Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 6 review: New 50MP camera made me flip
Samsung’s latest foldable smartphone comes with several notable upgrades – including one that outshone my iPhone.
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Foldable phones made their comeback years ago, but I’ve really struggled to get on-board with them.
Perhaps because they remind me of high school (hello baby pink Nokia), which is something no sane person would want to relive.
However, Samsung’s new Galaxy Z Flip6 has slowly been changing my mind.
With its playful design, upgraded camera, and suite of Galaxy AI features, it’s hard not to be intrigued.
But with a price jump making the flip phone more expensive than ever, are these upgrades enough to justify forking out for this adorable little unit? I’ve been testing it for the last two weeks to find out.
1-MINUTE REVIEW: SAMSUNG GALAXY Z FLIP6
Samsung Galaxy Z Flip6, from $1799 at Samsung
Samsung Galaxy Z Flip6
What You Need To Know
The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip6 is almost identical to its predecessor, the Galaxy Z Flip5, but with a few notable improvements. The biggest upgrade is to the camera, with the Z Flip6 now featuring a 50MP main camera – a significant step up from the 12MP on the Z Flip5.
There’s also an improved battery life, a vapour cooling chamber and a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chip, which collectively make the Galaxy Z Flip6 as powerful as it is charming.
However, the price jump is hard to justify, with the Galaxy Z Flip6 starting at $150 more than last year’s model. Because of this, it may not be worth the upgrade for Z Flip5 users, though it remains a compelling choice for those who want similar features to the Galaxy S24 but in a foldable form factor.
HOW WE TESTED THE SAMSUNG GALAXY Z FLIP6
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I tested the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip6 over a period of two weeks, using it as my regular handset to test its performance, battery life and camera setup.
HOW WE EVALUATED THE PHONE
- Design
- Display
- Cameras
- Features
- Performance
- Battery life
- Price
- Verdict: Should you buy the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip6?
FULL REVIEW OF SAMSUNG GALAXY Z FLIP6
DESIGN
Samsung really hopes you like the design of the Galaxy Z Flip5, because the Galaxy Z Flip6 is pretty much identical. It’s ever so slightly thinner than last year’s model when folded, and it has a matte finish on the back instead of a glossy one, which I always prefer. It looks classier and is less prone to fingerprint smudges.
This time around, the rear camera is also rimmed in the same colour as the phone, which I was a bit sceptical of at first. When placed side-by-side with the Galaxy Z Flip5 though, I do actually prefer it. It adds something extra to the design and aligns with the Flip’s fun personality.
Speaking of colours, Samsung has once again stuck with the pastel theme of previous generations, offering baby blue and yellow along with the same mint colour as last year. For those after something more classic, there’s also a silver shadow option. As always, there are Samsung online exclusive options too: a pastel peach shade, along with the standard black and white.
The phone has been reinforced with Armor aluminium and Gorilla Glass Victus 2, and gets a new dual-rail hinge, which makes it feel a bit more durable than previous models. There’s also an IP48 dust and water resistance rating, which is an improvement over last year’s model.
Better yet, the middle crease is less visible than ever, which is something I’ve really wanted to see from the Flip line. I had to turn the phone to a certain angle to even notice it, although I could still feel it slightly while scrolling.
The overall form factor of the Galaxy Z Flip6 is meanwhile nice and compact once again, making it the perfect size to stick in your pocket or throw in a small handbag without taking up a lot of space.
DISPLAY
With last year’s Galaxy Z Flip5, we finally saw a jump in the size of the cover display (or FlexWindow as Samsung calls it), but there’s no such luck with the Galaxy Z Flip6. Once again, the FlexWindow is a 3.4-inch AMOLED touchscreen with a 60Hz refresh rate, while the main display is a 6.7-inch FHD+ Super AMOLED with a refresh rate up to 120Hz.
While I am disappointed we didn’t get a slightly larger screen, the FlexWindow is more customisable than ever before, allowing you to combine multiple widgets on the screen so you can get the information you want without having to open the phone.
