Samsung Galaxy Z Fold6 test – Galaxy AI and One UI decide its fate

What about this year? The sixth version – the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold6 – has a much tougher road ahead of it. If previously Z Fold phones could afford to slip, now they can be impaled at every step. But despite the progress of rivals, Samsung is still confident that they have a winning design in their hands, which they did not drastically change this year compared to the year before. If you followed the presentation of the phones, then you may have noticed that the 90 %'s focus was on artificial intelligence and what it means for software, while the changes to the hinge, body, screen and internal components were more of a side note, although they are present.

Samsung went all or nothing, so to speak - either Galaxy AI and One UI will bring them triumph, or the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold6 will be the first phone to look at the rear of rivals.

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold6 price?

• Samsung Galaxy Z Fold6: from €1,999

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold6 – It's different, but not drastically

It's clear that Samsung hasn't given up on who will have the thinnest foldable phone on the market this year. Xiaomi and Honor will fight for this laurel. I admit that I was initially disappointed that a veteran like Samsung didn't show its muscle and, above all, its experience - of which it undoubtedly has the most - and show its geographical neighbors how to make the thinnest foldable phone. These were the thoughts of the male ego, which always whispers that you have to be the best at everything, but in reality you are not.

Samsung stuck to its original design and tweaked it a bit. In the folded mode, the Galaxy Z Fold6 is a good millimeter thinner than its predecessor, and it is also slightly thinner in the extended mode. The change is not visible to the naked eye. Even if you go from a five to a six, you will hardly notice the difference in dimensions. Owners of older Folds, however, will have a much easier time appreciating the progress in design over the years. However, this small difference has one positive consequence. When you have it in your pocket, I think it feels the same as a classic flat phone. I mean it's not as annoying as previous years. The fact that he has lost 15 grams certainly contributes a lot to this feeling.

They also got rid of the last curves on the phone and it is now flat on all corners and sides. Whether this was a good decision or not is something you will have to judge for yourself. You may not like the sharp angles, or you may be glad that a flat phone is easier to hold in your hands. Being used to curved phones, it took me a few days to get used to the new shape, but after that I didn't care if it was flat or rounded.

This farewell to curves gives the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold6 the touch that it is a new phone. As said, there are no drastic design changes, but the flat sides and edges are enough to distinguish between the Galaxy Z Fold5 and Z Fold6.

Yes, they won't get the award for innovation this year, but it's not the end of the world. For next year, I expect them to take a bigger step forward.

They have improved water and dust resistance (IP48), which is quite a significant leap forward. Any improvement in durability is welcome news to remove the stigma surrounding the durability of these phones.

The camera frame on the glass back has been slightly changed. They added additional circles/rings around the lenses, which brighten up the look a bit, but on the other hand, I had to repeatedly remove the dust that collected diligently.

"Squeezed" external screen, but the internal one is excellent

What I said last year about the Galaxy Z Fold5 is still true this year. You have to get used to the external screen or you will always use the internal screen. There is nothing mechanically wrong with it. It's bright enough (2600 candelas), protected by Corning Gorilla Glass Victus 2 (could be Gorilla Armor), has an LTPO AMOLED panel that refreshes at 120 Hz - in short, everything we need.

The problem is not the diagonal (6.3 inches), but its width, which means we have to get used to the unusual aspect ratio. In a good week of use, I only partially got used to the external screen, most of the time I used the internal one. If I wanted to quickly browse the web or reply to a message, I used it, but not otherwise. I asked existing Fold users and came to the conclusion that the opinion is somewhat split 50/50. Some have no problem with the external display, others agree with me.

The internal screen is excellent, the crease is still visible, but less than before

On the other hand, the "point" of a foldable phone is precisely the internal screen. The fact that I used it most of the time is also its purpose. If this is why Samsung is sticking with the narrower screen, then they've succeeded.

The internal (7.6 inch) screen is very good. The brightness is the same as the external one, the panel is also the same, which means the same refresh rate and the same dynamic colors. It has LTPO technology, but does not go down to 1 Hz. It stops at 24Hz, which is still good for the battery. However, it does not have any additional protection, so you still need to be more careful with it.

But what both screens desperately need is a matte finish. Fingerprint smudges and glare are very annoying on such a large screen. When they are well lit, this is not a problem, but if there is any kind of darker scene on the screen, you immediately notice your fingerprints. I cleaned them often, almost to the point where I always had a microfiber cloth with me.

Whatever you give him, he will do

Samsung continues to have the privilege of being able to fit slightly beefed-up Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chips for the Galaxy. Performance is better by a percent or two, nothing groundbreaking.

