The Z Flip 6 Brings Quite A Few Notable Improvements Over Its Prequel Device
Samsung’s smaller foldable is frequently ignored in favor of its bigger sibling, the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold of the year, but this time around, it looks like Samsung didn’t do much ignoring when it came to incrementally updating the Z Flip 6 compared to last year’s model.
The Design
In the design department, there is very minimal difference between the two smartphones. Sure, they come in different color options, but apart from that, the only two signs that a very keen eye can use to tell these phones apart are the differently colored camera rings on the Z Flip 6 and the flatter frame (which is supposedly tougher than last year’s).
However, the Z Flip 6 does get minimally thinner, going from 15.1mm when closed to 14.9mm. The other dimensions and even the weight remain identical though. The Z Flip 6 officially has IP48 certification instead of IPX8, but for a foldable, they might as well be the same thing, since that dust resistance doesn’t offer a significant amount of real-world protection against solid protection.
As I said, essentially nothing has changed.
The Screens
The screens also aren’t the best place to look if you’re looking for major differences between the successor and predecessor. Sure, the main display does get the major advantage of moving to an LTPO display, which should certainly help out with battery life. It and the cover display get a boost to a peak brightness of 2,600 nits, up from 1,750 on the Z Flip 5.
The Chipset And Memory
Naturally, the Z Flip 6 uses a newer chip — the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 — while the Z Flip 5 uses the Gen 2 version. That’s an expected upgrade. However, the Z Flip 6 gets a vapor chamber too, for better thermal management, making it the first Flip to have one. It should run much cooler.
The Z Flip 6 also gets a 50% boost in RAM, going from the Z Flip 5’s 8GB to 12GB. That brings it on par with the Z Fold 6. The storage options stay the same though, at 256GB and 512GB on the UFS 4.0 standard.
The Battery And Charging
The battery is another part of the spec sheet that gets a boost, moving from 3,700 mAh in the Z Flip 5 to 4,000 mAh in the Z Flip 6. This is one reason why it should be commended that Samsung managed not to increase the weight of the device. Of course, all the charging stats remain the same, as this doesn’t seem to be a category that Samsung is eager to upgrade.
The Cameras
There’s one major change in the camera department. The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 6 switches out the 12MP camera from its predecessor and puts in a 50MP unit — in fact, it’s the same one that the S24 series has, so that’s a massive upgrade expected in image quality. The 10MP selfie camera and the 12MP ultrawide are the exact same as last year though.
The Z Flip 6 comes with a new feature called Auto Zoom, which when using the device in FlexCam mode, will automatically adjust the zoom to properly frame you without needing to run up and adjust the device.
The Software
The new Z Flip runs on One UI 6.1.1, and being the first Z Flip to be released after the big debut of Galaxy AI means that it’s going to have a lot of new features straight out of the box (which I reckon will make their way to the Z Flip 5 eventually). For instance, Suggested Replies will use AI to detect what you might want to say and give you the chance to answer a message with just a tap on the cover display. There are multiple new widgets now too.
One notable addition is Photo Ambient, which allows you to set a wallpaper that will change in real time depending on the weather and time of day. So basically, if you post a picture of yourself in the daytime, the magic of AI will tone the picture down to make it nighttime when it’s actually nighttime. If it is snowing or raining, it’ll add those effects too. It’s a cute little thing.
Plus, the Z Flip 6 supports seven whopping years of both OS and security updates. That’s massive.
The Pricing
The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 cost $999 at its launch, and with the Z Flip 6, the price goes $100 higher to $1,099. The question is whether the Z Flip 6 brings enough to justify that $100 price difference. I think we all know the answer is a very easy yes.
You get a bigger battery, a better primary camera, more RAM, a newer chipset with better thermal management, and better software support. It’s an easy win for the Z Flip 6 and you can pre-order it today ahead of its availability on July 24th. Plus, you can get a deal that throws in a $200 Amazon Gift Card for free, and can even get the 512GB version with the gift card, for the price of the 256GB version — just $1,099. There’s absolutely no reason not to go for that if you’re planning to buy the phone anyway. The joy of pre-order deals.
