Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold 6 is here, and it’s betting big on AI

Samsung has officially unveiled the Galaxy Z Fold 6, the sixth generation of its book-style foldable.

This new model builds on the success of the Galaxy Z Fold 5, which Samsung says has the highest customer satisfaction rate of all foldables.

However, after a few years of iterative updates, many people were hoping for more significant changes. Has Samsung delivered? Here’s everything you need to know.

Interested in buying one? See our guide to the best Galaxy Z Fold 6 deals.

When will the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 be released?

Samsung revealed the Galaxy Z Fold 6 at a Galaxy Unpacked event on 10 July 2024. The phone is on sale now, having been released on 24 July 2024.

As a reminder, here’s when the previous generations were released:

• Samsung Galaxy Z Fold: September 2019
• Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 2: September 2020
• Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3: August 2021
• Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4: August 2022
• Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5: July 2023

How much will the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 cost?

The Galaxy Z Fold 6 starts at £1,799/$1,899.99 for 256GB of internal storage.

It’s available with 512GB for £1,899/$1,999.99, or as a 1TB model for £2,099/$2,199.99.

Here are the starting prices of previous generations:

• Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 – £1,748/$1,799
• Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 – £1,649/$1,799
• Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3 – £1,599/$1,799

As you can see, prices went up £50 in the UK and up $100 in the US for all of the storage options.

What specs and features does the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 have?

Design

The Galaxy Z Fold 6 boasts a very similar, albeit refined, design that’s lighter and more compact than its predecessor, the Z Fold 5. Weighing just 239g, it is 14g lighter than the Fold 5 and 24g lighter than the Z Fold 4.

When closed, it measures 12.1mm in thickness and 5.6mm when opened, making it the thinnest and lightest foldable from Samsung to date. The Z Fold 6 also features a new slimmer S Pen case, allowing the stylus to be securely docked into the back.

Samsung has also taken care of durability, as the Galaxy Z Fold 6 is the first foldable with IP48 rating against dust and water.

The phone is available in Silver Shadow, Pink and Navy colours, plus Crafted Black and White finishes that are exclusive to Samsung’s official website.

Display

The Z Fold 6 boasts a larger 6.3-inch HD+ AMOLED (2316 x 904) cover display (up from 6.2-inch) with 120Hz refresh rate and minimised bezel, providing a wider but shorter overall form factor compared to its predecessor.

Both the cover and the internal 7.6-inch QXGA+ AMOLED display (2208 x 1768) with 120Hz refresh rate support a peak brightness of 2600 nits, using adaptive vision boost technology to adjust contrast based on your surroundings. This should ensure clear visibility in various lighting conditions.

Performance

Under the hood, the Galaxy Z Fold 6 is powered by the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 for Galaxy, an upgraded version of the flagship Qualcomm chip that’s specifically designed for Samsung devices.

Alongside 12GB of RAM, performance should be very strong. In terms of internal storage, you can choose between models with 256GB, 512GB and 1TB.

The phone also includes a 1.6x larger vapor cooling system than the Z Fold 5, which should make for more efficient heat management during intensive tasks such as gaming. This works in tandem with Samsung’s ‘Vulcan AI’ optimisations to maintain high frame rates.

Cameras

The Galaxy Z Fold 6’s triple camera setup features a 50Mp main sensor, 12Mp ultrawide sensor and 10Mp telephoto sensor with 3x optical zoom.

Additionally, the device is equipped with a 10Mp cover screen camera and a 4Mp lens under the internal display.

Battery & charging

The Galaxy Z Fold 6 has a 4400mAh dual-battery setup – the same as the Z Fold 5. If that phone is anything to go by, you should expect solid, all-day battery life.

However, charging speeds are still limited to 25W, and there’s no charger included in the box. Using a compatible adapter, Samsung says you can get around 50% charge in 30 minutes.

The phone also supports wireless charging at 15W and 4.5W reverse wireless charging (known here is ‘Wireless PowerShare’), allowing you to charge other Qi-enabled devices.

Software

In terms of software, the Galaxy Z Fold 6 runs on Android 14 with the Samsung’s One UI 6.1 overlay, though it shouldn’t be long before it gets an update to Android 15.

One big milestone is that the phone will receive seven years of updates, making it (alongside the Galaxy Z Flip 6) the first foldable to receive such extensive software support.

The exclusive features that were specific to the Galaxy Z Fold 5 will be available on the Galaxy Z Fold 6. It will also be a great device for using Galaxy AI, thanks to the implementation of the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 and several enhancements.

Key features include Live Transcriptions in Samsung Notes, Sketch to Image, Browser Assist, Equation Solving and many more advanced AI features. There’s also Chat Assist, which understands your tone of voice and helps craft specific messages, emails and social media posts.

Additionally, the Fold 6 supports live translation in 16 languages and 23 local dialects, making it a powerful tool for global communication. This feature is integrated into third-party apps, too.

While waiting for our review of the Galaxy Z Fold 6, be sure to check out the best foldables and best Samsung Galaxy phones, plus everything that Samsung has unveiled about the Galaxy Z Flip 6.