Galaxy z flip 6 review 2024

Galaxy Z Flip6

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Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 6 Review: The Most Gorgeous, Limited Clamshell You Can Buy

Sometimes, I find myself eyeing the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 6 review unit with a peculiar sense of envy. I use it every day and appreciate its bold lines and vibrant color palette. Despite this, I don’t feel a deep connection with it. The phone’s striking design and sleek, flat body make it easy to handle, yet its limitations prevent me from considering it as my primary device.

While the Galaxy Z Flip 6 improves upon the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 in several small and a few significant ways, it remains quite similar to its predecessor, even with a $100 price increase. This reflects the Korean tech giant’s approach to its latest phone. Both Samsung and Motorola are marketing their flip-style foldable phones as fashionable accessories. The new Razrs are being sold with handbag-style cases, and the latest Galaxy Z Flips come in some truly excellent color options, with my personal favorite being the yellow and gold scheme.

This design reduces your phone’s size in your pocket, and more crucially, the smaller screen size helps cut down your phone usage time. When closed, I use it to quickly check emails, Slack, or Google Maps. Without the temptation to endlessly scroll through social media feeds due to limited scrolling space, I stay more focused.

However, I still need access to certain features on the exterior screen, where the Z Flip 6 falls short. You have to enable the limited number of apps on the exterior screen through the phone’s settings. To access additional apps, you must first download the Good Lock app from the Samsung app store and select which programs to display through the MultiStar widget. This extra step makes it cumbersome to change playlists on my cover screen while using Apple Music.

After exploring the Labs settings for the cover screen, you’ll find WhatsApp is now officially available, but Samsung Messages is no longer supported by default. While Netflix can be accessed on the cover screen, it’s far from ideal for streaming. Widgets for step and sleep trackers are available, but there’s no dedicated UI for recent workouts in Samsung Health.

Although there are some new widgets and themes, the experience remains largely the same as last year’s Z Flip 5—an underwhelming case of déjà vu. The Z Fold 6’s battery still lasts about a day, and despite the 50 MP upgrade, the default 12 MP camera produces similar photos to last year’s model. It’s a good phone and nearly achieves the clamshell promise, but it’s not quite there yet.

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 6 Review: Design and Displays

The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 marked a significant shift in Samsung’s clamshell design with its 3.4-inch exterior “FlexWindow.” The new phone looks both familiar and different, offering a better feel and appearance. However, in terms of specs, there’s little to set it apart from its predecessor.

The main update to the display is the increased brightness, with the internal screen now reaching 2,600 nits peak brightness compared to the Flip 5’s 1,750 nits. The external “FlexWindow” remains a 3.4-inch Super AMOLED at 60 Hz, while the internal screen features a 6.7-inch AMOLED with a dynamic refresh rate ranging from 1 to 120 Hz. This isn’t groundbreaking, especially with the $1,000 2024 Motorola Razr+ offering a 4-inch exterior screen with a 165 Hz refresh rate in game mode for $100 more.

The hinge has been redesigned for improved durability and is now dust-resistant. It feels more solid than the 2023 model after a year of use, though it’s not one-handed operation-friendly. While I recall the satisfying action of early 2000s flip phones, I long for a sturdy hinge that promises both longevity and ease of use, but we’re not quite there yet.

The internal screen’s crease is less pronounced than on the Z Flip 5, resembling a short gully rather than a deep ravine. It catches less light and feels smoother to the touch, though it remains noticeable and may occasionally distract at certain angles.

This model is the first flip foldable to feature a vapor chamber for cooling. While I didn’t experience heat issues with previous models, the crease in the screen remains distracting during gaming, making the overall experience less enjoyable.

Overall, the Z Flip 6 improves on its predecessor in important ways but doesn’t excite with its changes. The back is now more scratch-resistant and the camera bumps look better with their metal frames. This is a step up from Motorola’s vegan leather and suede backs, which attract dirt and dust easily. However, with the price increase of $100, it feels like more dramatic improvements were needed this time around.

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 6 Review: Performance and Battery Life

In my review of the Galaxy Z Flip 5, I pointed out that Samsung restricted its FlexWindow to widgets and a few select apps. Unfortunately, there’s been no change in this regard over the past year. The main difference now is the increased emphasis on AI in every app and service, but like many products boasting about their generative AI, these features often don’t significantly alter how you use your phone.

The new Z Flip 6 is powered by the flagship Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chip and comes with 12 GB of RAM, which is 4 GB more than the Z Flip 5. It outperforms the Z Flip 5 by 100 points in single-core and nearly 1,900 points in multicore benchmarks on Geekbench 6. Despite these improvements, the phone doesn’t feel notably faster. The real change lies in its AI capabilities, which are partially handled on-device but mostly rely on cloud-based processing.

