I have always loved folding phones. They are the nearest thing we have to exciting smartphones after design peaked and hardware updates started being iterative. Don’t get me wrong; some manufacturers are churning out great devices, but they don’t come with the ‘wow’ factor we used to see say 6 to 10 years ago. And that’s not a bad thing because after customers started demanding better, phone makers had to pull up their socks. We are, currently, in a market where you can get awesome hardware from a non-name manufacturer that can last for years, and at a bargain.
Today’s star is the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold6, which, as its name suggests, is the sixth iteration of the Fold series from the South Korean technology giant. It is also the fourth Fold I have used extensively, having toyed around with the Fold3, Fold4 and the Fold5. I reviewed the Fold5 last year and was impressed at Samsung’s ability to really tweak and improve hardware. It finally managed to eliminate the ‘thigh gap,’ made the hinge studier, and repacked the device into something a lot of people could use. Let’s not forget that this is one of the few lines of bendy devices that has some form of ingress protection. Serious stuff!
Things are even better with the Fold6. It is largely the same phone as the Fold5, but the 6’s corners have been squared off akin to the S Ultra series. The cameras are the same as last year, the software is mostly the same as well – save for the AI stuff. Ergonomics have also been improved; the phone is lighter now at under 250g – which is still heavy for most people, including yours truly – but is functional.
Here are some of the specs of the Fold6:
Feature | Specification |
---|---|
Network | GSM / CDMA / HSPA / EVDO / LTE / 5G |
Dimensions | Unfolded: 153.5 x 132.6 x 5.6 mm; Folded: 153.5 x 68.1 x 12.1 mm |
Weight | Gorilla Glass Victus 2, plastic front (unfolded), aluminium frame, IP48 water-resistant, stylus support |
Build | Gorilla Glass Victus 2, plastic front (unfolded), aluminum frame, IP48 water-resistant, stylus support |
Display | 7.6″ Foldable AMOLED, 120Hz, HDR10+, 2600 nits (peak); 6.3″ Cover display, AMOLED, 120Hz, 2600 nits |
Chipset | Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 (4 nm) |
RAM/Storage | 12GB RAM; 256GB / 512GB / 1TB UFS 4.0 |
Main Camera | 50 MP wide, 10 MP telephoto (3x zoom), 12 MP ultrawide |
Selfie Camera | 4 MP (under display), 10 MP cover camera |
Battery | 4400 mAh, 25W wired, 15W wireless, 4.5W reverse wireless |
OS | Android 14 with One UI 6.1.1 |
The Galaxy Z Fold6 runs Android 14 with Samsung’s One UI 6.1.1 out of the box. A usual, the device offers a premium foldable experience that few competitors have been able to replicate. The Fold6 is also part of Samsung’s commitment to seven years of software support, which I bet will ensure updates and security patches for years to come. But 7 years? I am sure most of us will be there to see if this will ever be actualized. It will also be interesting to see if these devices will retain their performance up to that time. No phone maker has made a promise of a smooth experience for that long. However, it is worth remembering that devices such as the Galaxy Note8, released over seven years ago, have managed to show their resilience, and could be better choices if Samsung didn’t stop updating them.
This is another way of saying that while the long-term performance of the Fold6 after multiple updates is a question, Samsung’s One UI provides a familiar and feature-rich Android experience. The large screen enables efficient multitasking and productivity, thanks to intuitive multi-window features. These are features that people who buy this kind of a phone use extensively, so I am not going to dig much into them.
Let’s talk a little bit about Samsung AI. These AI enhancements – first announced for the S24 series a few months ago, offer features such as automatic transcription and translation to improve the Fold6’s usability. The optional S Pen adds creative possibilities with sketch-to-image capabilities – however, the S Pen does not come with the Fold6, and you will need to purchase it separately if you want it. The Fold6, being so thin, does not have a slot for the S-Pen like the S Ultra series. Sorry.
Other notable features include Photo Assist for editing, Portrait Studio for various portrait styles, and AI-powered text generation and search. The Fold6 integrates well with Google’s Gemini app if that’s important to you.
This is by no means the most exhaustive list of software and AI features; there is so much to unpack, and users will surely find something new to play around with as they explore the device further.
The Galaxy Z Fold6 maintains the same camera configuration as its predecessors, the Z Fold4 and Z Fold5. While the Z Fold4 introduced significant upgrades like a Tetracell main sensor, a 3x telephoto lens, and an under-display selfie camera, there have been no notable hardware improvements in the Z Fold6.
So, what does this mean? Well, the device takes excellent images. Selfies are great too, if you use the 10 MP selfie snapper on the cover display. The one on the larger screen, hidden under the screen, is bad, so don’t use it. But overall, this is an excellent set of cameras that take awesome pics. I have snapped hundreds of pics over the last few days, and they all turned out great.
I will not talk about performance because, let’s face it, the Snapdragon Gen 3 is a beast.
Oh, and the battery lasted me all the day – although if you want better endurance, just get the S24 Ultra, which is substantially cheaper.
So, how much does this device cost? Well, it is expensive. The 256 GB model costs a little over KES 200,000. That’s a lot of money for a smartphone, but like I said last year, if you have the money, there is no better folding phone in the market. Go for it if you can, and make sure you squeeze every bit of value from it.