Between our long-term review of Galaxy Z Flip5 and this long-term review of Galaxy Z Fold6, I’ve been living Samsung’s vision for a foldable life for quite a few months. While living with the form factor and its added functionality was a large part of the extended review experience, the robustness and longer-term viability of such devices was equally important. And, Samsung Galaxy Z Fold6 has reassured on both fronts during our long-term review.
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Samsung Galaxy Z Fold6 is flawless as a daily driver. A little heavier and little thicker than a regular premium smartphone, it may be. But, in exchange for about 30 grams of added balast and 3mm of added bulk, you get a lot in return.
At first, I handled the device with kid gloves, but over time you gain confidence in the solidity of the unit. The hinge still snapping to attention after thousands of uses is comforting.
Settling In
There is no doubt that there is a period of settling in with Samsung Galaxy Z Fold6, something which only adds to the need to revisit the device for a long-term review. As mentioned above, Z Fold6 is that little bit heavier, and a little bit thicker when folded, this takes a little getting used to, but after a few weeks, it feels at home in the pocket.
Once you get used to it, you can appreciate how much effort has gone into shrinking the device down so it can occupy the same pockets as regular non-foldables.
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At less than 6mm thin while unfolded, the solid feel of the device is all the more impressive. After a little while longer with Samsung Galaxy Z Fold6, I started to treat it more like another premium device, such was the trust in the build.
Slim Starter
Galaxy Z Fold6 is 1.3mm thinner when folded than Z Fold5. The chassis is is now just 12.1mm thick when folded and just 5.6mm thick when unfolded. There are now slimmer foldables, but Samsung Galaxy Z Fold6 remains close enough to a non-foldable in terms of weight and heft.
Even for someone with hands on the smaller side, like me, the device was easy to manipulate in one hand when the necessary. The form factor didn’t ever prevent me from using the outer screen just like a regular smartphone of roughly the same screen size,
Elemental Protection
The device has zero flex in any direction when open. Samsung Galaxy Z Fold6 doesn’t creek or rattle when closed. Galaxy Z Fold6 is also 14 grams lighter device than its predecessor, now weighinh just 239 grams. The device’s lighter weight and slimmer form bring it closer to a non-foldable device in terms of manipulability when closed.
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold6 offers the same splash and dunk protection as Galaxy Z Fold5. The device can survive in 1.5 metres of water for up to 30 minutes. However, Galaxy Z Fold6 has added dust resistance for a rating of IP48 offering extra peace of mind.
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Over the period of our long-term review, the hinge is still snappy, and still stays at whatever angle you desire. The screen protector on the inner screen has not moved a micron, the crease remains almost invisible. As mentioned above, I treated the device like a premium plus device once I got used to that feeling of robustness, and yet our review model Samsung Galaxy Z Fold6 looks immaculate, or at least as immaculate as any other flagship device that has been used as intended with generally careful hands.
And this isn’t my first long-term foldable rodeo. My daily driver before Z Fold6 was the excellent Z Flip5, whose foldable inner screen remains absolutely perfect after over 12 months of use. Both styles of foldable have stood up to tens of thousands of folds and unfolds.
Muted and Self-Assured
Our Silver Shadow review model Samsung Galaxy Z Fold6 is dominated visually by its frosted aluminium frame, glass rear and 22:9 aspect ratio outer display The design is harmonious and elegant. The solitary Samsung logo in gloss on the frosted hinge spine is the only disturbance to the muted cool of the device.
The simple design shows Samsung believed the intricate machining, premium materials and novel form factor would carry the visual load. And, I think they were correct in that belief.
Still Impressive Displays
Many months after the debut of Samsung Galaxy Z Fold6, both the inner and outer displays remain amongst the best that money can buy.
The Dynamic LTPO AMOLED 2X outer display is sharp at 968 x 2376 pixels. A120Hz refresh rate gives it a premium smoothness. 1,600nits of peak brightness is not as bright as some 2025 premium smartphone displays, or even as bright as the inner ‘Infinity Flex’ panel, but I never found the outer display wanting in outdoor use.
