Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 6 initial review: Playing it (too) safe

As Android Central's resident flip phone guy, I was initially quite excited about the prospect of two flip phones launching so close together. The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 6 was unveiled just weeks after the Motorola Razr Plus 2024 launched, so it was hard not to make comparisons between the two. Unfortunately, that didn't exactly play out in favor of the Galaxy Z Flip 6.

Compared to the Razr Plus 2024, the Galaxy Z Flip 6 is very much an iterative update over its predecessor. That doesn't mean there aren't upgrades to be found, and some of them are the kind of upgrades we hoped to see on last year's model. And, of course, there's plenty of new software to play around with, as Galaxy AI is pretty much running the show.

So, is the Galaxy Z Flip 6 worth buying? I've spent roughly two weeks with the phone, so hopefully, this initial review can give you enough insight to decide.

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 6: Price & availability

Samsung launched the Galaxy Z Flip 6 on July 10 during the Galaxy Unpacked July 2024 event. The phone goes on sale on July 24 and retails for $1099.

You can choose either 256GB or 512GB of storage, although the latter option will cost $1219. If you preorder the phone, you can get a free upgrade to the higher storage option, although it's unclear how long this and other Galaxy Z Flip 6 deals are going to last.

There are several available Galaxy Z Flip 6 colors to choose from, including Yellow, Mint, Silver Shadow, and Blue. If you order from Samsung.com, you can purchase exclusive colors such as Crafted Black, White, and Peach.

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 6: Design & display

As far as design goes, the Galaxy Z Flip 6 made few changes from the Galaxy Z Flip 5. It now has a completely flat Aluminum Armor frame with a matte finish instead of a glossy one, a change reminiscent of the Galaxy S24 series.

The Galaxy Z Flip 6 is also a hair thinner when folded; otherwise, it's the same size and weight as its predecessor. It's a bit impressive, given some of the spec bumps the phone has received, which I'll talk about later. And speaking of fold, the hinge is very stiff and sturdy, just like the rest of the phone.

One big upgrade we see this year is the inclusion of an official dust resistance rating, bringing the phone to IP48. This ensures it's protected against particles larger than 1mm in size, so it's not foolproof, but it's a major improvement nonetheless.

Even with the impressive durability, I recommend adding a case. Fortunately, we have a collection of Galaxy Z Flip 6 cases for you to check out. I personally like this one from Thinborne.

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The internal 6.7-inch OLED display retains the 2640 x 1080 resolution and 120Hz refresh rate, although the brightness has been jacked up to 2600 nits. The result is a display that is quite bright and vibrant, even with the screen mode set to Natural (my preference). I often find that the built-in screen protector can hinder the view a bit on foldables, but that doesn't seem to be the case with the Galaxy Z Flip 6. It's also very visible outdoors, which is a huge plus.

Another win is the crease, which Samsung has drastically minimized thanks to "enhanced layers" on the main screen. Now, when I run my finger across the display, the crease is hardly noticeable, although not completely nonexistent.

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 6: Hardware & specs

The Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 for Galaxy brings a welcome performance bump (although the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 was plenty powerful) along with the 12GB of RAM, up from 8GB. This phone breezes through everything you throw at it. I've played a few games like Honkai: Star Rail and Final Fantasy VII Ever Crisis, and the gameplay is incredibly smooth, even at the highest settings. It probably won't blow any of the best gaming phones out of the park, but you shouldn't be disappointed in the performance.

Of course, you won't find a 3.5mm headphone jack, but you will find a decent set of stereo speakers with plenty of depth and clarity when listening to music.

For battery life, the Galaxy Z Flip 6 has a larger 4,000mAh battery, which does well when combined with the more efficient Snapdragon 8 Gen 3. I find that I get between six and eight hours of battery life with a single charge, and after unplugging at 8 a.m., the phone will be on its last leg by 8 p.m. The only downside is that despite the bump in battery capacity, the charging speed remains at 25W, while other flip phones have surpassed that speed.

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 6: Cover screen

As expected, my experience with the Galaxy Z Flip 6 cover screen has been mixed. Samsung continues to hinder the cover screen experience in the same ways that it did with the Galaxy Z Flip 5, so I won't really rehash that too much. The focus is on panels, or "widgets," and less on using full apps, and the experience as intended works, for the most part.

Widgets like Weather are well-designed and mostly do what's expected of them, providing glanceable information, so you're hopefully opening your phone less for certain things. Unfortunately, you can't really interact with them much aside from scrolling through details or selecting different days to view.

Interestingly, Samsung now lets you fit multiple widgets onto a single panel. This is somewhat limited, too, as you'll have to select from preset dimensions. Some options will take up a full panel, while others will fit into 2x2 or 2x4 spaces, but it depends on the app, and you can't resize them like you can on the Razr Plus 2024 cover screen.

Otherwise, the cover screen experience isn't much different from the Galaxy Z Flip 5. There are some fun new interactive wallpapers, and you can add AI wallpapers to the cover screen. You'll have to dig into Labs or the Good Lock app if you want to use full apps, but once set up, the experience is decent. There's still no multitasking, and you'll still be prompted to open the phone for many things, so be prepared to open the phone more often than not.

