I’ve tried Samsung's latest folding phone — here's why you should buy the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip6

If you are hoping to buy a handset with the latest in flexible screen technology, Samsung makes some of the best phones in existence.

Announced at a Galaxy Unpacked event in July 2024, the most recent Samsung Galaxy Z Flip6 was launched alongside loads of new Galaxy gear, including the Z Fold6, the Watch7, Watch Ultra, the Buds 3, the Buds 3 Pro, and the highly anticipated Galaxy Ring.

Samsung's foldable devices have only been around since 2020, and yet they've come on leaps and bounds since then. There used to be a lot of questions about the durability and longevity of these ultra-modern machines, but Samsung has been putting a lot of effort into making them stronger and sturdier every year.

I've tried out a few of Samsung's Flip phones — it wasn't too long ago that I had the Galaxy Z Flip5 in my pocket, so I'm well placed to review this latest model. The sixth generation improves on its predecessor in a few ways, especially when it comes to the design, camera system, performance and software.

After using it for two weeks, I think the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip6 is one of Samsung's best phones so far, and it deserves a spot among the best Android devices. But starting from £1,049 at launch, it's not a cheap handset, so is the Z Flip6 worth its eye-watering price tag?

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip6

£806 at Amazon

Pros

• New AI-powered features
• Stylish design, lots of colours
• Powerful performance

Cons

• Not dust resistant
• Camera is still hit-and-miss
• Not all apps will run on the cover screen

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip5 key specs

Screen size	3.4-inch cover screen, 6.7-inch main
Resolution	FHD 2640 x 1080 pixels
Battery	4,000mAh
Cameras	50MP main, 12MP ultrawide
Operating system	Samsung One UI 6.1.1 based on Android 14
Processor	Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 for Galaxy
RAM	12GB
Storage	256GB, 512GB
Water resistance	IP48

As the name suggests, the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip6 is a modern take on a flip phone, and this is the best-looking version yet. Stylish, sleek and eye-catching, the Flip6 comes in lots of different colours, including yellow, blue, mint and silver. If you buy the phone from Samsung, there are three exclusive colours as well — black, white and peach.

If you put the fifth and sixth generations of the phone side-by-side, you won't notice many differences, but the small changes you do see make the latest model look more refined than ever.

A new matte metallic hinge and frame match the matte glass back, and the camera lenses housed in the corner of the cover display are framed by it, too. The hinge features a mirrored Samsung logo, and the edge of the device has a volume rocker and power button that doubles up as a fingerprint sensor.

Folded up, the Z Flip6 is a palm-sized gadget. When you unfold it, it transforms into a regular smartphone. In the past, there have been questions over the durability of the hinge and the crease in the screen, but every year Samsung makes its foldable device more sturdy. When you open and close this handset, it feels firm.

When you snap it shut, the Z Flip6 has almost no gap between the two halves on the screen. The bezels are slightly raised to give this impression, but that will also prevent damage to the display inside.

Without a case, I found it a little slippy and almost dropped it several times during testing. To protect the phone if you were to knock or scratch it, Samsung has used Gorilla Glass Victus 2 on the screen and a super-strong Armor Aluminium frame. It is only IP48 rated, though, so it will be protected against water, but it's not dustproof.

At 187g, the Z Flip6 is lightweight, and at 8.51 x 7.19 x 1.49cm folded up, it fits nicely in bigger pockets (although still a little thick for a tight jeans pocket). Because of the long and thin 22:9 aspect ratio of the internal display, it's comfortable to use one-handed, too. I had no issues reaching my thumb across to the other side of the display.

The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip6 features two displays: a 3.4-inch cover display (or Flex Window) with a 720 x 748 pixel resolution, and a foldable 6.7-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X display with an FHD+ resolution of 2640 x 1080 pixels and a 120Hz refresh rate.

The Flex Window takes up a lot of the phone when folded up, although a thick border frames it, and there's a significant notch to house the two camera lenses. It's not as big as the equivalent screen on some competitor clamshell smartphones, but it's still able to fit a full-sized keyboard. The quality of the display is fit for purpose, with bold and bright colours, even though there's less definition than on a regular smartphone screen.

When you open the handset, you're met with a larger screen about the same size as Samsung's flagship devices like the Galaxy S24 and S24+. It's detailed and crystal clear, and thanks to its 2,600 nits peak brightness, it's visible even under bright light. Samsung's other top-of-the-line devices are sharper but most people won't notice the difference for casual day-to-day use.

Head on, the crease in the middle of the display is barely visible. It only becomes noticeable when the light catches it, so it won't get in the way of how you use the phone.

One of my biggest issues with the Flip5 was its so-so camera, and this is something that Samsung has improved on in the Galaxy Z Flip6. The new camera system is made up of a 50MP wide camera (it was 12MP before) and a 12MP ultra-wide lens, it also offers a solid 2x zoom.

The result? Clearer, brighter shots from the camera, but its photos still can't compete with the top phones for photography like the iPhone 15 Pro or the Google Pixel 8 Pro. This camera system works at its best snapping landscapes, cityscapes and group shots of people.

For the most part, the Z Flip6 shoots good-looking and super-sharp shots. At times images did come out a little oversaturated, but that's nothing new for a Samsung smartphone, and occasionally it works in your favour like when you want to capture the vibrancy of nature. However, there are other times when it's less useful, and selfies can come out looking particularly unrealistic.