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The 22:9 display does present a minor compromise. Videos and images meant for 21:9 displays can feature some ‘black bar’ cropping.
Having spent an extended period with Samsung Galaxy Z Fold6, I found the outer display, outside of its 22:9 aspect ratio was about on par with a non-foldable premium smartphone.
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Samsung Galaxy Z Fold6’s 7.6-inch QXGA+ AMOLED ‘Infinite Flex’ inner folding display remains in perfect condition as mentioned above. What also remains intact is it competitiveness in terms of brightness, colour, pixel density and viewing angles. The crease never really bothered me, but at this point it’s been invisible to me for quite a while.
2,600nits of working brightness in automatic mode lets you use that inner panel without compromise no matter the weather. A 2160 x 1856 pixel resolution offers ample detail for split screen or Flex Mode operation. The 20.9:18 aspect ratio works well in both landscape and portrait modes and, again, offers two very usable spaces for split screen or Flex Mode operation.
Form Factor Fusion
The form factor has been matched with excellent software support. Every app I tried resizes correctly at the very least. Most have some form of genuine added functionality when used on the inner display, be it in horizontal or vertical mode.
Something I appreciated is the ease with which you can configure actions per app when the device is in various modes. For example, when using the device partially folded in landscape (like a laptop), which Samsung calls Flex Mode, there are some well-implemented productivity buffs.
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There is a dedicated Flex Mode setting within the device’s options menu. Here you can enable or disable Flex Mode, or choose what Samsung Galaxy Z Fold6 does with certain apps while in this mode.
The exploitation of Flex Mode does vary, from slightly useful to genuine work or creativity tools that you just cannot offer with a conventional smartphone.
Flex Application
Gallery allows a large view of images with a touchpad for fine control of editing along with an excellent suite of gestures. Email, calendar and messaging apps boast a large keyboard for touch-typers while preserving the full-screen view of your subject or task.
The device’s touchpad mode comes with a long list of gestures for quicker copying, manipulation of copied objects, pasting and more. You can zoom without covering what you are looking at, or treat it the touchpad like that of a gesture-enabled laptop.
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In Flex Mode for video-on-demand services, you get playback controls and a comfortable way to set your phone down for easy viewing. All of the video-on-demand services I tried gave an excellent viewing experience in Flex Mode.
YouTube, in particular, has a fantastic Flex Mode. You can use the lower half for playback controls, or use the lower half to browse or leave comments, add to your playlist or just look for more content on the creator’s page.
Full Screen
All apps can be easily dragged from the opened apps menu. You can drag it to either side, or to the top or bottom to engage vertical or horizontal split screen respectively. And you can do this in any orientation without restriction.
You can also easily drag a sizing bar to leave just a sliver of one app open, and a larger display of another app. I loved the PC-style icons along the bottom of the opened screen. You can add whatever apps you feel to the hot bar, or just use the apps on the home screen’s hot bar.
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The full screen mode also adds your opened apps along the bottom, including dual-app bubbles to order your split screen tabs.
These are the types of actions and applications that only really reveal their worth after a little while with the device. You do need to consciously fold these new avenues of productivity and utility into your workflow or daily life, but a little effort absolutely pays off.
Native Support
A great number of apps go beyond resizing and offering a larger area to view or work. YouTube is amongst the very best uses of the inner display while fully unfolded. It maximises screen size in every orientation and configuration, or can offer a long-form comments scroller or a long-form playlist.
Comment to your heart’s content, while keeping a relative large view of your video. Unamerican messaging giant WhatsApp gives a very useful PC app-style split between conversations and current chat. Gmail does the same.
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Photo app offers a huge viewfinder that is free from buttons and dials. It also large icons of previously shot images during the session. Browsers will scale perfectly, some will keep the taskbar on screen as you scroll to offer fixed controls over a huge viewable area.
