The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 6 doesn’t innovate much but remains a compact, lightweight and comfortable device – it’s simply more convenient to carry a thin, folded device in your pocket than a large one that obviously takes up more space. Those who haven’t used such a device regularly still have to get used to how it is used – at first I opened it several times to check if I missed a message, but you can see notifications even when it is folded.
The new Flip is a good device for those looking to upgrade to a foldable, but it doesn’t offer a perfect package. Those who bought the Flip 5 won’t find compelling reasons to upgrade here, and it’s possible that some of the new features will arrive later as a software update, as already happened with Galaxy AI that launched with the S24.
This is how the Galaxy Z Flip 5 review began last year: “Foldable smartphones are something of a wunderkind – on the one hand, they have been with us for several years, there are several manufacturers offering different models, and several generations of devices have been released. On the other hand, they still occupy a relatively small market share and look like a wonderful technological innovation: they fold!”
In this regard, things have not changed much: the market share of foldable devices is still relatively small and the new generation of devices that Samsung is launching these days does not include any interesting innovations either. In recent years, there has been a feeling that there are no more major innovations in smartphones, and now it seems that even foldable models have hit a wall. What does the new Flip 6 offer? We tested it.
Structure and design: a little thinner and more durable
As I wrote last year, “the new model hasn’t changed much compared to the previous generation.” That’s still true. Samsung has managed to shave a few millimeters off the thickness of the device, and the weight remains unchanged at 187 grams. As last year, “it’s a similar weight and even less than some conventional devices, which means they don’t bend and they don’t feel heavy.”
The new Flip is very thin when opened, and even when folded, it remains relatively thin – the few millimeters that Samsung has managed to gain are noticeable here. The space that existed between the screens when folded has disappeared, and they now stick together.
The external display, which was the most striking and successful change when it launched last year, remains a very successful addition. You can use some applications even when the device is folded. Samsung still keeps its promise that the phone’s mechanism will withstand 200,000 folds, and it feels stable and high-quality.
The device’s protection has undergone a slight upgrade, meeting the IP48 standard: the glass is still Gorilla Victus 2, the device should still survive a 30-minute immersion in fresh water at a depth of up to 1.5 meters, and there is now also protection against dust grains. Despite this, when the device was first activated, a message appeared stating that it is sensitive to sand and that you should stay away from it.
The fingerprint reader is located in the power button, as in the previous model, and is available both when the device is open and when folded. It works very well and quickly recognizes the user.
Hardware: Upgrade required
There are a few changes in this area, but they are pretty standard: the processor has been upgraded from the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 to the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, the memory has been increased from 8 gigabytes to 12, and the camera has been replaced – instead of 12 megapixels, there is now a 50 megapixel sensor.
Overall, this is a solid spec and the performance matches that – every action is performed quickly and smoothly. The Flip 6 handles games without any issues, although it does get a bit warm, especially at the top where the external display is located.
It seems that with each generation of the Flip, the fold line between the screens disappears a little more. Last year, it was barely noticeable, and this year, it’s even improved a little. When you run your finger over it, you physically feel the crease, but when you use the device, you barely notice it. The first few days, it was really invisible; after a few days of use and a few creases, it stood out a little more (depending on the angle you look at it), but not to the point of hindering the use of the device.
The battery has also been slightly improved, from 3,700 mAh last year to 4,000 mAh today. This was enough for a full working day, with around 20 to 25 percent battery remaining at the end – an improvement over last year’s situation. Charging is still relatively slow, especially compared to Chinese competitors: Samsung sticks with 25-watt wired charging. This is enough to charge from 15% to 50% in 25 minutes, and a full charge takes over an hour.
Brightness was excellent last year, but that didn’t stop Samsung from bumping it up to 2,600 nits. That means the screen’s excellent display is clear even in direct sunlight.
Software: AI acquires new capabilities
The Flip 6 comes with Android 14 and Samsung’s familiar One UI interface, which is where some of the new foldables’ most notable innovations lie.
Samsung has integrated into the device all of the Galaxy’s AI capabilities launched in the S24 series, which already reached the previous model through a software update. These capabilities include summarizing articles and texts, transcribing recordings, translating phone calls in real time, adding slow motion to videos, and editing details in photos.
New features have been added to all these features: you can draw a simple sketch and let the system transform it into a drawing, a 3D drawing or another style. The system offers several options for you to choose from, and you can also go back and change the style. It’s a cool gadget that can also become a useful tool in some cases.
In the photo editing app, things are more serious and a little disturbing or scary: you can freely draw on the image, and the system will transform this drawing into a real object that fits into the photograph. I sketched something that was supposed to look like a chair, and it didn’t turn out very well in my opinion, but the AI figured out what it was, added a chair to the image, and suggested several different styles of chairs. I sketched what was supposed to be a scooter, and it was identified as a scooter, which looked quite realistic. It also worked with a bicycle, a hat on the subject’s head – the sky’s the limit. When I added a bottle next to the cameraman, the system even placed it under his hand, but here the familiar distortions of AI systems appeared, making the hand look unrealistic.
After each edit, a line is pasted on the image indicating that it was edited using AI, but the image can easily be cropped without leaving a trace of this note. It can be used as a simple game, but shows the ability to easily create a quality fake.
Aside from these additions, the use of the capabilities you get thanks to the foldable and external screen remains the same: you can choose to display certain applications on the external screen, an option that is found in the settings menu and is not enabled by default. For example, you can use WhatsApp fully on the small screen, and even watch YouTube or Netflix, but it is not very practical. You can split the display on the internal screen between the top and bottom (another shortcut hidden in the settings) – yes, this also exists on normal devices, but here it is again a little different because of the fold.
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Above: Free drawing on a photo. Below: The image after processing the drawing using AI
(Photo: Screenshot)
Camera: Zoom will automatically follow you
The main camera has been upgraded to 50 megapixels, but still without optical zoom. It can be zoomed up to 10x, but only digitally, which affects image quality. It produces good photos in good lighting conditions when viewed from a distance. However, when you start enlarging and cropping the images, you quickly discover that they are actually blurry. Even in night mode, the images look okay at first glance, but are not sharp when enlarged.
You can use the external display to show your subjects what you see before you take the photo. When the device is folded and you use the camera for a selfie, you can choose from several portrait mode effects: background blur, bokeh, black and white photography, and more.
There is also an innovation here: automatic zoom. When the phone is folded and placed on a surface, the camera detects your position and adjusts the shooting angle. This function is only relevant for taking still photos and is not available in video mode – we can hope that this will change in the next model.
