storage options include 256GB, 512GB, and 1TB.
Running One UI 6.1 based on Android 14 instead of Android 15 is disappointing, considering the latter’s imminent release. This decision will count towards one of Samsung’s promised 7 major Android updates.
In addition to the hardware updates, Samsung will introduce Galaxy AI features that debuted with the Galaxy S24 series earlier this year.
Samsung Z Fold 6: Pricing and Availability
The Galaxy Z Fold 6 sees a $100 price increase, with the base variant priced at $1,899. The 12 GB + 512 GB model costs $1,999, and the 12 GB + 1 TB version is priced at $2,099. Preorders are now open on Samsung’s website, and shipments begin on July 24, 2024.
In summary, the Z Fold 6 offers a modest upgrade from the Z Fold 5, but nothing groundbreaking. For a detailed comparison and to determine whether it’s worth upgrading, check out our Z Fold 5 vs Z Fold 6 comparison.
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