Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 6 Review (2024)

The $1,099.99 Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 6 phone might look familiar, but it features meaningful processor, RAM, and camera upgrades over its predecessor. On top of that, Samsung now promises a category-leading seven years of software support, making the device viable for long-term use. We would have liked a more advanced front-screen experience akin to that of the $999.99 Motorola Razr+, but the Z Flip 6 has the clear advantage on AI features and imaging. In short, it's the best folding phone for most people who want the convenience of a big screen in as small a package as possible.

Design: Find the Differences

Samsung hopes you like the design of the Z Flip 5 because the Z Flip 6 looks virtually identical. Both devices weigh 6.60 ounces and measure 6.50 by 2.83 by 0.27 inches (HWD) when unfolded. They are the same height (3.35 inches) and width (2.83 inches) with their screens closed, but the Flip 6 is ever so slightly thinner by 0.008 inches (approximately 0.2mm).

Galaxy Z Flip 6 (left), Z Flip 5 (right) (Credit: Iyaz Akhtar)

The biggest visual differences with the Z Flip 6 are the colored rings around the main cameras that match the back panel. Additionally, the phone opts for a matte finish on the back, frame, and inner screen bezel rather than a glossy one. I find the Z Flip 6 less slippery to handle than the Z Flip 5, especially on the rear panel. One more thing: The earpiece speaker now has four slits instead of three, so everyone clamoring for that symmetry can rejoice.

Galaxy Z Flip 5 (top), Galaxy Z Flip 6 (bottom) (Credit: Iyaz Akhtar)

The Z Flip 6 keeps the button and port layout from the Z Flip 5. A volume rocker and fingerprint sensor/power button are on the right side. I had some issues with the fingerprint sensor in testing, particularly when the phone was closed. Face Unlock is also an option, though this implementation is less secure than a fingerprint. There are two speakers; one is at the bottom near the USB-C 3.2 port, while the other is within the same slot as the earpiece speaker. The Z Flip 6 has a nanoSIM tray on the left and supports eSIMs.

Like for the Galaxy Z Fold 6 and Z Flip 5, Samsung uses Corning Gorilla Glass Victus 2 on the back and front. This material helps prevent scratches and cracks. The frame uses enhanced Armor Aluminum, which Samsung says is 10% stronger than the non-enhanced version on the Z Flip 5. The Z Flip 6 also gets an IP48 rating, which means it can resist ingress of materials greater than 1mm in size and withstand submersion in fresh water. This is an advantage over both the Z Flip 5 and Razr+, which carry IPX8 ratings.

The phone's build quality is terrific. The hinge operates smoothly and has enough resistance that it won't open accidentally. Of course, that also means it's not very easy to open with just one hand. The phone should survive 200,000 hinge movements, for reference. Overall, the device's rounded corners make it mostly comfortable to handle open or closed. It feels slightly top-heavy when it's fully open, though like a quality handheld gaming system when it's closed. I tended to hold the phone with the hinge side down and the screen closed to get the best selfie angles, even though this orientation was slightly uncomfortable.

Left to right: Z Flip 6 in Blue, Mint, Silver Shadow, and Yellow (Credit: Iyaz Akhtar)

Two cameras are below the cover screen, while another is part of the inner display. As for colors, the Z Flip 6 comes in Blue, Mint, Silver Shadow, or Yellow. Crafted Black, Peach, or White options are available exclusively through Samsung's website. I tested a Blue model.

Display: An OK Outer Screen, and a Bright Inner One

The 3.4-inch front screens of the Galaxy Z Flip 6 and 5 are the same. They have a resolution of 720 by 748 pixels, a 60Hz refresh rate, and a peak brightness of 1,600 nits. I would have liked to see an upgrade here since the Motorola Razr+ features a 4-inch screen with a resolution of 1,272 by 1,080 pixels, a dynamic refresh rate of up to 165Hz, and 2,400 nits of brightness.

(Credit: Eric Zeman)

Meanwhile, the Z Flip 6's 6.7-inch inner panel has a resolution of 2,640 by 1,080 pixels and an adaptive refresh rate of 1Hz to 120Hz. It's the same size as the Z Flip 5, just much brighter (2,600 nits vs. 1,200 nits). It was very easy to see the inner screen in harsh sunlight, though the outer screen didn't hold up as well in this scenario. Regardless, the colors on both displays look great. I would have preferred the outer and inner screens to have matching refresh rates like those on the Z Fold 6 for a more cohesive experience, but that's a nitpick.

The inner screen gets one more big upgrade: The crease is significantly less visible and shows less rippling compared with older models. It's most visible when the display is dark or off. However, when you are staring at your home screen or an app, the screen doesn't look any different than that of non-folding phones.

(Credit: Eric Zeman)

Performance: Excellence in a Compact Form

Inside the Galaxy Z Flip 6 is the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 for Galaxy system on a chip (SoC), along with 12GB of LPDDR5x RAM. Last year's model had just 8GB of RAM, so this is a welcome upgrade. This is the same SoC and amount of RAM as the Z Fold 6, the Galaxy S24+, and the Galaxy S24 Ultra. For comparison, the Motorola Razr+ combines a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 SoC with 12GB of LPDDR5x RAM. Note that the Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 compromises somewhat on clock speeds since it isn't made for flagship devices; that little "s" makes a big difference.

