Galaxy Z Fold 6 goes official with 7 years of updates, wider displays, starting at $1,899

Ben Schoon | Jul 10 2024 - 6:00 am PT

At an Unpacked event today in Paris, Samsung has officially unveiled its latest book-style foldable, the Galaxy Z Fold 6. Here’s what you need to know about the updated device.

Samsung’s Galaxy Fold series dates back to 2019 and has been a pioneer in the category. However, in the face of increased competition, Samsung’s minor generational upgrades haven’t gone unnoticed, leading to Samsung losing its top spot in the foldable market as of this year.

Now, the Galaxy Z Fold 6 has arrived with some of the biggest updates since 2021’s Galaxy Z Fold 3.

First and foremost, Samsung has updated the aspect ratio of the display. The super-narrow size of the outer display has long been criticized, but it’s now wider. The outer display features an aspect ratio of 22.1:9, wider than the 23.1:9 of the Galaxy Z Fold 5 by a slight margin. For comparison, the OnePlus Open has an aspect ratio on its outer display of 20:9, while Galaxy S24 Ultra has an aspect ratio of 19.5:9.

The inner display, meanwhile, is also a bit wider with an aspect ratio of 20.9:18, putting it even closer to a square.

Samsung has also made the Fold 6 thinner, with the folded device measuring 68.1 x 153.5 x 12.1mm. Unfolded, it measures 132.6 x 153.5 x 5.6mm, and the whole device weighs 239g, about 6% lighter than the Fold 5.

Under the hood, Galaxy Z Fold 6 runs on top of Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 and offers 12GB of RAM across its 256GB, 512GB, and 1TB storage variants. Samsung has added a larger vapor chamber for improved cooling and says that the display is bright at a peak of 2,600 nits.

Cameras are unchanged – 50MP primary, 12MP ultrawide, 10MP 3x telephoto, 10MP selfie, 4MP under-display – and the battery is also the same 4,400 mAh setup as the Fold 5 (and Fold 4, and Fold 3). Other aspects, such as the fingerprint sensor and aluminum frame, also remain unchanged.

Another hardware tweak is an IP48 rating, up from IPX8 on prior generations. While this doesn’t deliver full dust resistance (which requires IP5X or higher), it’s the first time Samsung is offering a rating for anything other than water.

Galaxy Z Fold 6 will also deliver many of the same Galaxy AI features that debuted on the Galaxy S24 series early this year. One perk unique to Samsung’s new foldables is the ability to show translations on the outer display (much like Google’s Pixel Fold). The S Pen experience on the Fold 6 will also be able to integrate with Galaxy AI features through Smart Select and “Sketch to image,” which uses generative AI to create an image based on a rough drawing.

Google Gemini will also be more deeply integrated with Samsung’s latest devices, including support for multi-window.

Galaxy Z Fold 6 will launch with Android 14 and One UI 6.1 out of the box and, like the Galaxy S24 series, be eligible for 7 years of Android and security updates.

Samsung will be launching Galaxy Z Fold 6 on July 24, with pre-orders starting today for $1,899. That’s $100 up from the Galaxy Z Fold 5 (and Fold 4, and Fold 3).

The device will be available in Silver Shadow, Pink, and Navy colors, as well as Samsung.com-exclusive Craft Black and Purity White options.

Pre-orders are eligible for a free year of Samsung Care+, doubled storage for free, and up to $1,200 in trade-in values.