When you take a photo close-up, you'll get plenty of detail, and it blurs the background of the shot to draw focus. Similarly, the zoom clarifies the subject well enough at 2x zoom, and you'll still get okay quality at 10x zoom although it will be much less precise.

I got the best results when there was plenty of natural light, on a miserable day the shot looked even more gloomy than the scene did in real life.

To help you snap the best pictures and videos, Samsung has added a set of new features, some are more useful than others.

My favourite is Auto Zoom, which uses AI to automatically frame the shot for you (particularly handy when you're trying to fit everyone into a group shot). The camcorder mode allows you to record super-steady videos with the phone folded up to the shape of a Noughties video recorder, placing all the most commonly used controls by where your thumb sits.

You'll also be able to shoot without even touching the phone, just wave at the camera or use voice controls. You'll also be able to add AI-generated objects to your images using Drawing Assist (Sketch to Image).

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip6 sample photos

Take a look at the gallery below to see a selection of unedited photos of the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip6.

Open Gallery

Loaded with the same processor as the S24 series smartphones, the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 for Galaxy, you can expect plenty from the performance of the Z Flip6.

It's fast and will cope with just about any task you might throw at it, whether that's mobile gaming, photo editing or remote working. You can switch between multiple open windows or even run two at once stacked on the folding display without the handset breaking a sweat. Not many flip phones can say the same – this is a top performer in that sense.

Samsung has upped the battery to a 4,000mAh cell in this model, which is an improvement on the 3,700mAh cell on the Flip5, but it's not a big enough jump to make a huge difference. It would last me a full day out and about but I would usually need to plug it in by the end of the day.

To compare its battery life to other smartphones, I downloaded and ran an HD video at full brightness for two hours. In that time, the battery percentage dropped by 10%, which suggests it would have lasted around 20 hours in total which is a solid result.

When you plug it in, the Z Flip6 supports 45W charging. In my experience, it took around an hour to charge from empty to 100%. That's perfectly fine but much slower than some handsets — for example, the Honor 200 only takes around 30 minutes with a compatible charger.

One thing Samsung does well with its foldable smartphones is software — whether that's the seven years of updates and feature drops, its Edge Panels and widgets for the cover screen or the range of apps adapted to the folding screen.

Running on Samsung's One UI 6.1.1, an Android 14 skin, the operating system looks the same as on any other Samsung smartphone. You get the same neat folders and app drawer that you pull up from the bottom of the display. To add to all the usual components (and extensive bloatware) Samsung has added new AI features, some of which were debuted in its flagship S24 series earlier in the year, and some of which were created specifically for its foldable devices.

One of the features carried over from Samsung's other phones is Circle to Search, which lets you find out more about anything displayed on the screen. You can also effortlessly and accurately transcribe speech from recordings into text. And Google Gemini comes pre-installed, giving you voice-controlled smarts to plan your calendar, ask questions and help you write replies to messages and emails.

Other AI features added to the mix include Browsing Assist to summarise webpages, Call Assist to give you real-time translations during phone calls, Photo Assist to transform your snaps into drawings, sketches and cartoons, and Photo Ambient to adjust the colouring of your wallpaper to match the current time and weather.

Some of the best new features are specific to Samsung's foldables. When you go abroad, you'll be able to use the Flex Window in Interpreter Mode to help you translate conversations. Both sides of the phone will display real-time translations so the interaction flows more smoothly, you'll just need to speak and the handset will do the rest for you.

You'll also be able to respond to your messages from the cover screen, either using the full-sized keyboard or Suggested Replies which employs AI to guess how you might like to answer.

The Flex Window can be personalised with a selection of ready-made designs, or you can create your own using AI. I used that feature to generate a nice beach scene for mine. There are plenty of widgets to choose from, too. Take a look at your calendar, start an audio recording, keep an eye on your step count or pick a new song on Spotify.

Another way of using the Flex Window is to snap selfies using the main camera system. You can display the camera view on there to help you frame the shot and wave at the screen to take it.

So, long story short, there's a lot you can do on the cover screen. But I would love to see Samsung make it easier to natively run apps on there. As things stand, it is possible to add some apps to the cover screen using Samsung Labs in the settings menu, but they won't always work as well as usual.

I would buy the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip6 because it's stylish and speedy with lots of useful AI features and a better camera than most other flip phones. I love how easily it slips into my bag and it's great to have so many colourways available to choose from.

If you take a lot of photos, the foldable format gives you lots of options on how and where you take the shot. For instance, you can use the main camera to get better-quality selfies or prop it up to take group shots from afar.

There are some drawbacks to the Flip6, like the lack of dust resistance, the fact that you can't easily run all apps on the cover screen and its eye-watering price — but I still think the pros outweigh the cons, and this is a phone worth considering if you want something a little different to the usual slate-style smartphone.

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip6

£806 at Amazon

Other brands offer similar clamshell-style foldable phones, like the Motorola Razr 50 or the Oppo Find N2 Flip.

If you'd rather have a regular-sized smartphone that folds out into a mini-tablet, the obvious choice is the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold6. It's well-suited to multi-tasking and working on the go thanks to the included S Pen stylus and the ability to split the screen in three.

If you want a bigger screen and you care more about snapping impressive shots on the camera enhanced with AI smarts, and you'd rather have a super clean version of Android, then we'd recommend the Pixel Fold instead.