The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 is arguably the best foldable phone yet, packing a ton of Galaxy AI features into a slimmer and lighter design. You also get a (slightly) bigger cover display and brighter main screen and extra durability. But there’s also a $100 price hike. Here’s the pros and cons.
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00:00Samsung really, really wants to make more people want a foldable phone.
00:04Just be warned that the results can be less than flattering.
00:07This phone, too big.
00:11But is the Galaxy Z Fold 6 worth $1,900?
00:14I've been testing this foldable flagship so you don't have to.
00:17Let's get into it.
00:19At 8.43 ounces, the Z Fold 6 is about the same weight as the iPhone 14 Pro Max, which
00:25I use as my daily phone.
00:26Yes, the Titanium iPhone 15 Pro Max and the S24 Ultra are even lighter, but I can comfortably
00:32carry this foldable in my pocket.
00:35The OnePlus Open is a bit heavier, and the Pixel Fold is a whopping 10 ounces.
00:39It also helps that Samsung has shaved some of the thickness.
00:42The Z Fold 6 is 0.48 inches, down from 0.53 inches on the Fold 5.
00:48The Galaxy Z Fold 6 has a slightly bigger 6.3 inch cover display, up from 6.2 inches,
00:54which makes it a bit easier to use when typing with two hands and less claustrophobic.
00:59Even though the OnePlus Open and Pixel Fold external displays are wider, I like the more
01:03compact pocket-friendly design on the Samsung.
01:07Another plus is that the Z Fold 6's main 7.6 inch display has less of a crease than the
01:12Z Fold 5, thanks to enhanced layers.
01:15And it can get super bright, with a rated peak brightness of 2,600 nits.
01:19It means that you'll be able to see the Z Fold 6 a little bit better outdoors, especially
01:23in direct sunlight.
01:25We saw only 2,300 nits in our lab testing, but that still blows away the Z Fold 5's
01:301,500 nits under the same conditions.
01:33There's a ton of Samsung Galaxy AI features packed into the Galaxy Z Fold 6, along with
01:38Google Gemini.
01:40The biggest head-turner is Sketch to Image, and the Samsung Notes app, you can sketch
01:43anything and generative AI will turn it into a watercolor, illustration, sketch, pop art,
01:48or 3D cartoon, just like this.
01:51It takes a few seconds, but the results are pretty friggin' impressive.
01:55You can also use Galaxy AI to transform photos with Portrait Studio, turning yourself into
01:59everything from a comic to a 3D cartoon.
02:01Just be warned that the results can be less than flattering.
02:06On the productivity side, notice this comes in handy because it can transcribe and summarize
02:10meeting notes for you.
02:11I had a meeting with my colleague Mike, and you can see here that I can see the transcription
02:14down below of everything that we said, and up top there's a nice summary, so this can
02:18save you time.
02:20Google Gemini can be always at the ready with a simple swipe up from the corner, and this
02:24will help you do everything from answering questions to coming up with ideas for your
02:28next vacation.
02:29What are some good restaurants in Mountain View, California?
02:33Here are some well-rated restaurants in Mountain View, California, categorized by cuisine.
02:37Google Gemini can also help you with your math homework, as it can leverage the camera
02:42and solve that equation in real time.
02:45And Gemini can help answer questions about what you're watching, such as on YouTube,
02:48with this trailer of Captain America, Brave New World.
02:51What can you tell me about this movie?
02:53It's a screenshot of the official teaser trailer for the movie Captain America.
02:56It is a superhero movie scheduled to be released on February 14th, 2025.
03:01I've seen the trailer, so I'm going to ask about a character who shows up at the end.
03:05What can you tell me about the Hulk at the end of the trailer?
03:09It's a new character to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Red Hulk.
03:12While the voice didn't really sound that natural, I was impressed with the intelligence of knowing
03:16what was on the screen, and especially the follow-up questions without having to say
03:20what I was watching again.
03:22Last but not least, the Interpreter app on the Z Fold 6 lets you translate conversations
03:25in real time and leverages both the main and cover display, so you can both see what's
03:30being said.
03:31This could be a game-changer for travel.
03:33So what do you think of the Galaxy Z Fold 6?
03:36What do you think of the mistakes made by the E6?
03:39This phone is too big.
03:41This phone, too big.
03:43Ha ha, the simple 5'6".
03:46This could be a game-changer for travel.
03:47Yes, it works, even if you're offline.
03:50All of this is supported by strong performance from the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chip with 12GB
03:54of RAM.
