The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 was a show pony at the company’s mid-year Galaxy Unpacked 2024 event, and although most of the attention was dedicated to the new Buds Pro, Watch Ultra, and the epic new Galaxy Ring, the arrival of a new Z Fold heralds a returning question: is it finally time to pick up a folding phone?
That is, again, at least. The classic Motorola Razr fold phone that all the cool people had didn’t have the added complexity of needing to fold a gigantic smartphone screen in half, but Samsung has truly come a long way since it first started to play with the tech.
Samsung flew me over to Paris to check out the new Galaxy devices, and after Unpacked, I got to spend a day trotting around the city, giving the handset a good go – not enough time for a review, but enough for some initial thoughts. Here’s what I thought of it.
It’s a gimmick, but is it a good gimmick?
A folding screen on a smartphone is the near definition of a ‘gimmick’. Phone screens are so large these days that the need for one to fold doesn’t really have much purpose apart from stylistic flair.
The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6’s whole shtick is that it’s a productivity workhorse while being able to slip into your pocket, taking on a similar, albeit naturally thicker, size than a normal smartphone when it’s folded, and a thinner, much wider screen when unfolded.
For most apps, including things like X (was Twitter), Notes, and the Camera app, the unfolded mode becomes most akin to a tablet, if not a laptop – physical keyboard aside. The home, return, and active apps buttons are pushed to the bottom right, and a system tray at the bottom of the screen that’s much larger than a normal smartphone’s is present.
You can be of two minds of this. One, it can become an all-in-one replacement for a laptop under the right circumstances, and with an additional S Pen, it might be great for on-the-go drawing.
The other mindset is: why would I want a phone to take the job of my laptop? While the app suite on an Android device is well fleshed out, having a large screen device that can be used in numerous different circumstances (in bed, at the desk, on the couch, at the airport, on a train, etc etc) just can’t be beaten.
I fit into this category, but I’m not going to deny that the screen on the front and back aren’t gorgeous – Samsung’s screens so rarely disappoint these days – so if you want a big screen for watching movies on the go, then this is probably a good device for you to consider.
It’s not too heavy either, coming in at 239 grams. In terms of size, it’s most akin to a standard iPhone 15 or Galaxy S24. The Z Fold’s beefier cousin, the Galaxy S24 Ultra, is larger than the device in its folded state, but obviously the unfolded screen is much bigger than any of these devices (dimensions of 153.5 L x 68.1 W x 12.1 D mm).
But what about the hinge?
The question about the hinge, the several modules combining to produce the folding screen and the line down the middle that meets both sides, can’t be avoided. To be completely transparent, I can’t give you a guarantee that this screen will be more durable than Samsung’s previous attempts, though the company insists that it’s better than ever, banking on an upgraded design. We’ll see in some months whether or not screen lift or degradation starts to happen en masse.
Practically, though, while to an onlooker it might seem extremely noticeable, I’ll say that it was rarely an issue in actual use. These photos accentuate the middle section quite a lot, but believe me – if you had this for a day, you wouldn’t constantly feel like you’re having to put up with an annoyance.
If you so wish, you can split two apps across both sides, in case you wanted to multi-task. The difficult with this though is that the device is obviously best suited for full screen use; so having Disney+ going on one side and typing out something on the other might not feel too good.
Hinge aside, Samsung put a 4,400mAh battery in this bad boy, and in terms of dust and water protection, the Fold (and its little brother, the Flip) are only rated at IP48 – so keep the device away from heavy dust.
Internally, there’s also the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 CPU and 12GB RAM – significant upgrades ontop of last year’s device, but for a casual user, this just means that performance has been boosted.
And the cameras?
While the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 is Australia’s most expensive phone, you might be surprised to hear that the cameras aren’t as good as in the S24 Ultra. They’re fine, just not as capable.
The selfie camera, located under the screen and (almost) hidden, is a 4MP lens, while the camera housing on the back is capable of 50MP (wide), 10MP (telephoto), and 12MP (ultrawide).
Here are some snap examples, starting with a shot of a person.
Now a shot of a painting and the Arc de Triomphe.
Now a comic store.
Now the Panthéon.
I’ll let the results speak for themselves, but the cameras are quite nice – especially when you can take full advantage of such a large screen and blow the dimensions up to really use it. The back of the device can function as a photo preview too, in case you want an idea of what a shot will look like prior to the snap.
The rear screen can also function as an interpreter screen, translating what you say with your voice into words that appear on that screen on the back that the other speaker can see. It’s a neat feature that makes this phone attractive to travellers.
So should you buy it?
If you’re all about aesthetics, then you might be attracted to Samsung’s latest folding devices – the Galaxy Z Fold 6 in particular if you’ve got deep pockets (in the money sense). If you’re not, then I think you should check some boxes to see if it’s right for you.
If you want something to break down language barriers, then this is an attractive device. If you want a tablet replacement for watching stuff or getting stuff done in a writing app, or would like a foldable that makes for a great art pad, then you should consider this device (though the default keyboard layout is a bit funky).
If you don’t want to spend an extreme amount of money on a device though, then it’s easy to dodge this phone. If you’re perfectly comfortable with the already massive screens on smartphones, then don’t feel like you need this.
The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 starts at $2,749 in Australia for the 256GB model The 512GB model is $2,949, and the 1TB model is $3,299.
[Image: Zachariah Kelly]
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