There are also new interactive lock screens that respond to touch and movement, which is yet another fun little touch, even if there isn’t a whole lot of point to it.
The main screen benefits from an improved peak brightness of 2600 nits, compared to the Z Flip 5’s 1750 nits, making it easier to see outdoors. Colours are also nice and punchy and the display is just generally pleasant to look at and use.
CAMERAS
When you’re shelling out a premium price for a new phone, it’s fair to say that you want a premium camera experience to go with it. Unfortunately, previous Flip models have always fallen slightly short.
But with the Galaxy Z Flip6, Samsung has finally remedied this and given the clamshell the same cameras that are on the base Galaxy S24 model – and it’s this upgrade that has me seriously considering it for my everyday phone.
The change means you now get a 50MP main camera, which is a huge step up from the 12MP main camera seen on the Galaxy Z Flip5. The other cameras stay the same with a 10MP front camera and 12MP ultra-wide camera, but the main camera upgrade is still enough to make a huge difference.
The photos I took looked fantastic – matching, if not outshining, my iPhone 15 Pro.
Take a look at the photos I took on each phone below.
While you might not be able to tell the difference once the photos are uploaded here, looking at the respective phones side-by-side, I could see more detail in the photo taken on the Galaxy Z Flip6.
I also showed both photos to a group of journalists I was with, and they all agreed the photo on the Z Flip6 was the better photo, which surprised us all.
I was also impressed by the low light abilities of the Z Flip6, which managed to keep a fair amount of detail in the below shot, despite there being very little ambient light at the time it was taken.
This is the kind of camera that I felt totally comfortable snapping away on, allowing me to grab some great holiday shots without having to lug around my DSLR.
The ultra-wide camera is meanwhile something I’m happy to see continue as part of the Z Flip6’s camera configuration, as it’s great for capturing more of your surroundings.
The 10MP front camera is also fine, if nothing special. However, the great thing about the Galaxy Z Flip6 is you don’t actually need the front camera. Instead, you can just use the cover screen as a viewfinder and snap your selfies in much higher quality.
Samsung has also added an auto zoom feature to the cover screen this year, which detects where you’re standing and how many people are in the shot. It will then switch between the main and ultrawide cameras to zoom in or out accordingly and take the best shot, which is an awesome addition.
FEATURES
As with all of its new devices, Samsung is once again leaning heavily into its Galaxy AI for the Galaxy Z Flip6. The smartphone comes with the same features first introduced on the Galaxy S24 line, including the popular Circle to Search function.
As the name suggests, you can circle (or draw) on any image or text or AI will open a Google search without switching apps. For instance, if you want to know where the cute cafe in someone’s Instagram photo is, hold down the home button, circle the image, and Google will look it up for you.
The other AI feature that really stood out to me while testing the Galaxy S24 Ultra earlier this year was Interpreter which, like Circle to Search, felt genuinely useful rather than gimmicky.
And it’s now arguably even better on the Z Flip6.
Interpreter
The Galaxy Z Flip6 really maximises its unique form factor for the Interpreter feature. The real-time translation tool allows one person to view the translation on the main screen, while the other party can see it on the cover screen.
This setup makes the feature feel more intuitive and comfortable compared to the Galaxy S24 Ultra, where I had to awkwardly share the same screen with my conversation partner to see the interpretation.
Unfortunately, Interpreter still has a long way to go, as it frequently misunderstood conversations during my testing. It worked best with simple phrases, like introducing myself or asking for directions to the bathroom.
However, I think it will be quite a while before we see reliable translation of long, complex conversations.
Sketch to Image
Sketch to Image is another notable AI feature that’s carried across to the Galaxy Z Flip6. It’s definitely one that’s worth playing around with, especially given the Flip series is largely aimed at creatives.
The function lets you pull up a photo from your gallery, draw something you want to add to it, and then uses AI generation to turn your drawing into a realistic image. You can see above how it turned my awful attempt at a hot-air balloon into the real thing.