Laptop Goals
The device’s touchpad mode comes with a long list of gestures for quicker copying, manipulation of copied objects, pasting and more. You can zoom without covering what you are looking at, or treat it the touchpad like that of a gesture-enabled laptop.
There is a also a list of quick applets to the left of the large touchpad area. From here, you can take a quick screenshot, or engage split screen mode. You can also change brightness and volume or enter the settings menu without breaking from the upper half’s function at that time.
General Purpose Camera
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold6’s rear mounted triple-lens camera arrangement is led by an excellent 50MP main wide sensor, bolstered by a solid 10MP ultrawide lens. A 3x optical zoom lens rounds out the package. Samsung tried to cover all bases with its cameras, and succeeded in most areas.
Images that lean mostly on the main sensor are very detailed, quite warm and a little saturated. Default settings in good light give images that are good for social media or for commerce or research purposes. There is a lot of aesthetic flair that can be added or toyed with on Galaxy Z Fold6, but out of the box it keeps it mostly real.
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Samsung Galaxy Z Fold6 uses AI to wring excellent hybrid zoom shots out to 10x. Up to about 15x hybrid will be wholly adequate for social media. The device tops out at 30x, but the images are a bit noisy and you’ll need a bright scene and a steady hand to yield a decent result.
The outer display’s selfie cam is a 10MP wide lens that can take excellent singular selfies or groufies. The lens comes in handy when you need to the outer display as a viewfinder to make sure everyone or everything is in frame. It must be noted that the three lenses on the back can make propping the device up to take a viewfinder selfie a little tricky at times.
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold6 Specifications
| Chipset: | Qualcomm SM8550-AC Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 (4 nm)CPU – Octa-core; 1×3.3 GHz Cortex-X4 & 3×3.2 GHz Cortex-A720 & 2×3.0 GHz Cortex-A720 & 2×2.3 GHz Cortex-A520 GPU – Adreno 750 |
| RAM: | 12GB |
| Storage: | 256GB (Reviewed), 512GB,1 TB |
| Display: | Main: 7.6-inch QXGA+, Dynamic AMOLED 2X, ‘Infinity Flex’ Display (2160 x 1856, 20.9:18), 120Hz adaptive refresh rate (1~120Hz) Outer: Dynamic LTPO AMOLED 2X, 120Hz, 1600 nits (peak), Corning Gorilla Glass Victus 2, 6.3 inch diagonal, 968 x 2376 pixels |
| Camera: | – 50 MP, f/1.8, 23mm (wide), 1.0µm, dual pixel PDAF, OIS– 10 MP, f/2.4, 66mm (telephoto), 1.0µm, PDAF, OIS, 3x optical zoom– 12 MP, f/2.2, 123˚, 12mm (ultrawide), 1.12µm Video: 8K@30fps, 4K@60fps, 1080p@60/240fps (gyro-EIS), 720p@960fps (gyro-EIS) |
| Selfie Cam: | Photo: 4 MP, f/1.8, 26mm (wide), 2.0µm, under display, Cover: 10 MP, f/2.2, 24mm (wide), 1/3″, 1.22µm |
| OS: | Android 14, One UI 6.1.1 |
| Battery: | Li-Po 4,400 mAh |
| Charging: | – 25W wired – 15W wireless – 4.5W reverse wireless |
| Connectivity: | – Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/6e, tri-band, Wi-Fi Direct – Bluetooth 5.3, A2DP, LE, aptX HD – GPS, GLONASS, GALILEO, BDS |
| Dimensions: | Unfolded: 153.5 x 132.6 x 5.6 mm Folded: 153.5 x 68.1 x 12.1 mm |
| Weight: | 239 grams |
| Colours: | Silver Shadow (reviewed), Navy, Pink, Black, White |
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold6 is available in Ireland priced for a 256GB model (reviewed) at €2,059, a 512GB at €2,169, and a 1TB model at €2,409.
