Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6: All you need to know about the book-like foldable

The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 brings upgraded hardware inside a more compact foldable body to the masses. This slim and trim foldable features software goodies like AI tools as well as powerful new internals. Under the hood, the biggest improvement is the powerful Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 for Galaxy chipset.

You can feel the cross-generational difference with both the Fold 5 and the Fold 6 next to each other, with the latter being noticeably sharper and squarer with a new lip to help unfold it. This lightweight feel and elevated design really puts a cherry on top of such a premium Android experience.

The one thing that remains the same, despite the larger rims, is the camera setup. It seems like photography upgrades aren't to be expected with the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6. If that's a deal breaker for you, perhaps you should wait for the Samsung Galaxy Fold 7 which is fast approaching the light of day.

Our Galaxy Z Fold 6 review takes a deeper look at what this new foldable offers while offering some insight as to whether you should buy one. Be mindful of the price of the device, because sometimes it goes on sale for much less than that during sale events, and Samsung, in particular, is known to have exciting offers on the device. If you're just looking to learn more about the phone for now, we've got all you need to know about it below.

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6: Price and availability

Samsung announced the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 way back on July 10, 2024, at the Galaxy Unpacked event. Following that, the device went on sale on July 24, 2024. The base model ships with 256GB of storage and starts at $1,899. Upgrading to the 512GB model will cost you $1,999, and 1TB of storage brings the price up to $2,099. All models ship with 12GB of RAM regardless of storage size, which could either be a positive or a negative factor depending on how you choose to look at it. We're expecting to see price drops as the imminent Z Fold 7 launch approaches.

That's a sizable bill, even if this is the most premium foldable on the market for now. Thankfully, we frequently see plenty of Galaxy Z Fold 6 deals that bring that price way down, making it a lot more affordable. And of course, Samsung also offers some epic trade-in offers and too-good-to-be-true deals when you order unlocked models.

Samsung also launched a Galaxy Z Fold Special Edition in Korea in October 2024. It's basically an even slimmer version of the Z Fold 6 with upgraded cameras including a 200MP primary sensor. The Special Edition has a larger 6.5-inch cover display and an 8-inch internal screen. It comes in only one 16GB/512GB storage option and costs roughly $2,035.

Samsung.com orders also have the choice of two additional colorways: Crafted Black — which looks like the phone has carbon fiber on the back — and white.

The Galaxy Z Fold 6 is sold in three main colors everywhere else, including Silver Shadow, Pink, and Navy. Phones purchased through your carrier of choice in the U.S. will include one year of Samsung Care Plus for free.

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6: Design and displays

Samsung retained a similar design language from previous Galaxy Z Fold phones, working on enhancing the sleekness of the device rather than an overhaul. However, there is one very apparent difference this time around: the corners are now almost fully square. The Z Fold 6 has a sharper, more book-like appearance because of its sharper corners and edges. It also works to make the screen appear slightly larger since the corners are now filled with more display versus having cut-out rounded corners as in previous models.

Samsung also adjusted the aspect ratio of the phone slightly, adding 3mm to the cover display while only making the phone physically 1mm wider than the Z Fold 5. Smaller bezels and a tweaked hinge help with these measurements. The wider front screen makes it more similar to a conventional non-folding phone, which makes it easier to use on the go.

The phone's height shrunk by 1.4mm when compared to the Z Fold 5, and it's even 2.5mm wider when unfolded than that phone. Samsung further reduced the weight of the phone again this year, bringing it down to 239g. That's down from 252g on the Z Fold 5 and 263 grams on the Z Fold 4. It is marvelous how lightweight the Fold 6 is compared to other foldables.

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A new "floating edge" or lip makes its way all the way around the top, bottom, and outer edges of the phone, making it easier to open the folding phone than before. Previously, the edges of Z Fold phones closed completely flush, making them slightly difficult to open when not using a case with a built-in lip. It's a similar effect to how some laptops are difficult to open if they don't include a small lip for your fingers. The new ledge greatly reduces the risk of you scratching the phone when trying to pry it open.

Samsung further tweaked the Fold 6's hinge to deliver a reduced display crease inside. What's truly impressive is that the Galaxy Z Fold 6 now comes with IP48 water and dust-resistant. That marks the first time ever that a Samsung foldable has received dust-resistance certification.

Samsung further improved the Galaxy Z Fold 6's displays to make them significantly brighter and smoother looking. The cover display has grown to 6.3 inches — up from 6.2 inches previously — making it 3mm wider than the previous phone because of the aspect ratio change and smaller bezels. This makes the folded phone experience feel more like a conventional Android phone.

