- VERDICT
The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold6 is the pinnacle of foldable smartphones and, with its design enhancements, versatility and remarkable Galaxy AI, will tempt many customers to reach for their first folding smartphone.
The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold6 continues to lead the way as the premium foldable but this time out it has not only got its unique form-factor, but it has been enhanced with Galaxy AI as well.
As we saw in January with the Samsung Galaxy S24 series – the addition of Galaxy AI made an excellent smartphone even better.
The same can now be said for the Galaxy Z Fold6.
The hardware has matured to become even thinner and lighter while increasing its durability.
And the novelty of being able to open the device and reveal a larger screen has certainly not worn off.
It still delights anyone we showed it to who had never seen a folding smartphone until we put the Galaxy Z Fold6 in their hands.
There was genuine fascination.
Samsung isn’t the only manufacturer with a folding phone – but it was the first.
This device could very well attract more people into the foldable category and make them an even more mainstream than ever before.
The device is powered by the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 Mobile Platform for Galaxy with 12GB RAM and up to 1TB of internal storage.
This year, there were some minor improvements in design but under the hood is where most of the improvement lies thanks mainly to Galaxy AI.
The Z Fold6 has basically the same Galaxy AI features we saw with the S24 Series but what you have now is some impressive hardware to support and enhance it.
On the design side, Z Fold6 has had some noticeable changes mainly the squarer corners along with the slightly larger front screen.
We think the square are shape makes the device look more like a smartphone in the folded position.
It also provides the illusion that the screen has grown larger than it actually has.
The device is also slightly thinner and lighter and felt less bulky than previous models.
In fact, when we compared the thickness of the Z Fold6 to the Galaxy S24 ultra in a case and it was roughly the same thickness.
The front display is now 6.3 inch – that’s 1mm larger diagonally but a few millimetres wider.
The situation is slightly better when using the front screen which in the past has been a bit of a struggle especially trying to type a message.
The Z Fold6 is only a marginal improvement.
We’ve been saying for years the front screen of the Samsung Fold devices needs to be significantly larger which would offer a two-fold benefit of having an easier time typing messages as well as providing room to insert and store an S Pen.
The S Pen is not included – it is a different S Pen than the used with the S24 Ultra – and it only works on the inside screen.
We found ourselves having to open the device to even do basic things like typing messages, browsing the web and viewing and creating content for social media.
Naturally it’s fine to answer calls and take photos but anything more involved and you’ll need to open the device and access that large 7.6-inch AMOLED 2X Infinity Flex Display.
And what a fine display it is. Knowing you have this larger screen in your pocket when you need it is a great feeling.
We took advantage of that fact several times including watching our beloved South Sydney Rabbitohs playing their match while we were still in Paris seated on a bench on the shores of the Seine river.
You’re also able to run three different apps at the same time to take your multitasking on the move to the next level.
It is this versatility that is the main draw card for the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold6.
Another draw card is Galaxy AI which serves to enhance the experience even further.
We enjoyed being able to edit and adjust our images and Circle to Search but being able to record an interview and have it transcribed in minutes was also remarkable.
We did two interviews which were longer than 45 minutes each and the Z Fold6 only took a few minutes to transcribe the recording while also distinguishing between different speakers.
The quality of that transcription could have been better (although we were talking to two people who had strong accents) but we were still able to piece it together.
And if we couldn’t understand it, we could simply tap on a word and be taken instantly to that section of the audio recording to hear it back for ourselves.
Galaxy AI could also provide a summary and even translate it into a different language.
This was an impressive feature, and we know it is only going to improve.
Another AI feature built for this form factor is Interpreter.
Users can take advantage of both the main screen and the cover screen for natural real time interaction.
Right now there are 16 languages available.
You can speak to someone – they will see what you’re saying in their language on the screen facing them and you will then read their reply in English or your own language on the inside screen facing you.
We tested this while watching a couple of foreign language films and it did a great job apart from when the person talks quickly – at times it struggled to keep up. But again, this is only going to improve.
Samsung has made it clear the support for the device will go well into the future and will include seven years of OS and security updates.
We’re assuming these updates will include improvements to Galaxy AI as far as the hardware will support it.
On the camera side, the Z Fold6 has basically the same triple camera system as the previous model with a 12-megapixel ultra-wide, 50-megapixel wide angle and 10-megapixel telephoto lens and they did a remarkable job capturing stills in all kinds of lighting conditions and videos that offer the quality you’d expect from a flagship device like this one.
Naturally Photo Assist on the largest screen helps to create impressive content while Portrait Studio offers portrait styles including drawings and comic book renditions of the image.
The instant slo-mo is an excellent feature so you can slow down a section of your video.
If you’re a gamer, the Galaxy Z Fold6 will let you come out to play and enjoy a high quality gaming experience.
It now has a 1.6x larger vapour chamber so you can play longer without compromising performance while enjoying amazing graphics supported by Ray Tracing which, on the 7.6-inch screen, looks remarkable.
The Galaxy Z Fold6 has a 4,400mAh battery onboard which lasted us almost two days in the two weeks we’ve been using it as our daily driver – we did everything on it including watching a lot of content and the large inside screen as well as multitasking.
The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold6 didn’t skip a beat.
It is available from July 31 in Silver Shadow, Pink and Navy and is priced at $2,749 (12GB+ 256 GB), $2,949 (12GB + 512GB) and $3,299 (12GB + 1TB).
VERDICT
The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold6 is the pinnacle of foldable smartphones and, with its design enhancements, versatility and remarkable Galaxy AI, will tempt many customers to reach for their first folding smartphone.
For other Aussie reviews of the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold6 – check out Trevor Long’s thoughts at EFTM and Alice Clark’s review at GadgetGuy.