03:55You should also be able to get better sustained performance because of a larger vapor chamber,
03:59which dissipates the heat and means that you're going to get better frame rates for longer.
04:04These are my main reasons to consider the Galaxy Z Fold 6, but check out the full article
04:07on Tom's Guide now and see our unboxing video, as well as hands-ons and reviews of all the
04:12devices that were announced at Samsung Galaxy Unpacked 2024.
04:17That being said, there are a few reasons to skip this year's foldable flagship.
04:21One of the key reasons why people don't buy foldable phones other than the price is that
04:25there's a perception that they're just too brittle.
04:28To answer that call, Samsung has done a couple of things to put your mind at ease.
04:32First, the Z Fold 6's glass layers are now more durable than before, making them less
04:37susceptible to damage from finger pokes and especially S Pen use.
04:41Second, the dual rail hinge is supported by a strengthened folded edge.
04:45This should better distribute shock, though I'm not about to drop test our loaner unit.
04:48However, the Z Fold 6 is less durable than a traditional flagship.
04:52It's IP48 rated against 5 feet of fresh water for up to 30 minutes.
04:57But it has zero dust resistance, so I probably wouldn't take this to the beach.
05:02With the new Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chip on board, we were hoping for and expecting an endurance
05:07boost for the Z Fold 6.
05:09But we didn't see a great result in our Tom's Guide battery test, which involves
05:12continuous web surfing over a 5G connection with 150 nits of screen brightness.
05:17The Z Fold 6's 4400 mAh battery lasted 11 hours and 13 minutes, which is solid but only
05:23a few minutes better than last year's model.
05:25The devices on our best phone battery life list, like the S24 Ultra, last at least 16
05:30hours.
05:31To be fair, there's a much bigger 7.6 inch display here.
05:34The camera hardware is largely the same on the Galaxy Z Fold 6, with the exception of
05:39a new sensor for the 12 megapixel ultrawide camera that's designed to let in more light.
05:44Otherwise, you get the same 50 megapixel main camera and 10 megapixel telephoto with 3x
05:50optical zoom and 30x digital zoom.
05:53And up front, you get the same 10 megapixel selfie camera and a 4 megapixel under display
05:57camera for when you're using the main screen.
06:00Don't get me wrong, the image quality is still strong from the Z Fold 6, as you can
06:04see in this portrait versus the OnePlus Open.
06:07It also does a better job in low light, though both capture a nice looking photo of the moon
06:12at 30x zoom.
06:13I just wish Samsung included the same 5x telephoto as the Galaxy S24 Ultra and 100x space zoom.
06:20You deserve that for $1900.
06:23The Galaxy Z Fold 6 supports the same 25 watt charging as the last couple Galaxy Folds,
06:28and it's getting a bit annoying when there's better technology out there.
06:31It reached 28% in 15 minutes and 56% in 30 minutes, which isn't terrible.
06:37But the OnePlus Open's 67 watt charging goes to 50% in 15 minutes and 85% in 30 minutes.
06:43It would be nice to have that boost when you're in a pinch.
06:46Maybe Samsung is thinking, it's already $1800, what's $100 more?
06:50But I still don't like the fact that Samsung has hiked the price for the Z Fold 6.
06:54For that cost, you get 256 gigs of storage, and it's another $120 to get 512 and 360
07:01to get 1TB.
07:02Given the drawback, Samsung could have sweetened the deal by including the S Pen case for $79,
07:07especially since sketch-to-image is such a key AI feature.
07:11So should you buy or skip the Galaxy Z Fold 6?
07:15If you're someone who loves the idea of having a huge screen on the go, along with
07:19lots of AI features, this could be the flagship for you.
07:22I like the lighter weight, the slightly bigger front display, and the strong Snapdragon HN3
07:27performance, and the AI features can come in handy, helping you be more productive and
07:31have more fun.
07:32But not so fun?
07:33The $1900 price is pretty tough to swallow when Samsung hasn't made that many changes
07:38in terms of the hardware.
07:39The OnePlus Open's camera performance is worse, but it's pushing the envelope a bit
07:43more with its multitasking software for $200 less.
07:47Others may want to wait to see what the new Google Pixel 9 Fold has in store.
07:50For now, I'd say the Galaxy Z Fold 6 is still the best overall foldable phone.
07:54But it's still very much a niche device for power users.
07:58Be sure to check out our in-depth review of the Z Fold 6 and the cheaper Z Flip 6 on tomsguide.com,
08:04and follow us at Tom's Guide across all of our social channels.
08:07For Tom's Guide, this is Mark Spoonhauer.