Hands-on: The Galaxy Z Flip 6 is as iterative as it gets, and now $100 more expensive

Ben Schoon | Jul 10 2024 - 6:55 am PT

Samsung just announced its new foldable duo, the Galaxy Z Fold 6 and Flip 6. I went hands-on with the Galaxy Z Fold 6 and walked away pretty happy with Samsung’s changes, but I can’t say the same about the Galaxy Z Flip 6.

Despite foldables only being a few years old, they’ve gotten pretty iterative pretty quickly. Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold series suffered from that in a big way between the Fold 3 and the Fold 5, all while the Galaxy Z Flip series saw genuinely meaningful upgrades year after year.

But, with the Galaxy Z Flip 6, Samsung is introducing a device that’s more iterative than any foldable sequel yet.

The Flip 6 shares basically everything in common with the Flip 5, as you’d expect. It has the same inner display and the same 3.4-inch outer display, and is nearly the same form factor too, just a hair thinner when folded up. In the hand, the two feel very similar, but the Flip 6 does switch to a matte finish for the metal which is nice in the hand. It’s a bit grippier, but also somehow a bit more slippery? I’ll need more time in real-life use to decide how this plays out, but it feels very nice. I also like Samsung’s new color lineup, and the splash of color around the camera looks quite good.

In terms of hardware, that’s really all you notice.

Inside, it moves up to Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 and makes 12GB of RAM standard across all models. The battery is also a little bigger at 4,000 mAh, and the camera is now at 50MP. I’ve never had a complaint about the performance, but I am rather interested to see if the camera and battery upgrades are meaningful.

But, really, that’s about it.

There are other tweaks, like some new AI features, but this is an incredibly iterative “upgrade” across the board.

To summarize, here’s everything new on the Galaxy Z Flip 6 that might actually mean something to a buyer:

Bigger battery
50MP camera
12GB of RAM on all models
The matte finish on the metal is really nice

The Galaxy Z Flip 6 is not going to be worth an upgrade to anyone who bought a Flip 5, and dare I say, I think most users would probably be better off getting the Flip 5 at a discount than going for this truly incredibly iterative update.

That’s only compounded by the fact that the Flip 6 is $100 more expensive than its predecessor with a starting price of $1,099. There’s almost no justification for that, with 12GB of RAM being perhaps the most compelling reason. If Samsung had upped the price last year, it would have been pretty understandable. The Flip 5 was a big, really meaningful upgrade. But to do it now? It’s almost insulting.

But, as with any device, much of the charm is found through continued use. So stay tuned for our full review of the Galaxy Z Flip 6 in the next couple of weeks, and let us know in the comments below if you have any questions about it.

The Galaxy Z Fold 6 and Flip 6 are available for pre-order now with up to $1,200 in trade-in value, doubled storage for free, and other perks. You can also get up to $150 more offer with our link to the Galaxy Z Fold 6 at Samsung.com.

Samsung starts shipping its new foldables as well as Galaxy Ring, Galaxy Buds 3 (and Buds 3 Pro), Galaxy Watch 7, and Galaxy Watch Ultra on July 24.