Some AI features are quite effective. For instance, the live translation feature, like Interpreter, works well with native French speakers, particularly when translating English into another language. However, translating from French to English can be inconsistent, requiring the French speaker to talk slowly for better accuracy. The interface is an improvement over last year’s experience with the Pixel Fold in Japan, so we can expect it to keep improving.

While the Z Flip 6 is more powerful than its predecessor, this doesn’t translate into a noticeable difference in daily use. On the plus side, the battery life is slightly improved. The new model has a 4,000 mAh battery compared to the 3,700 mAh of the previous version. In streaming battery tests, the Flip 6 lasted just over 16 hours, compared to about 14.5 hours for the Flip 5. In practice, the difference is minimal, with the Flip 6 offering a full day of use but potentially struggling if you’re heavily using the camera.

At a price of $1,100, the Z Flip 6 is on par with or exceeds the cost of high-end phones like the Pixel 8 Pro or iPhone 15 Pro, which offer much larger batteries. When purchasing the Flip, you’re paying for the complex hinge and additional screen rather than increased power or battery life.

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 6 Review: Camera

The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 6 is expected to offer an improved camera setup compared to the Flip 5, but in practice, the differences are not as significant as one might hope. The main upgrade is the 50 MP wide-angle lens, replacing the previous generation’s 12 MP lens. It also includes a 2X optical zoom in addition to the 10X digital zoom from last year. However, the new 10 MP internal camera is less useful, especially since taking selfies is easier with the cover screen.

Aside from the higher resolution photos, the primary difference is in the photo software. Samsung has introduced its ProVisual Engine on the latest foldables, which includes more AI features for editing and the same “Instant Slow-mo” that was available on the Galaxy S24.

You can still use the Flip phone in a half-open position like a camcorder, but the new Auto Zoom feature for the exterior sensors is supposed to keep the subject in the frame. I tested this during a gym session while recording my sword practice, but Auto Zoom didn’t work as expected. It’s more effective for still photos where you and your friends are positioned directly in front of the camera.

The Galaxy Z Flip 6 is well-suited for placing on a table to capture group shots. It supports FHD resolution at 60 FPS, and with the steadier hinge, the camcorder-like experience feels quite stable, although the base 1X zoom can feel a bit restrictive. While it might not be the top choice for influencers who prioritize the highest-quality videos, it still gives you a content creator vibe.

For content creation, the AI features have returned, now including a new ability to use simple gestures to draw objects into images. I was more impressed by how the AI recognized my attempt to draw a cat—despite it looking more like a bulbous lightbulb with ears—than by the quality of the inserted cat image. The AI has safeguards against creating graphic content, but this is partly due to the difficulty of drawing on a small screen. It’s a fun feature, though it’s more of a novelty than a game-changer.

In terms of image quality, you won’t see a major difference between the Flip 6 and last year’s model, except when using the 2X zoom. The 50 MP camera does offer more pixels than the 12 MP lens of the previous model, but since they use the same sensor, Samsung’s image processing plays a more significant role than the megapixel count.

I compared photos of community chickens and plants in Brooklyn taken with the Flip 5, Flip 6, and Galaxy S24 Ultra. The Flip 5 had a slightly warmer tone compared to the newer phones. Compared to the iPhone 14 Pro, Samsung’s photos often appear a bit more detailed and less washed out, but the difference is minimal.

The pictures are good enough for Instagram, but the lack of a telephoto lens or better optical zoom limits its versatility compared to other phones at a similar price point. The 50 MP camera on the Flip 6 doesn’t significantly improve selfies either; the closed-shell selfies look just as disheveled as those taken with the Flip 5. The 10 MP internal selfie camera feels even more awkward, as the limited front screen doesn’t fully utilize the better exterior sensors for Zoom calls.

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 6 Review: Verdict

Imagine if Samsung Made a Cheaper Version of the Galaxy Z Flip

I like the Z Flip 6 much more than the Z Flip 5, but I still wouldn’t feel entirely comfortable with it. The primary issue with foldables remains their high price. Samsung hasn’t made things easier, as both the Flip 6 and Fold 6 are more expensive than ever. There’s noticeable interest in the $700 2024 Motorola Razr, even though it has a weaker camera system compared to Samsung’s. Clamshell phones should serve as a more affordable alternative to traditional smartphones, rather than being high-end luxury items like a Gucci handbag.

I’m not complaining about the phone’s appearance—it’s impressive. My concern is why it can’t be both a beautiful piece of technology and something that appeals to a wider audience. I hope Samsung maintains this philosophy for the next generation of Flip phones, enhances the screen, and continues to reduce the crease’s size.

Even better, if Samsung wants to really succeed, it should consider using a less powerful CPU and drop the price by $300 to $400. They could call it the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip FE and market it as an affordable option that still offers all the essential features.

Let Apple’s future clamshell foldable be the high-priced device that stirs complaints about Cupertino’s costs. If foldable phones are to become a viable alternative, there need to be options that most average consumers can afford.