Do you want a big screen, but not a big smartphone? Then the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 6 that we discuss in this review is a logical choice. But is it also a good choice? Read on quickly!
Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 6 review
It’s a tradition by now: every summer, Samsung releases two new foldables: smartphones with a fold in the screen. The Galaxy Z Fold 6 hides a compact tablet in a normal-looking device. The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 6, which we’re reviewing in this review, has an average 6.7-inch screen but folds into a small package with an extra display on the outside. This makes it easy to fit in your pocket or handbag.
You’ll have to dig deep into your pockets for that pleasure. The recommended retail price of the Flip 6 is 1199 euro. That’s the same as the Flip 5 last year. This time you get more RAM: 12GB instead of 8GB. The device has 256GB of storage as standard. If you want 512GB, you pay 1319 euros. We’ll walk you through all aspects of this smartphone!
The review model of the Galaxy Z Flip 6 was made available by Samsung.
Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 6 review
More angular design, stronger hinge
At first glance, the Galaxy Z Flip 6 looks very similar to its predecessor. However, Samsung did make some improvements. For example, the hinge should be even stronger than before. We certainly have no complaints about this mechanism. The opening and closing feels solid and should remain so for years. You could fold the Flip 200,000 times before any problems arise.
The sides are slightly more angular than on the Flip 5, which brings the design in line with that of the Galaxy S24 devices. They are now also matte, so you hardly see fingerprints on them. All in all, it is a sleek, fairly business-like design. The phone also feels good in the hand, especially when it is closed. The Flip 6 is then incredibly compact, especially in an age where large smartphones are the norm.
The Flip 6 is actually a foldable version of the Galaxy S24 Plus. It therefore fits easily in a small pocket, but of course that folding also has disadvantages. The seam in the screen remains tangible and visible. The edges around the display are also significantly thicker than on the S24 Plus. And with its IP48 certification, the Flip is resistant to water, but less so to dust.
Also keep in mind that opening it requires some force. We certainly couldn’t do it easily with one (fairly large) hand. So you’ll have to perform an extra action each time before you can get started. Especially since the possibilities of the small screen on the outside are quite limited. More about that later.
Fastest hardware of the moment
A high-end device requires high-end hardware. And you get that, because the Flip 6 runs on a super-fast Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chip, which is a bit faster and more economical than the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 in the Flip 5. You won’t immediately notice the difference, but this smartphone is a bit more future-proof. Especially since it now has 12GB of RAM instead of 8. We didn’t experience any hiccups during our test period.
New this year is that the Flip 6 has a so-called vapor chamber has. It dissipates heat from the processor, so you can keep gaming at high settings for longer. Still, the Flip 6 can get pretty hot, especially when it’s charging or when you’re shooting a lot of photos in a short period of time.
Because of the foldable screen, the fingerprint scanner is in the power button on the side. After the first time setting it up, it worked pretty poorly, so we registered our thumb again. After that, the scanner worked better, although it still had trouble with wet fingers.
It will come as no surprise that the Flip 6 lacks a headphone jack. So you’ll have to rely on wireless earbuds. The stereo speakers can get pretty loud, but the bass tones in particular don’t come across as well.
One beautiful screen, one less beautiful screen
The Flip 6’s OLED display measures 6.7 inches, the same size as the aforementioned S24 Plus. The Flip does have a slightly narrower aspect ratio, but that didn’t bother us. It’s a gorgeous display, with a 120Hz refresh rate for smooth visuals. Peak brightness this year is 2,600 nits, where the Flip 5 was stuck at 1,750 nits.
Although you only reach that value when viewing HDR images, the screen is also nice and bright in normal conditions. You don’t have to make an effort to read your apps in the sun. However, the fold in the screen remains a point of attention, especially if you often watch videos. Depending on the incidence of light, a visible line sometimes runs through the image. That is inevitable with current technology, but it is still a significant disadvantage compared to ‘normal’ smartphones.
On the outside we find the second 3.4 inch OLED screen. That is the same size as the Flip 5, but smaller than the Motorola Razr 50 Ultra. There this display runs completely around the cameras.
We don’t find that a problem, but this screen is also clearly of lower quality than the large screen on the inside. The refresh rate is ‘only’ 60 Hz and the resolution is a lot lower. If you hold the device close to your face, you can clearly see individual pixels.
The possibilities are also limited. Samsung determines which apps you can use on this screen and there are not that many. Think of your agenda, Google Maps, YouTube and WhatsApp. Support for Instagram and Facebook is missing, for example. Although there are possibilities to circumvent these restrictions, that should not be necessary. With the Razrs from Motorola you have much more freedom.
