Alexander OuyangQuick Verdict
Pros
- Great one hand usability
- Premium build quality
- Matured Foldable software experience
- Bright and beautiful displays
- Performance held up even after 11 months and a software update
- Crease is much better compared to prior generations
Cons
- Cameras could be better
- Narrow cover display
- Battery and charging speeds are the same as previous generations
- Launch Retail pricing was expensive
Design: Refined
Build Quality
The Fold6 has a very angular design, matching the design language of the current Ultra lineup of devices such as the S25 Ultra. Compared to the predecessor, the Z Fold5, it has a much more square off design compared to the previous rounded corners. This makes the device feel more brick-like than ever, which is emphasized even more with its combined thickness when the device is closed. The whole device being so brick-like contributes to it having very robust build quality.
The cover screen has reduced bezels with the screen extending ever so slightly more towards the perimeter of the phone. This makes the phone look more premium and refined compared to the Fold5. The front screen has a very narrow cover screen that has been widened in every generation since the original Galaxy Fold. This has pros and cons to it.
On one hand (pun intended), its very easy to use one-handed. It’s narrow cover screen made it easy to reach across the screen. This provides a very nice one handed UX that is better than typical slab phones. Two handed use can be reserved for when you want to unfold the phone to its full 7.6” display. The hinge is so solid, opening and closing the device feels like there is zero friction. It also is able to stay at almost any angle you put it at. Once you open the phone, the phone has a crease that’s still visible when viewing from the side. However, the crease personally has never been an issue for me as it really does just go away when I just use the device as normal. Even after 11 months of using the device, the crease doesn’t feel like its gotten worse, at to my eyes and finger when I run my finger across the crease.
Durability
I’ve purchased this phone back launch, using the preorder trade in discounts Samsung offered when trading in the Galaxy Fold5, its predecessor. So I only paid $700 (update exact amount) for the 512GB Silver Shadow Z Fold6.
I have dropped this phone multiple times, folded and unfolded. Albeit, I’ve had it in a case 90% of the time. I have zero dents or dings on the phones frame or displays. For instance, I have dropped this phone opened behind my bed which was a bit dusty. I was relieved to find that the inside display had no damage and that the dust was easy to wipe off. Partly that is due to the dust protection it has with IP48.
Software: Fantastic
The Fold6 uses Samsung’s One UI. My Fold6 is currently running the stable release of One UI 7. While it has taken Samsung way too long to release OneUI7, I’m glad its finally here on the Fold6 and it makes the phone feel fresh again.
Media consumption is great on this device, however not all forms of media will be able to take advantage of the big inner display. Due to the aspect ratio of the inner display being more square, watching videos will have black bars, Twitter or X just stretch to fill the screen making it show less tweets than on a normal phone. However, I find that when multitasking with split-screen, you can basically have two full screen apps side-by-side. I find this very practicable for things like comparative shopping, cross referencing between documents, etc. The taskbar on that hovers on the bottom of the screen makes switching between apps and starting split screen multitasking much easier with less friction. Watching 16:9 content can be a bit of awkward on the cover display as it’s so narrow, but watching it full screen on the inner display still presents letter boxing. I find it more enjoyable to watch videos in flex mode or when doing split screen to reduce the amount of unused space. I think having a wider cover display can improve video consumption experience on the outer display, as you’re more likely to use the device folded when you are out and about.
Being able to have completely different setups on the cover display and the inner display are awesome for people who like to customize their home screens with different layouts. Samsung seems to be the only manufacturer that allows this customisation on home screen layouts. Other manufacturers such as Oppo and Google mirrors your folded layout onto the inner screen.
Samsung introduced more AI features onto OneUI7. Personally, I do not care much about AI features as they’re not practical to use on a daily basis. However, the one feature I do use sometimes is ‘circle to search’. It’s actually pretty useful to quickly search whatever I see is on screen and I have no context of it. For example, reverse image searching someone’s wallpaper, an unfamiliar product or just gathering information.
Performance: Top-notch
Day-to-day performance has been fantastic on this device. It’s has been buttery smooth the whole I’ve had it since launch. It can handle split-screen multi-tasking with video playback and web browsing on another window without any slow downs. I can’t speak for gaming, as I do not game on my phone but I think the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 for Galaxy should be more than capable for a lot of modern titles such as Genshin Impact. Performance isn’t an issue on this device.
Cameras: Very good but could be better
If there’s anything about foldables, you need to lower your expectations when on the cameras. Currently, every foldable’s camera system won’t match their flagship counterpart but it will be close to it. In saying that, these cameras are not as below average as some people make it to be. It has a 50MP main sensor, 12MP ultrawide and 10MP 3x telephoto lens. The 50MP lens is good for what it is but the other 2 lens are good in bright outdoor conditions. In darker conditions, you will start to see a bit of grainy areas in photos. Video quality has been more than usable for me.
For the front cameras, the inner display has a 4MP under display camera (UDC) and the cover display has a 10MP camera. I hardly used either cameras, as one of the advantages of using a foldable is that you can use the cover display as a viewfinder for the rear cameras. This allows you to use the higher quality rear cameras to take much more detailed shots.
Battery Life: Good enough
Battery is able to usually last the until late afternoon or early evening before I need to top up the phones battery on normal work days. I’m able to get around 4-6 hours of screen on time with video playback. The battery performance overall is very good for most users, I’d say just don’t expect the battery performance to be as high as the S25 Ultra. The phone supports 25W fast wired charging and 15W wireless charging. Charging takes a little over an hour to get it to 100% from around 20%. Its serviceable but I wish it was faster, as competitors such as the Oppo Find N3 offer 67W fast wired charging with larger battery capacities to boot.
Verdict: Still an excellent foldable
I really enjoyed using my Z Fold6. Great build quality, excellent foldable software and support. Despite the mediocre battery specifications, average cameras and narrow cover display, I can definitely recommend this phone for someone who’s looking to step into the foldable space. I am willing to trade off a bit of the one-handed usability if it means widening the cover display to a standard aspect ratio. I’m hoping that the Samsung Z Fold7 will improve on those aspects I’ve mentioned above.
Unfortunately, here in Australia there’s not much competition other than the Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold or the Oppo Find N3 (which is no longer sold here). If you want the best foldable experience in terms of software, go for the Z Fold6. Otherwise, if the form factor of the Pixel 9 Pro Fold is more appealing to you, then that would be the better choice. Not to mention, if you prefer the more stock android experience of Pixel phones than Samsung’s OneUI.
Pricing wise, Foldables are still expensive for a lot of people just looking to purchase a smartphone, I don’t think anyone can deny that. However, if you know what you are getting yourself into then I think you won’t be disappointed with the Fold 6 or even the upcoming Samsung Z Fold 7 in their upcoming unpacked event on July 10th. If you are open to trying brands outside of Samsung and Google, keep an eye out for upcoming international options such as the Vivo X Fold 5 and the Honor Magic V5. Those have much more compelling hardware, at least on paper. Disclaimer: None of these links are affiliate links and I do not earn any commission from them.
https://www.jbhifi.com.au/products/samsung-galaxy-z-fold6-5g-512gb-silver-shadow