Samsung Galaxy Z Fold6 review

Introduction

If it's working, don't touch it - that's probably what the Galaxy Z Fold6 development team had in capital letters on the whiteboard when they gathered up to set the concept for Samsung's latest big foldable. Indeed, the Fold5 was as close to being every man's phone-turns-tablet device as anything else on the market, and there wasn't much incentive for disruptive changes on the new one.

The Z Fold6 comes with minor tweaks in the proportions of both displays, reduced weight and now rated protection against solids (but not the finest of them). A year later, a mandatory chipset upgrade is also on the list of changes.

What's not changed is any of the camera bits. Samsung didn't bother with improvements in that area last year either, so the 6's cameras are just like the 4's. Admittedly, it was a decently capable triple setup on the back and the under-display selfie camera is a sensible trade-off for what it is, but other makers have been putting out close-focusing telephotos and large-sensor ultrawides (with AF too) - not Samsung.

It's also exhausting to protest year after year about Samsung's continued refusal to implement some sort of sensible charging solution - let's see what the 25W spec will mean in top-up speeds this time, but we're not expecting miracles. The battery capacity is also the same as last year, and that's not necessarily a good thing.

Of course, the feature-rich One UI software package is hard to complain about, and it makes the Fold6 a top choice if you need tablet functionality in your pocket. The S Pen support is another standout feature that's difficult to rival. There's little room for improvement here, is there. Oh, there's Galaxy AI now, right.

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold6 specs at a glance:

• Body: 153.5x132.6x5.6mm (unfolded), 153.5x68.1x12.1mm (folded); 239g; Glass front (Gorilla Glass Victus 2), glass back (Gorilla Glass Victus 2), aluminum frame; IP48 water resistant (up to 1.5m for 30 min).
• Display: Main: 7.6" Foldable Dynamic LTPO AMOLED 2X, 120Hz, HDR10+, 1856x2160px resolution, 10.5:9 aspect ratio, 374ppi; Cover: Dynamic LTPO AMOLED 2X, 120Hz, Corning Gorilla Glass Victus 2, 6.3 inches, 968x2376px resolution, 22:9 aspect ratio, 410 ppi.
• Chipset: Qualcomm SM8650-AC Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 (4 nm): 8-core (1x3.4GHz Cortex-X4 & 3x3.2GHz Cortex-A720 & 2x3.0GHz Cortex-A720 & 2x2.3GHz Cortex-A520); Adreno 750.
• Memory: 256GB 12GB RAM, 512GB 12GB RAM, 1TB 12GB RAM; UFS 4.0.
• OS/Software: Android 14, One UI 6.1.1.
• Rear camera: Wide (main): 50 MP, f/1.8, 23mm, 1.0µm, dual pixel PDAF, OIS; Telephoto: 10 MP, f/2.4, 66mm, 1.0µm, PDAF, OIS, 3x optical zoom; Ultrawide : 12 MP, f/2.2, 123˚, 12mm, 1.12µm.
• Front camera: Wide (main): 4 MP, f/1.8, 26mm, 2.0µm, under display; Wide (main): 10 MP, f/2.2, 24mm, 1/3", 1.22µm; Wide (main): 10 MP, f/2.2, 24mm, 1/3", 1.22µm.
• Video capture: Rear camera: 8K@30fps, 4K@60fps, 1080p@60/120/240fps (gyro-EIS), 720p@960fps (gyro-EIS), HDR10+; Front camera: 4K@30/60fps, 1080p@30/60fps, gyro-EIS.
• Battery: 4400mAh; 25W wired, QC2.0, 15W wireless, 4.5W reverse wireless.
• Connectivity: 5G; eSIM; Wi-Fi 6e; BT 5.3, aptX HD; NFC.
• Misc: Fingerprint reader (side-mounted); stereo speakers; Samsung DeX (desktop experience support), Ultra Wideband (UWB) support; Stylus support.

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold6 unboxing

Gone are the days of lavish retail packages in the Galaxy Z lineup. The Z Fold6 arrives in the usual plain black cardboard box that contains little more than the phone itself.

You get a bunch of the usual paperwork, but as for items of any practical use, the list is limited to a USB-C cable and a SIM ejection pin. Some pre-order deals or some carrier bundles here or there may include a charger, but we wouldn't count on it.