The Z Flip 6 is available in two storage options: 256GB for $1,099.99 or 512GB for $1,219.99. I look forward to when there is a 1TB option (the Z Fold 6 has one) and lament the death of the microSD card slot.

For the first time, Samsung includes vapor-chamber cooling in a Flip model. This hardware should allow the SoC to stay at higher clock speeds longer without overheating. In everyday usage, the Z Flip 6 launched apps speedily and multitasked with no hesitation. Every interaction felt snappy.

Left to right: Geekbench 6, PCMark Work 3.0, GFXBench Aztec Ruins test results (Credit: Primate Labs / UL / GFXBench / PCMag)

To fairly gauge performance, we use a series of benchmarks. On Geekbench 6, a suite of tools that measures raw CPU power, the Galaxy Z Flip 6 did well with a single-core score of 2,133 and a multi-core score of 6,134. This is a nice boost over the Z Flip 5 (1,940 single-core; 4,895 multi-core), which uses the older Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy chip. Both Samsung devices outdid the Razr+ (1,892 single-core; 4,658 multi-core).

On the PCMark Work 3.0 test, which evaluates general computing tasks, the Z Flip 6 scored 17,847. This was an improvement from the Z Flip 5's score of 14,377 and better than the Razr+'s 17,122 mark.

I also ran the GFXBench Aztec Ruins test to measure gaming performance. The Z Flip 6 managed to push out 42fps at a resolution of 2,546 by 1,035 pixels. This is much better than last year's model, which managed just 28fps at the same resolution. The Razr+ easily bested both by churning out 65fps.

The resource-intensive Genshin Impact game was no problem for the Z Flip 6 on low to medium settings. At the highest graphics settings and 60fps, the phone still showed smooth animations with no frame drops. The back of the device (where the cover screen is) became warm during a 10-minute session but remained comfortable overall. Lighter games like Alto's Odyssey played flawlessly.

Battery Life: Runs All Day

To test battery life, we stream full HD video over Wi-Fi to the device at full brightness. The Galaxy Z Flip 6's 4,000mAh battery ran for an impressive 16 hours and 20 minutes in this scenario. That's a vast improvement over the Z Flip 5, which lasted just 10 hours and 5 minutes with its smaller 3,700mAh cell. The Motorola Razr+ is no slouch in this department, with a runtime of 14 hours and 37 minutes.

The Z Flip 6 supports 25W fast wired charging (you don't get a charger in the box), 15W wireless charging, and 4.5W reverse wireless charging. I would have liked faster charging speeds to match the 45W wired rate of the Razr+, Galaxy S24+, and Galaxy S24 Ultra. In any case, it took 1 hour and 35 minutes to get the Flip 6 from 0% to 100%. The phone charged to 26% after 15 minutes and 49% after 30 minutes.

Connectivity and Calls: Great 5G Speeds, Fine Speakers

For connectivity, the Galaxy Z Flip 6 supports 5G (sub-6GHz, including C-band, and mmWave), Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.3, and NFC. Although Wi-Fi 6E is fine for now, Samsung should have included the more recent Wi-Fi 7 standard for the sake of future-proofing; the Galaxy S24 Ultra offers this.

On T-Mobile's 5G UC network in New York City, the Flip 6 reached a peak download speed of 618Mbps and a top upload speed of 32.3Mbps. In the same location and on the same network, the Flip 5 hit 603Mbps down and 34.5Mbps up. Both sets of results are excellent.

When I connected the phones to a Wi-Fi 6 access point, the Z Flip 6 reached 268Mbps down and 14.8Mbps up, while the Z Flip 5 managed 350Mbps down and 15.9Mbps up. I then took the devices as far away from the access point in my apartment as possible. Here, the Z Flip 6 somehow got better download speeds (370Mbps) and a little worse upload speeds (11.5Mbps). Meanwhile, the Z Flip 5 performed well in this scenario, with 304Mbps down and 14.0Mbps up. The Z Flip 6's Wi-Fi results are strange, but they were consistent over multiple tests.

(Credit: Eric Zeman)

The call quality is very good; the Z Flip 6 rejected background noise very well and kept my voice clear during calls. The speakerphone reached 64.0dB, while the earpiece speaker hit 70.1dB. Generally, I find volumes around or above 70dB easy to hear in moderately noisy places, so I would have appreciated a louder speakerphone.

When I tried playing Metallica's "Enter Sandman," the Z Flip 6 reached 93.6dB, loud enough to fill a small room with sound. Low bass notes like those in The Knife's "Silent Shout" are difficult to hear unless you keep the Z Flip 6 very close to your ears. As usual, I suggest connecting a pair of Bluetooth headphones to better experience your music.

