Can they keep their crowns?

It’s summertime, and you know what that means; it’s that time of year when Samsung unveils its latest foldable at an Unpacked event. Ahead of the event, I got the opportunity to check out the Galaxy Z Fold 6 and Z Flip 6. Both smartphones look primarily unchanged from last year, but closer inspection reveals that the Z Fold 6 has modifications to enhance anyone’s experience. On the other hand, the Z Flip 6’s differences are so subtle that it’s probably the least worthy of your attention out of everything announced today.

The foldable market in North America is slowly becoming more saturated with the OnePlus Open, the Moto Razr, and the Pixel Fold, meaning Samsung has more competition this year. On the flip side, Samsung might lose to the Moto Razr+; I’ll definitely need more time with the Z Flip 6 to see which deserves 2024’s crown, but considering my time thus far with the Razr+, I’m already leaning towards the Chicago tech maker. However, the OnePlus Open is Samsung’s only competition in the fold-like-a-book market — at least in Canada. I hope this year’s Pixel foldable makes it north of the border, but I don’t always get what I want. Either way, OnePlus and possibly Google have a lot of competition in the North with this year’s Galaxy Z Fold 6. Of course, I’ll have to put Samsung’s new foldable through its paces to see how it compares to other 2024 handsets, but in my short time with the device, I can already say that I’m pleasantly surprised.

So small, but so big

Most people probably won’t notice the subtle change to the Cover Screen, but the difference should improve the Z Fold 6’s usability and experience. When folded, the Z Fold 6 is marginally wider but shorter than the Z Fold 5 (1mm wider and 1.5mm shorter) and holy crap, it makes a difference. I remember seeing leaks that the Z Fold 6’s Cover Screen wouldn’t be all that wide, especially compared to the OnePlus Open. And it’s not, as the Open still has the Z Fold 6 beat with a width of 73.3mm compared to the Z Fold 6’s 68.1mm. But despite not being as wide as the Open, the Z Fold 6’s Cover Screen still felt good to use and type on. I also had the Z Fold 5 to compare, and the Z Fold 6’s Cover Screen seemed more usable.

I’m talking a lot about the marginally wider Cover Screen, but the last three Z Fold smartphones have featured the same Cover Screen, so I’m happy there’s finally a change. It could be even wider, but we’re heading in the right direction.

The Galaxy Z Fold 6 is also lighter than its predecessor. The difference is minute, only about 13g, but it’s noticeable and, like the wider Cover Screen, should improve your overall experience. Another design change to the Galaxy Z Fold 6 is its Armor Aluminum frame, which is now flat and matted on each side. It seems like Samsung is moving towards this design element for even its foldable now, as it was previously seen on the S24 series and even some of Samsung’s A series devices. Even though this is a welcomed change because it makes the smartphones easier to hold, it’s odd since the S24 Ultra didn’t adopt this adjustment. I figured only Samsung’s mid-range devices would embrace the flat sides, but I’m not complaining since it’s an excellent addition to the Fold 6.

The wider Cover Screen, flat sides, and lighter body accompany a couple of new colour variants. This year’s ‘hero’ colour is ‘Silver Shadow,’ which offers a carbon silver look. There’s also ‘Pink,’ which provides a pale rosey colour. Lastly, there’s the Navy, which looks dull compared to the other two colour options. The handset’s rear has this excellent matte-like material that feels awesome.

I will enjoy the Z Fold 6 a lot with these adjustments, but I’ll still need to put it through its paces. There’s a downside to the Z Fold 6 as well: Many of its other specs remain unchanged. The Z Fold 6 offers the same camera experience as the Z Fold 5, with the same 50-megapixel primary shooter and 10-megapixel telephoto with 3x optical zoom. Samsung says the ultrawide sensor in the Z Fold 6 is new, but we’ll still need to test it to see if it differs from its predecessor.

It also sports the same 4400mAh battery with 25W wired and 15W wireless charging, which wasn’t bad in last year’s model, but I crave change and upgrades and get disappointed whenever that doesn’t happen.

This is why the Z Fold 6 was a bit of a disappointment for me. Aside from the flat sides the Z Fold 6 adopted, it remains unchanged from its predecessor.

More of the same

The Z Flip 6 has the same 6.7-inch display with a 1-120Hz refresh rate and 2640 x 1080-pixel resolution as its predecessor. It also has the same 3.4-inch Flex Window that uses a 60Hz refresh rate and stops short of the camera bump. It has a different ultrawide sensor, but it’s still only 12 megapixels and only with testing will I be able to tell if there are any significant differences.

