Samsung has just taken to the stage in Paris to announce the Galaxy Z Flip 6 and Fold 6. Among many other products. The key takeaway with the Galaxy Z Flip 6 and Galaxy Z Fold 6 is the durability. Samsung claims that these are the most durable Galaxy Z products to date. Which sounds like something Samsung says every year with its foldables. After the initial Galaxy Fold had to be recalled before it even went on sale, that’s probably a good thing.
I had the chance to go hands on with the Galaxy Z Flip 6 and Fold 6 ahead of today’s launch, and it does feel more durable. That might sound weird, how can something “feel” more durable? But the key differentiator for me is, the hinge. It’s more stiff than on the Galaxy Z Fold 5, which makes it harder to open, but that should also keep JerryRigEverything from bending it in half. This is due to the dual rail hinge that Samsung is using on both the Galaxy Z Flip 6 and Fold 6 this year.
Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold 6 is the ultimate gaming smartphone
With the Galaxy Z Fold series, Samsung has really leaned into the gaming aspect. This is because you’re looking at a larger display that can fit in your pocket. Which makes it great for gaming. With the Galaxy Z Fold 6, Samsung is using the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 for Galaxy, along with a 1.6x larger vapor chamber (when compared to Galaxy Z Fold 5). That should keep the Galaxy Z Fold 6 nice and cool, while you play Genshin Impact.
Samsung also made both models entirely matte, and that’s a good change. That includes the rails and the hinge. Previously, the Galaxy Z Flip 5 and Fold 5 were both glossy rails and hinges, which picks up dirt and scratches quite easily. That won’t be the case this year. In fact, Samsung says it is using Enhanced Armor Aluminum which is going to be about 10% better at resisting scratches.
With the Galaxy Z Fold, one of the biggest complaints is how skinny the front display is. And Samsung is slowly but surely making it wider each year, that includes this year as well. Samsung has made the Galaxy Z Fold 6 about 2.7mm wider, and about 1.4mm shorter. It’s also lighter, weighing in at 239g, that’s about the same weight as the Galaxy S24 Ultra. Samsung says this is their thinnest fold ever, measuring in at 12mm thick when folded. Which is still quite a bit thicker than the competition.
Galaxy Z Flip 6 gets a major camera and battery upgrade
Samsung isn’t doing any major upgrades across the board for any of its smartphones really. These are all mostly iterative upgrades, which is perfectly fine, you don’t need a new phone every year. But with the Galaxy Z Flip 6, it is getting a pretty big camera and battery upgrade. The battery is jumping up to 4,000mAh capacity, which is an 8% increase over the previous model. With the more efficient Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 for Galaxy inside, that should equate to even better battery life than on the Galaxy Z Flip 5.
With the Galaxy Z Flip 6 this year, Samsung is upgrading both cameras on the outside of the phone. The primary camera is now a 50-megapixel shooter, along with an upgraded 12-megapixel ultrawide. Now, with that upgraded 50-megapixel primary sensor, that means you’re going to get 2x optical zoom capability here. Since the phone is able to crop in on that larger sensor, without losing any quality. It also pixel bins down to 12.5-megapixels, so you’re getting about four megapixels in the space of one. That’s going to bring in some crazy detail into your photos.
When can I buy the Galaxy Z Flip 6 and Galaxy Z Fold 6?
So what about pricing and availability? Well, pre-orders for everything Samsung is announcing today – including the Galaxy Ring, Galaxy Watch Ultra, Galaxy Watch 7, Galaxy Buds 3, and Galaxy Buds 3 Pro – open as soon as Unpacked finishes today.
Pricing, however has gone up this time around, just as the rumors had indicated. Samsung is raising both phones prices by $100. So the Galaxy Z Flip 6 starts at $1,099, while the Galaxy Z Fold 6 starts at $1,899. Sure that’s a tough pill to swallow here, however this is the first price increase that either model has seen. In fact, the original Galaxy Fold and Galaxy Z Flip were both more expensive at $1919 and $1329 respectively. Samsung is justifying this price increase by stating that it has added in a ton of innovation and updates to the hardware and software over the years, making it worth the money.
For the Galaxy Z Flip 6, Samsung is offering it in 256GB and 512GB. If you pre-order, you will get a free storage upgrade, meaning that you’ll get the 512GB model for $1,099. Samsung is also offering the same storage upgrade for the Galaxy Z Fold 6 this year, which will be available in 256GB, 512GB and 1TB storage sizes.
The 512GB Galaxy Z Flip 6 will cost (after pre-ordering ends) $1,219. While the 512GB Galaxy Z Fold 6 will cost $2,019 after pre-orders are over. And the 1TB Galaxy Z Fold 6 will cost $2,259 after the pre-ordering period.
