Samsung's new Galaxy Z Fold6 model has finally hit the shelves, and this is by far the priciest foldable phone from the company yet. We have AI to thank for this, as the new Z Fold lineup has been juiced with a host of powerful AI features that were first introduced with the Samsung Galaxy S24 series back in January.
This consequentially has made the handset more expensive than ever, with prices starting at $1,899.99 / £1,799 for the entry-level 256GB version, which increases to $2,019.99 / £1,899 for the 512GB model. If you have your eyes on 1TB of storage, then expect to pay a whopping $2,259.99 / £2,099 for the smartphone. Maybe it's worth getting one of the best iPhones for photography instead?
If you're still on the fence about whether or not to buy the AI foldable, I went hands-on with the Z Fold 6 and Flip 6 at Samsung's London HQ, and can offer you my first impressions of the handset. If you happen to be a student, teacher, or aged between 16-26 then you can make use of Samsung's Student Discount offers which can help you save big on the Z Fold 6.
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold6
Samsung's first AI-powered foldable smartphone.
Display: Foldable Dynamic LTPO AMOLED 2X (1856 x 2160) | Brightness: 2,600 nits (peak) | Dimensions: Unfolded: 153.5 x 132.6 x 5.6 mm / Folded: 153.5 x 68.1 x 12.1 mm | Main Camera: 50 MP, f/1.8, 23mm (wide) / 10 MP, f/2.4, 66mm (telephoto) / 12 MP, f/2.2, 123˚, 12mm (ultrawide) | Selfie Camera: 10 MP, f/2.2, 24mm (wide) | Video: 8K@30fps, 4K@60fps, 1080p@60/120/240fps | Storage: 256GB / 512GB / 1TB | Weight: 239 g | Battery : USB Type-C
New AI features
Beautiful large tablet-like display
Great for gaming
Minor camera upgrades
Can still see the crease
Expensive
The Z Fold6 has been upgraded with a more compact design (yet a wider display), is lighter, has enhanced brightness, is fitted with a new Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chip for Galaxy, and of course – new Galaxy AI features for better performance and multitasking.
In comparison with the previous Samsung Z Fold 5 model, the Fold 6 offers a slightly enhanced display with an adjusted aspect ratio of 22.1:9 (23:9 on the Z Fold 5), and a 1mm wider cover screen at 6.3 inches. The overall design is more angular with sharper edges, and it has been upgraded with a hinge redesign too with a less obvious crease down the middle of the display when unfolded.
As for the new AI tools, Sketch-to-image is a unique feature exclusive to the Galaxy Z Fold 6 that will no doubt be a favourite with creatives. It works by converting quick doodles made with the included S Pen into fully-fledged editorial pieces with tweaks from generative AI.
For smartphone photographers, the Z Fold6 offers the exact same 50MP main camera as last year's Fold 5, plus the same wide and optical zoom cameras, although the 12MP ultrawide camera is brand-new according to Samsung, with a better low-light sensor adopted from the S24 series.
FAQs
What's the difference between the Z Fold 5 and 6?
If we're being honest, there's not a monumental difference between the Samsung Z Fold 6 and Z Fold 5. However, this is the biggest jump we've seen in upgrades compared with the minimal changes between the Z Fold 3 to 4 series, as well as the 4 to 5 series.
A lot of the differences you'll notice are mainly software-based rather than major design changes, but we think it's enough to warrant an upgrade this time around, especially if you know you'll make use of the new Galaxy AI tools (see below if you're wondering what these are).
To give you a rundown – the Z Fold 6 has a slightly bigger display than its predecessor with enhanced brightness, an upgraded and faster processor, a more compact form factor being thinner and lighter than the Fold 5, and there's the new (supposedly) 12MP ultrawide camera with an upgraded sensor and the camera software has the same ProVisual Engine as the Galaxy S24 series.
What AI features does the Z Fold6 have?
The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold6 is equipped with a host of new AI tools and features that just make life a little bit easier. For example, there's transcript assist, note assist, interpreter, browsing assist, sentence composing, live translations, and photo assist with generative editing and portrait studio features. Let's talk about some of these below.
• Live Translate - can translate a phone call live, as well as spoken conversations around you into speech or text as it happens.
• AI Photo Assist and Generative edit - A host of photo features to help you create your best work. It has an AI-made watermark embedded into the metadata though, for ultimate transparency.
• Circle to search - see something you like? Circle it using your finger or S Pen to find out everything you need to know and where to get it from.
• Note Assist / Chat Assist - Get yourself organised with the AI note assist features to smarten up your notes, create a summary, and help you sound more cohesive when messaging and sending emails too.
• Sketch-to-edit - Turn your doodles into magnificent pieces of art with this AI feature. It uses generative AI to turn your sketch prompts into fully fledged illustrations worthy of editorial.
What software benefits do I get with the Z Fold6?
If you buy the Samsung Z Fold6 directly from Samsung, you'll benefit from extra benefits and discounts on creative software including:
• A 30-day free trial to ArcSite (worth up to $193)
• Free 3 months of YouTube Premium (worth $41.97)
• Free 2 months of Adobe Express (worth $19.98) and 2 months of Adobe Lightroom (worth $19.98).
• Free 6 months of Microsoft 365 (worth $11.95)
