Exactly one year ago, I reviewed the Galaxy Z Fold5. Now I have the Galaxy Z Fold6 for review. So what has changed? Let’s dive straight in.
Fold6 vs. Fold5
- Launch Price: S$2548 vs. S$2398. S$150 more, no thanks to inflation
- Processor: Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 3.39 / 3.1 / 2.9 / 2.2 GHz Octa Core vs. Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 3.36 / 2.8 / 2GHz Octa Core.
- Main display resolution: 2160×1856 vs. 2176×1812.
- Front display resolution: 968×2376 vs. 904×2316
- Camera hardware: same
- Dimensions when open: 153.5×132.6×5.6 vs. 154.9×129.9×6.1. Basically it’s shorter, broader, thinner.
- Dimensions when folded: 153.5×68.1×12.1 vs. 154.9×67.1×13.4. It’s 1.6mm shorter, 1.0mm broader, 1.3mm thinner.
- Battery size: same, but Fold6 can last 1-2 hours longer on paper.
- Weight: 239g vs. 253g. It’s 14 grams lighter.
Besides the technical hardware differences, the design is slightly different. The three-camera system is still in the vertical layout with larger-looking lenses. The phone corners are less round, and the frame is matt instead of gloss. the edges are more edgy compared to the previous – like it or hate it.
AI, E-I-O.
The Fold6 also inherits all the benefits of the Galaxy AI introduced during the Galaxy S24 announcement, so really there are no major surprises, with a few UI tweaks to make use of the multiple screens, for instance, the Interpreter app will show the translation text and convert to speech using the external-facing display. Circle to Search allows intuitive Google search without the additional step of taking screenshot and ask Google Lens to analyse the screenshot. The Samsung Note can now take voice recording and transcribe to text, but it requires more time to convert, while Pixel voice recording can do transcribing in real time.
With a smartphone like Galaxy Z Fold 6, language is no longer a barrier. It is possible to take phone calls and talk to other parties in their own language. What I also like is the ability to directly convert languages in PDF, which is really helpful in translating maps where the labels are in foreign text. Once again, I do not have to take screenshots and use Google Lens to overlay the translated text.
Camera Comparison
My daily smartphone is the Honor Magic 6 Pro which supports 100x zoom, whereas the Galaxy Z Fold6 can reach only 30x. Here’s comparison with the 2 smartphones and the Google Pixel 7 Pro.
The Samsung appears to be the best with higher exposure, more accurate white balance. The Honor is skewed slightly to the green side, affected by the glass tint. Google is the most neutral, looking slightly cooler.
When it comes to the ultra zoom, the Honor Magic 6 Pro has better details, but in the test shot, the exposure is lower than the Fold 6.
User Experience: Imperfect Aspect Ratio
While there is minor tweak to the display panel dimensions, they remain largely unchanged. With the the Galaxy Z Fold6, I have the same conclusion as my experience on the Galaxy Z Fold5. The front display is too long, resulting in cropped content and reduced text size.
For the main unfold screen, the square aspect ratio is also giving a hard time in fitting the content in the most optimal way. Even though it supports side-by-side windows, the aspect ratio is the same as the front display, which means both windows have the same issue with displaying cropped content against the popular 9:16 smartphone format.
And just like the predecessor, it becomes a compromise either way. I do not find it enjoyable to use the Galaxy Z Fold6. The only exception is when I really need to view something in a larger screen size. I would then have to compromise the aspect ratio experience. Shopping apps appear incomplete from a single view and I ended up scrolling a lot more.
Galaxy Watch Ultra (47mm)
It’s a different story with the Watch Ultra, the first “Ultra” model for the Galaxy Watch series with most specs carrying over from the Watch5 Pro. It is huge, rugged, and has a healthy 4-day battery life average. Although the overall structural body is square, the LED display is round and the bezel design further drives the impression of a round watch form factor. An overall dark matt finish offers a comfortable warm feel against the skin. The bright orange strap and crown screams of sporty
The watch is strongly geared for extreme activities, given it costs double the Watch7. It is ATM 10 rated (100m water resistance), able to withstand temperatures from -20 to 55 degrees Celsius. The display glass is Sapphire Crystal, the body is a mix of Titanium and cushion materials, there is dual-GPS built-in, and tracks every health and workout metrics, like heart-rate, blood pressure, sleep health, blood oxygen, snoring, steps asymmetry, functional threshold power, advanced glycation end-products.
The overall user experience is smooth-sailing. The touch is sensitive, the initial pairing setup is well-guided albeit lengthy. It was a snap to transfer music tracks to the watch with 32GB storage space. Connecting earbuds to the watch directly is also hassle-free, allowing me to go for a run without carrying a smartphone for the first time. I also wear it to sleep during the review period, and it feels rather comfortable on my wrist. The silicone material is high-grade and does not cause any rashes during my wear.
Conclusion
Smartphone model releases have become an annual affair, and while the features may not differ much from the previous model, it give an opportunity for consumers to decide if they are happy to stay with their phone or to go for the upgrade. The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold6 has few reasons for Fold5 owners to upgrade, but older Galaxy Z Fold owners can seriously consider. It retails at S$2548, visit the Samsung Online for more details.
The Galaxy Watch Ultra is Samsung’s foray into rugged extreme activity timepiece, and offers consumers another option to choose from. It is comfortable to wear, responsive UI, large bright screen with loads of real-time complications. It retails at S$988 at Samsung Online.
