Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 in the test: The best foldable smartphone

Manufacturers such as Samsung, Honor, Xiaomi, Google and Motorola have driven the development of foldable display technology in recent years. Foldable smartphones combine the portability of a compact device with the functionality of a large display. This makes this category exciting as mobile work devices for processing emails and calendar entries or for media consumption on the go. The durability of foldable screens remains a major concern and the still high production costs are reflected in retail prices, making these devices unaffordable for many consumers.

With the Galaxy Z Fold 6, Samsung presented the successor to the Galaxy Z Fold 5 in Paris at the end of July 2024 (test report). Top hardware is used once again, such as the fast Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 as a processor and a telephoto lens. The Koreans have taken the criticism of their predecessor seriously: the Fold 6 is now slightly thinner and the display has become slightly wider when folded. The test shows what else the foldable offers and where the problem is.

Compared to the Fold 5 (test report), little seems to have changed at first glance. The adjustments are in the details: when folded, the screen now becomes symmetrical and rectangular all around with minimal rounded corners. The predecessor was a bit annoying here due to the rounded display on one side.

The Fold 6 has become slightly wider by a millimetre and now, in our opinion, offers a better aspect ratio of 22:9 instead of 23:9 when folded. But it is slightly smaller. Overall, the Fold 6 looks quite a bit more angular, which makes it look even more elegant. The matte finish also looks good on a foldable smartphone. However, it remains relatively thick when folded and appears overly bulky. However, it shrinks by a millimetre when folded and its thickness becomes 12.4 millimetres when closed and 6.1 millimetres when opened, whereas the Honor Magic V2 (test report), for example, measures only 10.1 millimetres when folded and 4.8 millimetres when opened.

The workmanship is excellent. With the new certification of IP48, it is once again waterproof for temporary immersion (30 minutes) at a maximum depth of one meter. Unlike its predecessor, it is better protected against foreign objects larger than one millimeter – but is not completely dustproof. But no other manufacturer of foldables currently makes it better.

According to Samsung, the foldable can withstand about 200,000 folding processes. A crease remains noticeable, but not as pronounced as on the Fold 5. However, the longer you use the device, the deeper the crease is likely to become.

The display has become slightly wider when folded and now measures 6.3 inches diagonally instead of 6.2 inches. It remains relatively tall, but is no longer as extreme as the Fold 5. The OLED has a resolution of 2376 × 968 pixels, resulting in sharp imaging with 407 ppi (pixels per inch). The refresh rate can be flexibly adjusted as needed in the range of 1 to 120 Hz and, although the brightness drops to 1600 nits compared to its predecessor, it is still almost always bright enough to be readable outdoors.

The internal display has the same dimensions when unfolded as its predecessor: 7.6 inches with a resolution of 2160 × 1856 pixels (375 ppi). The larger display is quite bright, with Samsung talking up to 2600 nits. We were always able to read the display well when the sun was shining. The refresh rate also ranges from 1 to 120 Hz, and image quality is excellent – ​​on both screens.

The larger display area is especially effective when you want to write emails or edit calendar entries with the foldable open. It’s also an option for websites to use more image space. The larger area is less beneficial for media, as the format is almost rectangular at 7:6.

Samsung hasn’t really changed anything in the camera. Three lenses are used once again: a main camera with 50 megapixels (f/1.8) with optical image stabilization (OIS), a wide-angle lens with 12 megapixels (f/2.2) and a telephoto lens with 10 megapixels (f/2.4) and OIS. When folded, a 10-megapixel lens is once again used for selfies. When opened, there is only a 4-megapixel lens hidden under the display.

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This means that the features are broadly in line with the Samsung Galaxy S24 (test report), but not on par with the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra (test report). Even if the camera set-up is not completely new, this does not change the excellent quality of the photos. You can take excellent photos during the day, and the night mode noticeably brightens photos in the dark and pleasantly reduces image noise. Only the wide-angle lens is of little use when taking photos in the dark. The videos also look great and are 4K at 60 fps (frames per second possible).

Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, which is optimized for the Samsung Galaxy and is the same chip as the S24 Ultra, ensures top performance. This means that the operating system runs extremely smoothly, apps or menus open in a matter of moments, and the Fold 6 is also perfect for gaming. The strong performance is proven by the top values ​​in the benchmarks of PCMark (18,300 points) and 3DMark “Wild Life Extreme” (4700).

RAM is 12GB and comes with either 256GB or 512GB of internal storage of the fastest type, UFS 4.0. There is no slot for a microSD card, however. Features include USB-C 3.2, Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.3, NFC and UWB, as well as tracking via A-GPS, GLONASS, Beidou, Galileo and QZSS. There are also really good stereo speakers and a reliably working fingerprint scanner in the power button.

The Fold 6 comes with Android 14 and user interface UI 6.1.1. At the time of testing, the June security patch was current. As always, Samsung remains exemplary in terms of updates: the Galaxy Z Fold 6 continues to receive security patches and Android updates for seven years. Samsung also installs few apps on the device and offers a relatively independent user interface compared to vanilla Android.

Galaxy AI features are integrated into Fold 6. AI feature is newly added Portrait Studio. It allows you to create an avatar from a selfie, which can be displayed as a 3D cartoon, comic drawing, painting or pencil sketch. Other functions of Galaxy AI include translating and correcting typed text, editing photos, live translation of telephone conversations, an interpreter function (even offline) and summarizing web pages. Although these features are not currently bug-free, they are constantly being developed. We provide more details in the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra test report.

According to PCMark’s battery test, the Fold 6 offers excellent battery life of about 15 hours. This is a good value considering the not too big 4400mAh battery. This means that the smartphone can easily last a day in everyday life or about two days for frugal users. Charging is slow as usual at Samsung, the maximum 25W power adapter is not included for the benefit of the environment. The Fold 6 also supports wireless charging.

Samsung charges a lot of money for the Fold 6. The RRP for the smaller storage variant is an impressive 1999 euros, with 512 GB it is 2119 euros, with 1 TB it is even 2359 euros. However, some providers have cut the price considerably. The 256 GB version currently costs only $ 10 at Gomibo 1499 Euros – Best offer currently. Available colours are silver grey, pink and dark blue. Two exclusive colours black or white with carbon look available online only Exclusively on Samsung,

Samsung is taking a more evolutionary approach with the Galaxy Z Fold 6, and you won’t find any major changes here. The design is successful and we liked the changed format of the display. However, the device feels relatively large compared to Honor’s competition. The technology is top-notch, even if the camera can’t keep up with the S24 Ultra. Long software support is exemplary. If you appreciate Samsung products and need a compact solution to use more display space, the Galaxy Z Fold 6 is one of the best foldables – even if the price is high.

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