We have had enough capacity for several years. The amount of RAM is also steadily increasing, and except for extreme tasks, 8 GB is enough for now, and 12 GB is optimal, which the Galaxy Z Fold 6 also has. When there is enough space is a little harder to say because some rely on the cloud. Since the purpose of the Fold is productivity and gaming, the space fills up very quickly. In this case, 256 GB seems insufficient to me, and 512 GB is just right.

Playing on such a screen is a real pleasure

The ability to dissipate heat is just as important as performance. All the power in the world means nothing if your phone can only sustain it for 30 minutes. Quite a few phones have this problem. The Galaxy Z Fold6 has a dedicated cooling system, which slows down overheating during more demanding tasks. I've been playing the Switch game Pokemon Scarlet a lot and I had to give my phone a rest for an hour/hour and a half, maybe a minute or so earlier. Playing on a Switch emulator is quite a concrete effort for a phone that most people won't repeat. I consider a good hour of gaming to be solid heat dissipation, but not superb. I wish all manufacturers would pay more attention to how to curb all this performance in the next iterations.

I ran a few more Windows games (Need for Speed Underground, Fable, GTA V…) on the Mobox emulator and the story was similar. They work very well, the older ones even great, but when you play for a long time, the heat creeps in, forcing you to rest.

But I insist that foldable phones are still the best for gaming. A larger screen can offer a completely different experience, a completely different feeling than you are used to from classic mobile gaming. I also connected it to a controller and, as I've said many times before, it's like having a portable console in your hands, except you can do everything else with it.

But I blame the stubbornness of Samsung to insist on slow charging (25W), especially since the battery (4400 mAh) is only average. If I was really in a gaming mood, the phone barely lasted the rest of the day. And that the charger for this price is not included with the purchase.

One UI is the ace up its sleeve, artificial intelligence plays a very small role

Is the software excellence enough for the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold6 to rise to the top and stay there until next year?

One UI has come a long way in recent years. Those who use it every day may not notice it right away. Others, who make the transition from another system, see quite a few advantages. There is very little software cover, or there are Samsung alternatives in addition to Google's. Whether this is a cover or not is up to you. A few applications are useful (SmartThings, Health and Galaxy Store), the rest were forgotten by me.

Using a dedicated launcher isn't necessary, but it does add some extra flair to your screen

Reliability has been very good with One UI for some time, and the same can be said for other skins (HyperOS, MagicOS...). What sets One UI apart from the rest is the level of personalization available. Not even that much by default, though still more than elsewhere. But when you download the GoodLock module (available in the Galaxy Store), everything is different. If you have a Samsung phone, this is a must-download app.

What is GoodLock? Basically, it is an application in which additional modules are hidden, with which you can provide additional functions or brighten up the appearance of the phone.

• Camera Assistant: Adds 2x zoom to the camera shortcuts, you can change certain settings (automatic HDR, image distortion correction...), how fast the phone captures images and more.
• Sound Assistant: You can change the appearance of the volume slider, the pattern of the vibration effect, how quickly the volume changes with a key press...
• Theme Park: Changing the theme, colors, backgrounds, buttons...
• Wonderland: A module for creating unique wallpapers or effects on the lock screen.
• Routines+: Upgrade existing routines
• Nice Shot: Adjusting screenshot settings…
• One Hand Operation +: Very important if you want the phone to be more friendly for one-handed use.

Good Lock is a must-have app for Samsung phones

The most important of all is Multistar, with which we can change how applications behave on the foldable screen. We can force them to support multi-window mode, even though they don't by default, keep an app open on an external one after closing the main screen, change the zoom on each app to see more content on the screen, and more similar features.

You must have the time and willingness to try out what works for you. You won't regret it, because you can customize every little thing. This might be the only OS where I wouldn't use a dedicated launcher (Nova, Niagara Launcher...).

Samsung Dex remains one of the best features on today's phones. You connect to a computer, TV or monitor (wired or wireless) and you can use your phone as a computer. Simple but very useful.

I tested all possible scenarios of how the phone could be used by the average user. I had YouTube on the left side of the screen, Reddit on the right, and Gmail below that. Three is the number of applications that can be displayed on the screen at once, the fourth can appear as a bubble.

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold6 supports the use of three applications on the screen

I put myself in the role of a designer who, in theory, could use a larger screen, but absolutely needs the S Pen, which is not included with the purchase and you need a special case to store it. Also, some AI features (like sketching on a photo) would be better with a stylus.

I used the Galaxy Z Fold6 instead of an e-reader and, as always, reading is a pleasure on such a phone. I've read a lot of comics and although not every image looks the best on a bigger screen, overall the experience is very good.