Cameras are quite limited
Most smartphones costing 1200 euros have quite impressive cameras. This is less true for the Flip 6. For starters, there are only two. The main camera has been upgraded from 12 to 50 megapixels. This is the same camera that is also in the Galaxy S24. In sunny weather it takes nice pictures, although the picture on the bottom right is a bit overexposed.
In cloudy weather the photos look quite realistic. Samsung, fortunately, does not bother to artificially saturate the colours. If you take photos indoors, the snapshots do seem a little less sharp than when you take pictures outdoors. Night photos have a typical Samsung look: a little too light and now the colours are a bit exaggerated.
Wide angle lens
The 12 megapixel wide-angle lens is clearly less good. In sunny weather the photos still look quite sharp, but if you have less beautiful light, you will notice that especially the corners quickly become blurry.
The software also has great difficulty in keeping lighter parts in check. You can see that in particular in the photo of the station hall in Maastricht. That really doesn’t look good. The bottom right corner in particular is a mess. Night photos also quickly look out of focus.
All in all, you shouldn’t buy the Flip 6 if you’re an avid photographer. The wide-angle lens isn’t all that great and there’s no telephoto lens to zoom in optically. You can of course do that digitally, up to 10x. Samsung promises that the results are better than before thanks to AI.
That’s right. We don’t see much difference between 1x and 2x zoom and the 4x zoomed photo is still very usable. At 10x zoom, there is a clear loss of quality, but less than expected. Still, a real telephoto lens would of course produce better results.
Battery life is at most reasonable, slow charging
The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 6 has a battery capacity of 4000 mAh. That’s 300 mAh more than the Flip 5 and the same as the Galaxy S24. We would describe the battery life as reasonable. With average use, you can get through the day, but there is usually not much left in the tank when you go to bed in the evening. If you are on holiday and take a lot of photos, you may even have to recharge in between.
That’s annoying, especially since the smartphone charges quite slowly with only 25 watts. You need more than 100 minutes to fully charge the battery. The Razr 50 Ultra refuels with 45 watts and is therefore ready faster. Wireless charging is also possible, but is even slower with 15 watts.
Very long updates, AI remains inconsistent
Earlier this year, Samsung improved its update policy for its most expensive smartphones. Like Google’s Pixels, they now receive seven major Android upgrades, as well as seven years of security patches. Since the Flip 6 runs Android 14 out of the box, you’re good to go until Android 21. Needless to say, we’re very happy about that. Even if you don’t plan on keeping the device for that long, it’s nice to know that the next owner will still get updates.
Samsung places its own One UI 6.1.1 shell over Android. This mainly visually thoroughly adapts the operating system and you have to like that. Furthermore, the Korean manufacturer is heavily committed to AI. This now even has a separate section in the settings, where all functions are collected. Unfortunately, most of them, such as (live) translation of telephone conversations and chats, are not available in Dutch. So you can’t do much with that.
You can, however, have articles summarized, your drawings turned into art and your photos thoroughly edited. For example, it is possible to move objects in photos or remove them altogether. On the Galaxy S24 devices it worked rather inconsistently. How is that on the Flip 6?
Unfortunately, Samsung doesn’t seem to have improved this feature. When we tried to remove the rock in the first photo above, we got a smaller one in return. Oddly enough, it worked better to remove the bench, while that seems much more difficult. However, a pole has been placed in the photo that we didn’t ask for. Strange.
Did you take a crooked photo? With AI you can straighten it and fill in the missing parts. That works quite well, certainly at first glance. If you look more critically, you will see that the artificially generated leaves in the corners are a lot less sharp. The tiles on the ground also have a different pattern.
Conclusion Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 6 review
The Flip 6 has some nice upgrades over its predecessor. The processor is faster, the screen brighter and the hinge stronger. With its 50 megapixel camera you can shoot slightly nicer photos and zoom in a bit digitally without much loss of quality. And although many AI functions are not available in the Netherlands, the update policy is excellent.
Still, you have to swallow quite a few compromises for the privilege of being able to fold the Flip 6. The still visible crease in the screen, the mediocre second display, the at most reasonable battery life and of course the high price. Are you willing to pay that? Then this Samsung is a reasonable choice, although we would certainly also look at the Motorola Razr 50 Ultra.
Kopen
Do you want to get the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 6 after reading this review? The entry-level model with 12GB RAM and 256GB storage has a suggested retail price of 1199 euro. For 1319 euro buy the variant with 512GB storage. Below you will find the best deals of the moment. Of course you can also buy the smartphone in combination with a subscription. You can choose from four colors: silver, light blue, mint green and yellow.
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