Hands-on: Galaxy Z Fold 6 is meant for upgraders, no one else

Ben Schoon | Jul 10 2024 - 6:35 am PT

Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold series has been caught in a cycle of boring iteration for the past few years as the competition has drastically improved. But, with its new Galaxy Z Fold 6, I’m optimistic that Samsung has close to breaking out of that cycle, and is delivering an actual, meaningful upgrade this time around.

The Galaxy Z Fold 6 is, on paper, not a huge departure from past iterations. It’s a bit wider now, a bit thinner, and a bit lighter. But all of those tweaks add up to a surprisingly big upgrade, as least for previous Galaxy Fold series owners.

That’s the point of view I went into my hands-on with. I personally own a Galaxy Z Fold 4 and last year’s Galaxy Z Fold 5 simply wasn’t enough for me to upgrade. But, as soon as I laid my hands on it, the Fold 6 felt worthy of that upgrade.

Firstly, there’s the hardware itself. Samsung’s foldables have always felt a little too chunky compared to the competition, but trimming the Fold 6 down to 12.1mm (from the 13.4mm Fold 5) feels much better, especially compared to my Fold 4. It’s sleeker, and the design of the device makes it feel a tad thinner than it actually is. The overall look of the phone is the same, but it feels much better overall.

And that brings us to the “big” change, which is the width of the display.

Many have complained for years that Samsung’s Galaxy Fold series is too narrow, with the outer display being “useless” because it’s so narrow. It’s a viewpoint that, personally, I’ve had mixed feelings about. I do think previous iterations, especially the Fold 3, were too narrow, but I’ve also greatly preferred the tall and narrow hardware of the Fold series compared to the wider options on the market.

With Galaxy Z Fold 6, I think Samsung struck a solid balance. The hardware itself is only 1mm wider, but thinning out the hinge and the bezels lead to a design where the display feels much wider than previous models. There’s still probably a happy medium between the Fold 6 and, say, the OnePlus Open, but I think Samsung’s new setup will work out pretty well.

And with a wider outer display also comes a wider inner one.

This doesn’t feel like a huge upgrade, but the shape of the device and the wider aspect ratio really feels more expansive compared to my Fold 4.

Plus, the crease feels a whole lot less noticeable (even compared to what I remember from the Fold 5).

As a Galaxy Z Fold 4 owner, I finally feel compelled enough this year to upgrade to a Fold 6.

But, ultimately, I think Samsung is still way behind the competition.

The OnePlus Open, last year’s best foldable, is still leaps and bounds better than the Galaxy Z Fold 6 in practically every way. Google’s Pixel Fold 2 (or Pixel 9 Pro Fold, if we’re going with the disgusting name) also looks promising, and other brands such as Honor are constantly pushing the bar on how good foldables can be.

Samsung has done the bare minimum to keep up for the past few years, and the Galaxy Z Fold 6 is a step just barely over that. It’s a good upgrade for customers who are upgrading, which Samsung tells us is the bulk of who is buying the company’s foldables. The problem is that Samsung can’t just please those customers. The next Galaxy Fold needs to break the formula wide open and try something new.

Samsung’s resistance to change has already led to the company losing its crown in the foldable market, and deservedly so. If Samsung wants any chance at getting it back, it needs to remember the ambition that helped it be the first to deliver a mass-market foldable because, at this point, Samsung is neither the most impressive foldable maker, nor the best in the game.

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.