In short, it is a very versatile phone that can be used in several roles if you only know how to use it.

Galaxy AI

I already talked about artificial intelligence in the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra phone test and I recommend that you go there for a more detailed explanation.

Samsung is betting big on Galaxy AI and how AI features are changing how we use Samsung phones. The problem is that outside of test scenarios, many features don't get exposed. Circle search is the most useful because it is simple, the results are immediately visible and you get tangible information.

They have added a new function Composer (Composer), which is available in the Samsung keyboard (in addition to the existing features to help with writing). Since it is integrated in the keyboard, it can be used everywhere. It works similarly to all well-known AI chatbots (Copilot, ChatGPT, Gemini...). You type in a text command, and the language model returns the finished product. For example, you can write a formal e-mail or a greeting for your nephew. At first I found the function quite useful, but eventually I forgot about it because I didn't need additional help when creating texts. If you already use ChatGPT (or others) a lot, then this feature will be very convenient for you. I also see the problem that with this you are forced to use the Samsung keyboard and not, for example, Google's, which is a popular alternative.

Other AI functions lose that initial charm of novelty very quickly. The functions in the Gallery are still quite useful, creating caricatures of your portrait or creating photos from sketches works well, although I'm not sure where I would use the created photo. Sometimes distortion in the photo is observed when we remove a certain object, or inadequate dimensions when we want to add an additional object to the image.

The first generation of Galaxy AI is just a flash for me at the moment, which is losing its luster very quickly. Based on the input, I predict that by the next generation of phones, Samsung will add more features, complement the existing ones (like adding more supported languages…) and then I might be able to say that Galaxy AI is a game changer.

The priority task is the cameras.

Cameras need an upgrade

• 50 MP (f/1.8) main camera, 23 mm, OIS
• 10 MP (f/2.4) telephoto, 66 mm, OIS and 3x optical zoom
• 12 MP (f/2.2) ultra-wide, 12 mm
• 4 MP (f/1.8) front camera under the display
• 10 MP (f/2.2) camera on the external screen

With the exception of the ultra-wide, which has a new sensor but the same resolution (12 MP), the cameras have not changed. The new chip and image processor contribute to slightly better photos and videos, but in the end it's still the cameras we used last year and the year before. After three years, cameras are expected to be at a much higher level, especially for two grand.

In good daylight, the main and telephoto turn out well. The images are sharp, colorful and with a good level of detail. They are not among the best, but the captured photos and videos are quite good enough. Despite changing the lens, the ultra-wide remains only slightly above average. The images are still quite good, but there is a slight drop in quality, especially in terms of color accuracy.

We can record up to 8K (30 fps) resolution. The shots are of high quality if we always pay attention to a good light source. The portraits are pleasing, the bokeh effect of the background is well executed, it works naturally, and the subject always stands perfectly in the foreground. I didn't notice any problems with detecting the edges around the subject. Macro photography is also perfectly fine.

Photo gallery

If I have no major complaints about the cameras during the day, apart from the fact that they are not at the level of a premium phone, taking pictures in poor light and when it gets dark is a different story. You can't ignore the noise and it's noticeable even when you're looking at the pictures on the phone screen, and it's even easier to find errors on the computer monitor. Shooting in low light should be at least two grades better next year. It also struggles with moving subjects, even after I manually accelerated the shutter speed.

The under-display camera is fine for the occasional video call, but has trouble with consistency in facial recognition to unlock the phone. On an external display, the camera is just fine for what we need it to do.

I didn't expect to get the cameras from the Galaxy S24 Ultra, although I could have at this price, but I also didn't expect to stay at the same level. It's Samsung's own fault that we expect top-notch cameras from them every year, and it didn't deliver on the Galaxy Z Fold6.

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold6 - the hardest wrap ever

The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold6 could be better than it is, but even in this version it's still a very good foldable phone. They improved the case, the hinge and the screens. There's the latest chip, a great operating system, and Galaxy AI, which in the right hands can be a standout. As a phone for productivity, gaming and multimedia, it does its job perfectly.

It's the cameras fault that he didn't live up to all expectations and his full potential. I don't care that it's not the thinnest on the market, even if it doesn't charge faster than 25W, I can forgive it (albeit with a heavy heart), but I can't get the cameras out of my head.

I hope this is the last year I can say that, and that next year they will pleasantly surprise me.

If you're looking for a foldable phone that you'll be working on a lot, watching YouTube/movies/series, playing games, designing, reading, or anything like that, the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold6 is a good choice. If you own the previous one, you'd better wait for next year.