Samsung Galaxy Z Fold6 review

Competition

The Galaxy Zs are the de facto standard in globally-available foldables, with the Fold in particular having possibly even less competition than the Flip outside of China. And even though this state of apparent lack of challenge may have shaped the Fold6's specs, it's not entirely without alternatives.

Having said that, let's first go over its in-house rivals. If productivity is the main goal, we'd argue that the S24 Ultra matches the Fold6 - its display may be smaller, but the difference isn't massive in many use cases, plus the flats-screened flagship comes with a built-in S Pen, and it's got better battery life and faster charging. The S24 Ultra is also vastly superior as a cameraphone.

A case could be made that the Fold5 will serve you just as well as a Fold6, while also saving you a significant chunk of your cash. The 6 may be slightly sexier and marginally lighter, and have that extra dust resistance, but it's functionally the same device at up to 50% higher price in many places.

If, on the other hand, you're after the Fold for its wow factor rather than its extensive feature set, perhaps the Z Flip6 will serve you well enough. It's a foldable alright, and is possibly even more of a conversation starter, plus it's actually a meaningful step up for the lineup this year, unlike the Fold. It's cheaper too, of course.

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold5 • Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra • Samsung Galaxy Z Flip5

Now, if you're looking for the best large-screen foldable for you, the international market may have the OnePlus Open to counter the Galaxy's proposition. The Open has a few major advantages like the more capable camera system and lower price. The better battery performance in trivial tasks like video playback and web browsing, and the much faсter charging are not to be overlooked either. Perhaps One UI, Galaxy AI and the S Pen can tip the scales for the right person, but the Open is looking like better value to us.

That just about exhausts the list of currently available global foldables that we've tested. There is the Pixel Fold still in existence - aging and never too great in the first place, by other people's accounts. In its favor, it's somewhat cheaper, but not significantly so, and has Android from the very source, though the deep-reaching Google-Samsung software collaboration makes that a moot point. We'd pick the Galaxy.

The vivo X Fold3 Pro is sort of international, has a much more potent camera setup, a way larger battery and a lot faster charging. Those can easily tip the scales in its direction (if you can find it in your area), and you can live with the vivo software.

OnePlus Open • Google Pixel Fold • vivo X Fold3 Pro

Verdict

The lack of real competition isn't helping the Galaxy Z Fold get better faster - Samsung is enjoying a rather trouble-free position in the large foldable space, and it's showing. The Galaxy Z Fold6 has the same cameras as the Fold4 from two years ago, and that's not a good look, alright as they may be. The slow charging is a long-standing issue of the Galaxy roster, and instead of improving on it, the latest model is somehow even slower. The cover display is inching towards usable size and proportions, but it's not entirely there yet and is taking its sweet time. The crease on the inside isn't too bothersome, but it's still more pronounced than essentially anything else in the foldable space.

We can't deny the Fold6's display excellence, it's got better speakers than most competitors, and the camera is doing an alright job despite that Samsung is not interested in trying harder there. The software experience is unrivaled, we reckon, even without the hard to quantify usefulness of the AI stuff. The 4 in the IP48 rating that ensures no large ants will get into your Fold is (probably) also appreciated.

What we're getting at, is that the Galaxy Z Fold6 is the all-around best large foldable that you can buy in most places, and it makes more sense as a tool than it does as a cameraphone. It's just not meaningfully better than the previous generation.

Pros

• IP48 rating now means some protection against solids in addition to the water resistance.
• Some of the best displays in the form factor, same for the speakers.
• Feature-rich software with great multi-tasking functionality and S Pen support - Galaxy AI too, of course.
• Dependable, if unexciting, as a cameraphone.

Cons

• Glacial charging speeds.
• A larger and wider cover screen (like the competition's) could have made it more practical to use closed.
• Same camera system for a third gen in a row - and it wasn't exactly cutting edge when it came out either.