Samsung announces Galaxy Z Fold 6 and Galaxy Z Flip 6

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 and Z Flip 6 get on the Galaxy AI train that took off earlier this year with the Galaxy S24 line. There are also some interesting improvements to note (especially on the Galaxy Z Flip 6). We briefly introduce the new devices to you in this article.

Samsung can safely be called a pioneer in the market of foldables, i.e. smartphones that you can fold. The first Galaxy Fold hit the market in 2019. Five years on, the company today announces the Galaxy Z Fold 6 and Galaxy Flip 6.

In terms of design, the foldable category is no longer very exciting per se. That is, the initial amazement about a foldable smartphone is kind of gone by now. In addition, Samsung is also steadily developing the devices without taking huge leaps. With the Galaxy Z Flip 6, a relatively big change last year was the significantly larger cover screen (the screen visible when the device is folded shut). No such major change is apparent at first glance this year. The Galaxy Z Fold 6 has been given a slightly wider and therefore slightly larger cover screen. This was the wish of users, who found it a bit too narrow, according to Samsung research.

Thinner and lighter

One of the main changes for the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 and the Galaxy Z Flip 6 is that both are thinner and lighter than the previous generation. This should not come at the expense of battery life. Thus, lighter materials have been used. Also, the better cooling on the new devices is bound to have played a role in this as well. The so-called vapor chamber in the Galaxy Z Fold 6 is more than half the size of the one in the previous model, while the Galaxy Z Flip 6 has such a vapor chamber for the first time this year. More efficient heat dissipation generally makes it more compact. Mind you, with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, there is also another SoC inside that is a lot more powerful than last year’s, so better heat dissipation is desirable anyway.

Something that doesn’t get much attention from Samsung itself, but which we think is very important for this kind of device, is that the hinge has been greatly improved again. Last year it was already the case that there was no more space between the two halves, but now the hinge itself has been further strengthened. It distributes shocks better than the hinge on the previous generation. The crease that is visible when you unfold a foldable is also a little less visible on this generation. Samsung itself also emphasizes the fact that the edges of the new devices are sleek and straight. This is in contrast to previous generations.

Lots of AI

While the introduction of Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 and Galaxy Z Flip 6 is hardly about the hardware, it is very much about the software. And in particular, we’re talking about AI. Galaxy AI gets another boost with these new devices. We have already talked about Galaxy AI fairly extensively in our review of the Samsung Galaxy S24 line. We won’t do that again here. In part, the AI capabilities on the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 and Galaxy Z Flip 6 are those of Google. In fact, Samsung has a partnership with that at this point. In part, it is also Samsung itself that adds AI to the devices.

For business users, the AI capabilities do not add too much. There is, of course, value in something like Note Assist. That provides translations, summaries and automatic formatting of notes. Composer is additionally part of the Samsung Keyboard on the devices. It lets you compose emails based on keywords. Otherwise, most of the AI capabilities are aimed primarily at (creative) consumers. Especially the cameras on the devices have received the necessary attention from Samsung.

Also good to know for business users is that the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 and Galaxy Z Flip 6 will be secured via Samsung Knox. In addition, Samsung promises seven OS upgrades and seven years of security updates.

Finally a better camera on the Galaxy Z Flip 6

We used both the Galaxy Z Flip 3 and Galaxy Z Flip 4 for a while a few years ago. As far as we were concerned, one of the main drawbacks of those devices was the rather mediocre camera on them. With the Galaxy Z Flip 5, the announcement that it had the same camera as the Galaxy Z Flip 4 came as an unpleasant surprise. That immediately made that device pretty uninteresting as far as we were concerned. Samsung indicates that we were not the only ones who wanted a better camera. So with the Galaxy Z Flip 6, a better camera has finally been put in. As soon as we get our hands on a sample, we will obviously take a good look at it.

Furthermore, especially with the Galaxy Z Flip 6, battery life was also a thing. It was not very good. Samsung promises better in the new generation. If it delivers on this promise and the camera is actually a lot better than that of the previous generations, Samsung will immediately make the Flip 6 a lot more interesting as far as we are concerned.

Price and availability

The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 and Galaxy Z Flip 6 are available for pre-order starting today and will ship starting July 19. The devices will be widely available starting July 24. (Disclaimer: this is information for the Dutch market. It may be different in other geographies.)

Prices, as usual with Samsung’s foldables, are quite hefty. The Galaxy Z Fold 6 starts at 1999 euros for the version with 12 GB of RAM and 256 GB of internal storage. For 2119 euros, you get 12 and 512 GB, respectively. The top model with 12 GB of RAM and 1 TB of internal storage has a suggested retail price of 2359 euros.

The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 6 has a suggested retail price of 1199 euros for the version with 12 GB of RAM and 256 GB of internal storage. The top model in this line has 12 GB of RAM and 512 GB of internal storage and has a suggested retail price of 1319 euros.

Specifications

We’re not big on teasing out specifications these days, simply because it’s not hugely interesting as far as we’re concerned. Samsung apparently has the same opinion, because they hardly talk about specifications anymore. That doesn’t mean we don’t still want to share them. Below are two screenshots of the specifications of the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 and of the Galaxy Z Flip 6.

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6:

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 6