Cameras: The New Sensor Is a Winner

The Galaxy Z Flip 6 has two of the same cameras as the Z Flip 5: a 12MP f/2.2 ultra-wide camera with a 123-degree field of view and a 10MP f/2.2 selfie camera with an 85-degree field of view. The most substantial upgrade is the addition of a 50MP f/1.8 main sensor with dual-pixel autofocus, optical image stabilization (OIS), and an 85-degree field of view. Generally, images look clear and detailed, with slightly oversaturated colors. Samsung includes an auto-zoom feature to better frame pictures, but I was unable to test that without a second person.

The upgraded 50MP main camera takes pictures at 12MP by default via pixel-binning and produces more realistic colors than the main imager of the Z Flip 5, but a saturation boost is still noticeable. Full 50MP shots show excellent detail and more true-to-life colors.

Main camera, 12MP (Credit: Iyaz Akhtar)

Main camera, 50MP (Credit: Iyaz Akhtar)

Images from the 12MP ultra-wide camera have crisp detail and very vivid color. Samsung applies distortion correction to these photos, but the edges still look unnatural. Darker areas can appear muddy as well.

Ultra-wide camera (Credit: Iyaz Akhtar)

The selfie camera also captures fine detail and boosted colors. The portrait mode is excellent, successfully separating my face and glasses from the background in the below selfie. This scenario tends to trip up similar modes on other cameras.

Inner 10MP camera in Selfie (left) and Portrait (right) modes (Credit: Iyaz Akhtar)

Video tops out at 4K/60fps for both the rear and inner cameras. The main rear cameras can capture video with gimbal-like smoothness thanks to its OIS system. Also of note is the Camcorder Mode, in which you can roll video while the phone is folded to a 90-degree angle. I found it easier to shoot video when the phone was fully open, but your mileage may vary.

Software and Support: Seven Years of Updates

The Galaxy Z Flip 6 runs Android 14 with Samsung's One UI 6.1.1 atop it. One UI brings features like Edge Panels (a hideable app dock), gesture support, and the ability to run three apps on screen. I'm a big fan of that last feature, even if it can sometimes be impractical.

Samsung backs the Z Flip 6 with seven years of OS updates and security patches. This is a step above the four years of OS updates and five years of security fixes for the Z Flip 5. The Motorola Razr+ offers just three years of OS updates and four years of security patches, for reference. All manufacturers should follow Samsung's lead here.

Two apps tiled, third in pop-over window (Credit: Samsung/PCMag)

App continuity reflects how Samsung thinks you will use the device. The outer screen is for widgets, quick replies, and a few cherry-picked apps. The inner screen handles the rest (including making some changes to the cover screen). Cover screen apps are optional; you can add them by going to Settings > Advanced Features > Labs and toggling "Apps allowed on cover screen." You get a whopping three apps here: Google Maps, Messages, and YouTube. If you open up one of these apps on the cover screen, it will continue to the inner screen.

I think the Razr+ handles the dual-screen flip phone experience better since it places fewer guardrails on the outer screen. This approach can sometimes result in strange app resizing or oddities, however, which is likely the reason Samsung restricts options here.

If you have one of the three apps open on the inner screen and then close the Z Flip 6, the cover screen turns off. Unlocking your phone after that shows you the cover screen's regular interface. Again, Samsung thinks that when you close the Flip, you are pretty much done with your device. If you want to push the Z Flip 6's flexibility, download the Samsung Good Lock app from the Galaxy Store. This lets you run almost any app on the cover screen and tweak multi-window features, among other things.

Galaxy AI: The Hat Is a Lie

Galaxy AI, Samsung's suite of AI tools, is available on the Z Flip 6, as expected. Notes Assist, available via the Notes app, can reorganize your thoughts or summarize them. Browser Assist provides summaries or translations within Samsung's browser app. These features work the same as they do on the Galaxy Fold 6, so please check out that review for the full details.

The fun aspects of Galaxy AI are photo-based. Sketch to Image lets you create generated images out of sketches or enhance existing images. For the photo below, I sketched a hat on my head, and Galaxy AI did the rest. It took into account that a hat would contain my hair and made adjustments. However, drawing an arrow through my head or big glasses led to a message saying, "Can't generate due to location of drawing."

Sketch to Image feature in action (Credit: Samsung/PCMag)

With the Portrait Studio feature, Galaxy AI takes photos of people and creates illustrations in one of four styles (Comic, 3D Cartoon, Watercolor, and Sketch). The resulting images look good, not great. I can see similarities between the illustrations and the original picture, but the details are off. Nonetheless, I think these photo features add a welcome bit of fun that other phones can't.

Portrait Studio feature (Credit: Samsung/PCMag)

Verdict: A Better Foldable Than Before

The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 6 is a fairly substantial update to the Z Flip 5, which was already among our favorite folding phones. The brighter inner screen is a joy to use outside in sunlight, improved internals enable speedier performance, and a more durable design keeps the phone safe from the perils of everyday life. Moreover, the less visible crease means the device can blend in with regular slab phones more easily than ever. We would have liked to see faster wired charging support and a more sophisticated take on the cover-screen experience (the Motorola Razr+ does better in both respects and costs less), but the Z Flip 6 is still the best small foldable overall, thanks to its high-end feel, enjoyable Galaxy AI features, and excellent cameras.