The Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra impressed when it arrived on the scene earlier this year. But can it win a Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 vs. Galaxy S24 Ultra showdown now that Samsung’s top-of-the-line foldable has landed?
After all, the Galaxy Z Fold 6 enters a more competitive market for foldable phones, so the pressure’s on Samsung to deliver a compelling upgrade. With a slimmer design and stronger integration of new Galaxy AI features, the Galaxy Z Fold 6 seems like a prime candidate to replace the Galaxy S24 Ultra as the best Samsung phone overall.
With Samsung showing off the Galaxy Z Fold 6 at July’s Galaxy Unpacked event, we know what the new foldable brings to the table. Read on to see our Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 vs Galaxy S24 Ultra comparison based on both phones’ specs.
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 vs Galaxy S24 Ultra: Price & Availibility
The Galaxy S24 Ultra saw a price hike this year, launching at $1,299 for the 256GB base model. It's one of the most expensive flagships you can buy — at least when it comes to one that doesn't fold.
But if you want to talk expensive phones, Samsung's foldables are usually at the top of the list. The previous generation Galaxy Z Fold 5 cost $1,799, but the new version raises the price even higher to $1,899. Yes, that’s a $100 price hike for the Fold as well.
The Galaxy S24 Ultra debuted in January 2024 — an unusually early appearance for Samsung's flagships — and the Galaxy Z Fold 6 had an early arrival of its own, as Samsung looked to launch its foldable prior to the start of the Paris Olympics that start on July 26. The new foldable will officially be available on July 24.
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 vs. Galaxy S24 Ultra: Design and display
Samsung updated quite a bit when it came to the Galaxy S24 Ultra’s design, switching from aluminum to a more durable titanium frame. It also ditched the classic Galaxy S curved screen for a completely flat 6.8-inch one in an apparent move to make the included S Pen work better on that massive display.
The Galaxy Z Fold 6 didn’t receive many design changes, though it has gotten a tad shorter and wider and a bit thinner. The new foldable is 0.47 inches when folded — 0.06 inches less than the Z Fold 5. The Galaxy S24 Ultra remains thinner at 0.33 inches.
Additionally, the Galaxy Z Fold 6 has a slightly bigger exterior display at 6.3-inches compared to last year’s Z Fold 5 at 6.2-inches. The change accommodates a slightly wider panel that makes the outer screen easier to type on.
The Galaxy Z Fold 6’s interior display remains 7.6-inch OLED display, giving you more screen real estate than the Galaxy S24 Ultra’s lone 6.8-inch panel.
Even though the Fold continues to offer stylus support, Samsung has yet to make a foldable phone that includes a slot for the S Pen. It does give the Galaxy S24 Ultra an edge, since that phone does come with a built-in slot for the included stylus.
Currently, the S24 Ultra comes in seven colors: green, blue, orange, violet, yellow, black and gray. The Galaxy Z Fold 6 launched with five colors; black, white, light pink, navy and “shadow silver”
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 vs. Galaxy S24 Ultra: Cameras
There was some controversy with the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra, as Samsung dumped the 10x optical zoom lens on previous Ultras for one with a 5x optical zoom. However, Samsung also upped that 10MP sensor to a 50MP one.
Despite that little snaggle, the S24 Ultra features formidable cameras. The main camera is 200MP with 60% larger pixels than before, a 12MP ultrawide camera, a 10MP telephoto lens with 3x optical zoom and of course the aforementioned 50MP telephoto. In our review, the S24 Ultra cameras performed admirably, and we still consider it one of the best camera phones.
By comparison, the Galaxy Z Fold 6 kept the same camera as the one in the Z Fold 5 — a 50MP main camera on the outside with 12MP ultrawide and 10MP zoom lenses. That 12MP ultrawide sensor has seen an upgrade to improve low light performance. There is an external 10MP selfie cam and an underdisplay camera.
While the cameras on the Galaxy Z Fold 6 seem adequate — certainly topping what you’ll find on other foldable phones, it seems like the Galaxy S24 Ultra is still the Samsung phone to turn to when you want the best camera phone available. Head-to-head testing will confirm if that impression is correct.
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 vs. Galaxy S24 Ultra: Performance
The Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra features Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 system-on-chip, which was built with AI in mind. Our Galaxy S24 Ultra benchmarks found that the latest chipset offers a significant power boost over the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 and is more power efficient. It even tops the best Apple mobile silicon in some tests.
The Galaxy Z Fold 6 also features an Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset, so performance should match the S24 Ultra pretty closely. The Z Fold 6 has the same 12 GB of RAM as the Galaxy S24 Ultra. It’s also launched in the same 256GB, 512GB and 1TB storage capacity sizes.
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 vs. Galaxy S24 Ultra: Battery life
Both the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra and the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 kept the same batteries that their predecessors featured. And that turned out to be good news for the Ultra, which used that 5,000 mAh battery and the power-efficient Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset to last 16 hours and 45 minutes on our battery test. The average smartphone lasts only about 10 hours, so the Ultra’s time places it on our best phone battery life list.
The Galaxy Z Fold 6 has a 4,400 mAh battery and two screens to keep powered up, so it’s unlikely to match the S24 Ultra’s time. However, the power management features of the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 could help it outlast the Galaxy Z Fold 5, which lasted 10 hours and 55 minutes on our test.
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 vs. Galaxy S24 Ultra: Software
The Galaxy S24 lineup, including the Ultra, introduced us to Galaxy AI features such as Circle to Search, live translations and AI-powered photo editing tools. Those capabilities subsequently appeared on other recent Galaxy flagships — including the Galaxy Z Fold 5 — thanks to the OneUI 6.1 update.
The Z Fold 6 enjoys the full suite of Galaxy AI features at launch while also adding some new capabilities. That includes a new exclusive Sketch to Image tool that turns doodles into realistic objects and Portrait Studio which can convert selfies into a number of different art styles.
Both Samsung phones enjoy the same level of software support, with Samsung promising seven years of software and security updates for the S24 Ultra as well as the Z Fold 6.
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 vs. Galaxy S24 Ultra: Outlook
For the most part, a Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 vs Galaxy S24 Ultra face-off comes down to how much you like the camera of the S24 Ultra or are intrigued by the uniqueness of a foldable phone.
Samsung isn’t being adventurous with the Z Fold 6, taking a refine-and-adapt approach with its foldables. However, the integration of Galaxy AI is the main selling point, assuming the price doesn’t put you off. With the S24 Ultra costing $600 less, price is a big consideration.
If you favor cameras as your top smartphone feature, the Galaxy S24 Ultra sounds like the better choice, given the lack of changes to the Z Fold 6's camera setup. And while the AI capabilities on Samsung’s foldables sound impressive don't feel you have to get the Galaxy Z Fold 6 to experience the new Galaxy AI features, as Samsung has been pretty generous in bringing those capabilities to other phones.