There are some quality-of-life updates, like 12GB of RAM instead of 8GB and a 4,000mAh battery instead of 3,700mAh, and even a crease that’s less noticeable, but nothing that jumps out at me and makes me want to recommend this device over the Motorola Razr+. Still, these jumps could significantly improve the experience of the handset compared to last year’s, and before I write it off, I need to put it through its paces and head-to-head with Motorola’s latest flagship. It’s still frustrating that you need Good Lock to take full advantage of the Flex Window, as it’s still mostly widget-based.

The Z Flip 6 comes in Silver Shadow, Mint, Blue and Yellow. Honestly, you can’t go wrong here; all four colours look great, but I’m especially fond of the Yellow, as it sports a lovely yellow-gold metallic frame that accents the device perfectly. While I’m a little tough on the Z Flip 6, I think it’s a solid, well-built device that looks beautiful, even compared to the Moto Razr+.

Follow the stars

Of course, the Galaxy Z Flip 6 and Z Fold 6 come with Galaxy AI and some new features. Galaxy AI uses both onboard and cloud-based AI powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 and Samsung’s Gauss Language and Gauss Image models, as well as third-party features like Google’s Circle to Search. One of the new features allows users to sketch on the Z Fold 6 with a stylus and then have Galaxy AI make a picture out of the sketch into different styles, like a 3D cartoon. It worked well, and during my demo, the Samsung employee sketched a bearded French man. Galaxy AI made the rough sketch look precisely like a Pixar character, which was cool. However, I can’t see many people using this feature.

A Galaxy AI feature I could see being useful was the combination of Galaxy AI and Circle to Search, allowing users to take a picture and pull up Circle to Search, which now includes a ‘Translate’ icon. You’re able to translate any words in the photo. I will likely use this feature because I’m currently in Paris at the Unpacked event and heading to Milan afterwards. Another worthwhile functionality allows users to take a picture of math equations, and the handset will not only solve the equation but also show you how to solve the equation. Considering my mathematic skills are abysmal, this can be useful, but this is especially great if you’re trying to teach your kids math problems. Another feature that made its way to the Z Fold 6 and Z Flip 6 is a Notes AI functionality that lets users record audio directly from the Notes app. The handset will record, transcribe and summarize the audio all in the Notes app.

Galaxy AI Assistant?

Google, Apple, and Motorola have announced new AI Assistants to make our lives easier. I expected Samsung to announce something similar to Gemini Live or Apple Intelligence, but it was absent from the company’s presentation. Perhaps Samsung will utilize Google’s Gemini Live when it becomes available — this seems likely, considering how quickly Samsung was to adopt Circle to Search. However, without any mention, it would be interesting to see how Samsung competes with Apple and Google. I 100 percent expected Samsung to announce some enhanced form of its Bixby assistant; however, the company hasn’t announced a new feature for Bixby in a few years.

We may see a new personalized assistant at the launch of the Galaxy S25 series. Google’s Gemini Live, Apple Intelligence, and even Moto AI won’t be ready until late 2024, so Samsung might wait until the S25 series launches in early January before launching its version.

More to see

The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 and Z Flip 6 are flagship-quality devices, and I’m looking forward to putting the Fold 6 through its paces. However, I’m slightly less excited to review the Z Flip 6. I’m a sucker for gimmicks and new updates, so the Z Fold 6 and its wider display, lighter body, and better design are gripping and thrilling, even. However, the Z Flip 6, on the other hand, doesn’t offer anything this year that I find exciting. Still, with the changes in quality of life, I’m interested in seeing whether I find any significant differences in how I use the device, especially compared to last year’s handset.

The Galaxy Z Fold 6 costs $2,564 CAD, an increase from the Z Fold 5, which costs $2,399. At face value, even with all the upgrades, I can’t say whether the Z Fold 6 is worth the price increase, but I’m interested in finding out. The Z Flip 6 also increased to $1,462.99 from $1,299. Again, I can’t say if this price increase is worth it without putting the handset through its paces, but considering it mostly received quality-of-life updates, I doubt it.

I love foldable smartphones, so I will spend a lot of time with both handsets, especially the Z Fold 6. I’m curious to see whether the wider screen is enough to make it stand out against the OnePlus Open. I would also like to see if the Z Flip 6 can compete against the Moto Razr+. I’ll put both handsets head to head to see which is the better option for Canadians to purchase. But it’s worth noting I recently put out my review for the Razr+ and gave it a 9/10.

In Canada, the Z Fold 6 dominates in the phone-to-tablet foldable market, and we expect it to keep its crown, but only time will tell.

The Z Fold 6 and Z Flip 6 are available for pre-order now and go on sale July 24th.