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 6: Cameras

I was happy to learn Samsung upgraded the primary camera to a 50MP sensor. While I can't say now whether it's significantly better than its predecessor, I'm quite pleased with the result. Images have plenty of contrast, depth, and vibrancy. The camera can struggle a bit with dynamic range, and the sky will often appear blown out. However, I haven't run into this very often.

Unfortunately, Samsung still struggles with movement, so images can come out a little blurry and lacking in detail if your subject isn't completely still, and there is sometimes some distortion toward the edges of the image. Fortunately, zooming and low light are also handled well, making for a well-rounded camera experience. However, so far, I'm not a fan of how selfies make my darker skin look, showing that Samsung still has some work in this regard.

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The video quality is pretty good, and my only complaint here so far is that recording is limited to 4K 60, although who is really recording in 8K resolution?

There is a new feature in the video mode that effectively turns the phone into a camcorder when you fold it 90 degrees. The UI adjusts to fit the viewfinder on the top half of the screen and gives you a zoom slighter on the bottom half when you begin recording. It's a neat way to take advantage of the form factor.

As usual, I would recommend downloading the Camera Assistant app, which adds more useful features to your camera, such as a 2x button for faster zooming, auto HDR, a faster shutter button, and more.

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 6: Software

The Galaxy Z Flip 6 runs One UI 6.1.1 out of the box, which comes with some new Galaxy AI features. I haven't had a chance to really test some of these out, such as the upgraded interpreter mode that utilizes the cover screen, but my limited time testing that feature in my hands-on left me quite intrigued.

I'm both impressed and perplexed by some of the image-generation features. Drawing Assist is truly fascinating and will not only add some fairly realistic and amusing images to your photos via Sketch to Image, but it will also turn your doodles into entertaining "works of art" that only a mother could love.

I can't say as much about Portrait Studio in Photo Assist, where the phone will attempt to generate artistic versions of faces out of a selection of different styles. My colleague Nick Sutrich and I wanted to like this feature in our hands-on with the Galaxy Z Fold 6, but the images it would generate looked nothing like us, instead churning out generic-looking faces with at least the same skin tone.

The experience on my Galaxy Z Flip 6 is no different, leaving me pretty disappointed. Maybe you'll get lucky and find one that somewhat resembles you if you squint, but this is probably a feature you can ignore (for now).

The Live Effect feature is cool, turning transforming 2D photos into cinematic videos, similar to Cinematic Wallpapers on a Pixel phone. It appears to be based on Samsung's excellent Image Clipper feature, separating the subject from the background and then creating a video that can be used as your wallpaper. I do wish the effect was actually based on motion instead of just looping a video when set on your lock or cover screens, but the effect is still pretty cool.

Aside from the new Galaxy AI features, you also get Google AI features like the Gemini app and Circle to Search, which I love.

Samsung is extending its Galaxy S24 software update promise to the Galaxy Z Flip 6, meaning users can expect at least seven years of updates and OS upgrades. Whether or not a foldable like the Galaxy Z Flip 6 will last that long is another thing.

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 6: Competition

Foldables are still a growing segment, particularly flip phones, but there are still some good phones that will give the Galaxy Z Flip 6 a run for its money. The most obvious is the new Motorola Razr Plus 2024, which also just launched and will be available for purchase at the same time as the Z Flip 6. OPPO's Find N3 Flip is also a phone worth considering, particularly if you live outside North America.

The Razr Plus 2024 features very similar specs to the Z Flip 6, with a flagship Snapdragon chip, 12GB of RAM, and a 4,000mAh battery. The Razr is $100 cheaper and has a larger, more functional cover screen, which makes it a tempting buy over the Flip. That said, the Flip has a more powerful chipset and better software support (based on Samsung's track record). Additionally, some may prefer to have an ultrawide camera over a telephoto sensor.

The OPPO Find N3 Flip has a great display, a sleek design, and a fantastic camera system. The battery capacity is also larger then most other flip phones, but the phone isn't really available in North America, so there may be some incompatibilities, and ColorOS is definitely an acquired taste.

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 6: Should you buy it?

You should buy this if...

• You're interested in a new flip phone.
• You want access to the latest AI features from Samsung and Google.
• You're already ingrained in Samsung's ecosystem.

You shouldn't buy this if...

• You're tempted by the cheaper Motorola Razr Plus 2024.
• You want a useful cover screen experience.
• You don't want to spend more than $1000 on a phone.

Samsung is clearly playing it safe with the Galaxy Z Flip 6, which is more evident by Motorola's Razr Plus 2024 launch a week prior, offering upgraded specs, a larger cover screen with a refined experience, and a cheaper price tag. That's not to say this is a bad phone because it's not. I would normally have no problem recommending this phone because it's quite a fine phone, but with a $100 price bump, I'm not sure I can recommend this over last year's just-as-fine Galaxy Z Flip 5.

If you can find some deals and you're rocking the older Galaxy Z Flip 4, then I'd say go ahead and buy the Galaxy Z Flip 6. But even then, I would almost recommend the Razr Plus 2024 instead, which has already had some intriguing deals ahead of its official sale date.

For now, I'll continue testing the phone to see if Samsung can change my mind. Be sure to check back for an updated review with my full thoughts on the Galaxy Z Flip 6.