The one drawback is that there’s currently no support for an S Pen stylus on the Z Flip6, which makes this feature much harder to use than on the Z Fold6 as you have to draw with your finger.
Portrait Studio
Portrait Studio is another creative feature worth a mention. While it doesn’t work on full body shots, it turns your selfies into sketches, cartoons, and more with the touch of a button.
It isn’t a feature I can see myself getting a lot of use out of but, like everything else about the Galaxy Z Flip6, it’s just a bit of fun.
This type of AI photo manipulation is also currently all over social media – and you usually have to pay for a third party app to try it out. So, Samsung throwing it in for free is a nice bonus for creatives and those who love a good TikTok trend.
The Galaxy Z Flip6 also comes with the rest of the Galaxy AI features seen on the S24 series (and the Z Flip5), including Note Assist, Transcript Assist, Instant Slow-Mo, and heaps more.
PERFORMANCE
Under the hood of the Galaxy Z Flip6 is the same snappy Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chip that powers the Galaxy S24 Ultra. This makes the Z Flip6 incredible to use, with even demanding tasks like gaming or streaming 4K video handled with ease.
The phone also comes equipped with 12GB of RAM, which is a nice increase from the 8GB seen on last year’s Galaxy Z Flip5, and either 256GB or 512GB of storage.
For the first time on a Samsung Flip model, the Galaxy Z Flip6 includes a built-in vapour chamber system too, which is meant to keep the phone cooler. It did still run a little hot when I was taking a lot of photos in a short time span, and again while charging, but not enough that I felt concerned about it.
The Z Flip6 runs One UI 6.1 based on Android 14 and, like the Galaxy S24 line, comes with seven years of software and security updates. This puts it up there with Google’s Pixel 8 range as one of the longest-supported phones, which is excellent news for would-be buyers.
BATTERY LIFE
The battery life has also gotten a nice bump this year, going from a 3700mAh battery on the Galaxy Z Flip5, to a 4000mAh battery on the Galaxy Z Flip6. Pair this with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset and the vapour chamber, and the Z Flip6 has a really good battery life.
I’m getting around six hours of screen on time, which is about the same as I get with my iPhone 15 Pro. While it’s not as long as the Galaxy S24 Ultra, it should still be good enough for most users.
The charging speeds do meanwhile leave something to be desired, with a 25W wired speed and 15W wireless. It does charge to around 50 per cent in around 30 minutes, which isn’t bad by any means, but there is still room for improvement here.
PRICE: HOW MUCH DOES THE SAMSUNG GALAXY Z FLIP6 COST?
The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip6 is available now in two storage options: 256GB for $1799 and 512GB for $1999.
VERDICT: SHOULD YOU BUY THE SAMSUNG GALAXY Z FLIP6?
The foldable market is still relatively small in Australia, giving Samsung enough space to play it safe for this year’s launch. But as foldables become increasingly popular, it’s going to take more than incremental upgrades to hold attention. This is especially true when this year’s Flip model has increased in price by $150 – and I’m not sure there’s enough upgrades here to justify the price hike.
In saying this, the Galaxy Z Flip6 is still arguably the best flip phone currently on the Australian market, and the improved camera and battery life have made it a more compelling choice than ever before.
The 50MP camera finally means you can get your hands on the foldable form factor without having to compromise on photo quality, which has me seriously considering it for my everyday phone.
It also packs in some great AI features and hardware, making it a far more impressive phone than its cutesy nature would suggest.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
What does Z Series mean in Samsung phones?
Samsung has several different phone lines to cater to different needs and budgets, including its flagship Galaxy S series and its budget-friendly Galaxy A Series. The Galaxy Z Series includes Samsung’s foldable phones, like the Galaxy Z Fold and the Galaxy Z Flip, which fold and unfold, offering a unique alternative to regular smartphones.
When is the Galaxy Z Flip6 coming out?
Australian orders for the Galaxy Z Flip6 are set to ship from July 31.
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*news.com.au attended Galaxy Unpacked as a guest of Samsung.
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