Samsung Galaxy Z Flip6 review: The best thing about this phone isn't Galaxy AI

Note: This review was first published on 3 August 2024.

Samsung is back with its flip phone upgrade, the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip6. This phone combines fashionable sensibilities with the company’s adherence to premium components in its flagship-class phones.

While it’s not distinctively different from its successful predecessor, Samsung has upgraded the device in more ways than one. Galaxy Z Flip6 comes with the latest Qualcomm premium processor (Snapdragon 8 Gen 3), which is crucial in helping the phone take on the bulk of its on-device Galaxy AI features transplanted from its Galaxy S24 series siblings. Because of that, Galaxy Z Flip users can now use generative AI edits to improve photos and Circle To Search to look for that cute dress you saw on social media.

TL;DR: The upgrades are not in your face, but nearly all are direct improvements to everything about the Galaxy Z Flip6 experience. We liked it enough to give it Editor's Choice. Again.



Priced from S$1,648, the Galaxy Z Flip is available to purchase at Samsung's Onlne Store, as well as on Samsung's official store on Lazada and Shopee.

The 3.4-inch FlexWindow cover screen also received more optimisations, even if it’s inherently the same as before. You can now make Suggested Replies, which lets you choose one (out of three) response to messages, and it now supports more Widgets and multiple Widgets in one panel.

Samsung also did not neglect day-to-day performance by upgrading to IP48-rated resistance and giving the device a first-ever vapour chamber to manage its thermals, which we explore further below.

Other upgrades include a massively upgraded 50MP main camera and a new Auto Zoom mode for FlexCam, which allows you to prop the device up hands-free while you take a string of selfies. 

So, does the combination of generative AI, Auto Zoom, and other tweaks justify its increased asking price of S$1,648? Is it just a Flip5 refresh, or does the Flip6 stand firmly in its class with the new additions? We’ll uncover that.

• Design
• Software
• Imaging
• Benchmarks
• Battery Life
• Conclusion

The best Flip design thus far

With its clamshell foldable form factor well into its sixth generation (Galaxy Z Flip, Galaxy Z Flip 5G, Galaxy Z Flip3, Galaxy Z Flip4, and Galaxy Z Flip5), it’s fair to expect Samsung to have some competency in designing a fashionable flip phone. From our view, they’ve done an excellent job through the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip6, albeit with some minor yet crucial details that could’ve helped perfect its appearance.

Let’s talk about the good parts of the Flip6’s design first. The construction feels impeccable, and its solid metal frame looks stunning. The front and back plates have a nice, thin frame that shows off its coloured accents that also match the hinge. Folding (or unfolding) leads to symmetrical proportions with minimal gaps, and it’s neither too loose nor overly resistant to folding. While very subtle, the edges along the sides are also more angular than the Galaxy Z Flip5.

This design language is consistent with the dual camera housing beside the front 3.4-inch secondary display. Again, the old Flip5 also had more rounded edges for the rims, while Galaxy Z Flip6 kept the same sharp cut-off around its cylindrical rings. 

We love how it looks and believe it’s the best Z Flip design by Samsung thus far.

Other finer points include an upgrade to IP48 water and dust resistance (Flip5 had no dust resistance at IPX8) and a slight reduction in thickness when folded at 14.9mm (previously at 15.1mm). Folks who value practical changes would also be pleased with its upgraded hinge, which is more robust than before.

Where we think they could’ve done better is the 6.7-inch main screen and everything else around it. For example, the display crease looks out of place and isn’t consistent with the polish Samsung wants to convey. To their credit, Flip6’s crease seems less visible whenever content is displayed, but it occasionally catches a glint of light that bounces sharply into your eyes during use. Samsung should really banish the crease because it undermines an otherwise beautiful gadget.

Another design pain point is the unusually thick black bezel that wraps around the inner display. We understand that the black plastic strip helps cushion the halves when closing the folds. It also helps prevent the inner panel from slamming shut and damaging the edges of the display. At the risk of fat-shaming bezels, it could be slimmer, or at least consistent with the Armor Aluminium border that wraps around their FlexWindow panel. Right now, these inner bezels are thicker than the width of its standard-sized antenna bands, and it’s always in our peripheral vision whenever we’re staring at Flip6’s display.

Put together, the Galaxy Z Flip6 is one of the best-designed smartphones we’ve seen this year, and it’s great that Samsung kept improving its aesthetics. If the Koreans can patch up those flaws, then the Galaxy Z Flip6 would undisputedly be a better choice than a standard bar-type phone since it has the same functionality with the added perk of being compact and pretty.