That cover display is now fully LTPO with the ability to scale from 1-120Hz. That's an improvement from the Z Fold 5's 48-120Hz panel. Both inner and outer displays are capable of up to 2,600 nits of brightness, further increasing that rate over the 1,750 nits on the Z Fold 5. This makes it amazingly bright, even under the full glare of the sun.

Additionally, Samsung increased the PWM dimming rate of both displays to 480Hz. That matches the Galaxy S24's improved PWM rate which also matches that of the iPhone. We won't celebrate just yet because it's still not as good as the thousands of hertz offered by phones like the Honor Magic V3.

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6: Cameras

You might not expect it, but photography is perhaps the most boring aspect of the Galaxy Z Fold 6. This is because Samsung didn't change much about the cameras over the Z Fold 5, but we do get a newer 12MP ultrawide lens. This delivers slightly better imagery than the old sensor. Otherwise, the rest of the cameras are exactly the same as the Z Fold 5.

It's a shame the regular Fold 6 didn't get the Special Edition's 200MP primary lens, but hopefully, Samsung is foreshadowing what we can expect on the Galaxy Z Fold 7.

The Z Fold 6's camera setup includes a 50MP main camera, 12MP ultrawide camera, and 10MP 3x zoom telephoto camera on the back. The cover screen camera is 10MP, and the under-display camera found under the large folding display is still 4MP.

However, while the hardware remains mostly the same, Samsung upgraded the camera experience with some AI fun. A new Portrait Studio feature lets you take a portrait photo of someone and then use AI to edit their appearance. This can include making you look like a Pixar cartoon, turning the photo into a watercolor painting, and more. You can get really creative and let your imagination lead the way.

Samsung’s ProVisual Engine from the Galaxy S24 Ultra is also included, featuring Instant Slow-Mo, Motion Photos with better HDR, shutter speed boosts, dual recording so you can use the front and rear cameras at the same time, single-take mode, and even built-in ND filters for helping to balance bright sunlight in photos. ProVisual Engine is also supposed to enhance zoom capabilities thanks to onboard AI processing.

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6: Specs, battery, and performance

Like the Galaxy S24 series, the Galaxy Z Fold 6 is powered by the custom Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 for Galaxy. This special version of the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset features slightly better performance, made even better by the expanded vapor chamber inside the Z Fold 6.

Samsung told us that the new vapor chamber is much larger than the one in the Z Fold 5, helping to reduce processor heat in order to keep performance high. The vapor chamber's improved cooling helps sustain high performance levels consistently for longer periods.

Elsewhere, the Z Fold 6 does little else to surprise. It features the same 4,400mAh battery and 25W charging as the Z Fold 5. It's got the same Armor Aluminum frame as its older sibling, but improves the glass with Gorilla Glass Victus 2 on the front and back of the phone. The back glass also features a pleasing, fingerprint-resistant matte texture that repels water droplets and dust as well, to a certain extent.

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6: S Pen and accessories

While Samsung still sells the S Pen as an optional accessory for the Galaxy Z Fold 6, the company has added new features that continue to make it a must-have for owners. The company also launched an upgraded version of the slim S Pen case we loved on the Z Fold 5. Our only qualm here is that we're yet to see a Samsung foldable launch with a slot to carry the S Pen internally, just like the top-of-the-line Ultra models of Galaxy phones. Of course, you can always get an S Pen holder case for your Fold 6 to fix that issue.

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Alongside that is the launch of a handful of new AI features for the S Pen, including a way to turn your doodles and sketches into something more detailed. You can either doodle freely in a note or even make sketches and markups on photos, then tap the generate button to let Galaxy AI turn even the most rudimentary sketches into art. We have a few examples from our hands-on in the image gallery above.

Samsung has also brought over the Note Assist feature from the Galaxy S24 Ultra, which includes note summaries, spelling correction, auto-formatting, sentence suggestions, translation, and more.

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In addition to the S Pen case, Samsung provides a bevvy of different case styles and designs to fit user needs. This includes artsy cases, ones with kickstands, leather cases, and more, many of which can be seen on our best Galaxy Z Fold 6 cases list.

If you're wondering whether you can reuse your Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 cases on the Fold 6, it's not good news. Because the Z Fold 6 is much slimmer and more angular than its predecessor, Galaxy Z Fold 5 cases do not fit the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6.

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