Flex Window improvements and Galaxy AI

The 3.4-inch FlexWindow (secondary display) received mild improvements, including supporting more Widgets and the ability to park multiple widgets in one view. We’re not fans of squeezing various widgets in one panel since the large secondary display is part of the charm and immersive user experience. It’s nicer to see your ongoing Spotify tracks, step count, and to-do list in their individual windows when you swipe. 

Play

The more sensible feature is Suggested Replies, which uses Galaxy AI to understand the messages received and suggest three possible responses. It’s not very different from Gmail’s canned response options, and it’s super handy for messages from people who aren’t worth unfolding your Flip6 for (but require a reply). You’ll be happy to know that Suggested Replies also work on third-party messaging apps, like Telegram.

It’s also worth mentioning that Samsung added touch-responsive Live Wallpapers that react to weather and time to the FlexWindow. However, we’d still prefer to use animated wallpapers (a feature available since Galaxy Z Flip5).

If we had to nitpick, we wished the Quick Settings on FlexWindow came with simple descriptions for each shortcut and icon. Some are easily guessable because the icons are universal across smartphones, but it’d be far more accessible for the user to know which icon does what at a glance.

On the software side, Galaxy Z Flip6 is essentially unchanged except for one major addition: Galaxy AI, which was available at launch. We’ve already covered a few of them in our Z Fold6 review and hands-on sessions. For example, we’ve showcased Flip6 with Interpreter’s Conversation Mode, and editing photos using generative AI. 

In short, Samsung gave the device its helpful generative AI features with proper integration. However, none requires or exploits the flip form factor since you can do the same things on the Fold6 or its Galaxy S24 series bar-type phones. With Galaxy AI on the Flip6, Samsung offers premium parity across its top-end devices. It was expected, so we’ll have to see what generative AI perks Samsung has for the following foldable.

Where the changes matter lies in the Flip's photography, which we dissected below.

Imaging Performance

What use is a selfie-friendly smartphone if the cameras aren’t? Samsung has heard its harshest critics about the Flip5 and has improved the new Galaxy Z Flip6 in a big way. This time, the Flip6’s primary camera is the same 50MP shooter used on the Galaxy S24+ (which also has f/1.8 aperture and OIS). That’s a massive upgrade from its 12MP predecessor. The 12MP ultra-wide remains unchanged.

While we regularly remind readers that megapixels aren’t everything for smartphone cameras, this is the rare case where a higher pixel count matters. The 50MP main camera enables 2x “Optical Quality” zoom. The entire 50MP sensor takes the picture, but the phone crops the result and gives you only the middle portion. This creates the 2x zoom effect while retaining the quality of 50MP photos without the full pixel count. This is normal since your 1x photos are typically pixel-binned at 12MP by default and still look sharp.

If you care about your FlexCam selfie quality, getting optical-quality shots at 2x is heaven-sent. You need to grab Camera Assistant from the Samsung Galaxy app store to enable it in your regular Camera app. Otherwise, this 2x zoom option only shows up in Portrait shooting mode.

Another game-changer is Auto Zoom, which we’ve tried during the pre-launch hands-on session. In a nutshell, Auto Zoom lets you take hands-free selfies without requiring any user to adjust the camera’s zoom manually. It ranges from 0.6x zoom (ultra-wide) to 3x zoom, it can shoot in multiple aspect ratios (which is vital for the type of social media platform you’re active on), it works with numerous people in your shot, and you can use a hand gesture to trigger the shutter’s countdown. Combined with the FlexWindow (secondary display) acting as your digital viewfinder, it’s the perfect combination of hardware and software optimised to take multiple hands-free selfies in one sprint. 

Even without discussing the imaging quality, it’s clear that the Galaxy Z Flip6 found its place as a user-centric clamshell flip phone. This perk combo isn’t offered on typical bar-type smartphones unless you pay for additional accessories, like a remote shutter button or monitoring display. Combined with its easy, intuitive controls and automated framing, Samsung has set the minimum standard for selfie-taking that all other clamshell flip phones need to have to compete.

Oh, and even with the imaging quality factored in, we doubt any selfie-loving shooter can complain since the Galaxy Z Flip6 is made to shoot with the same polish as your Galaxy S24 or S24+. Here are some reference images for quality checks.

Very quickly, you can see the Galaxy Z Flip6's main camera is doing a great job of retaining details with flattering tuning that keeps subjects well-lit. It's no so great when it comes to the ultra-wide, where the smudging is more obvious in the tree leaves. Across the board, the dynamic range can feel a little aggressive (see the underexposed windows versus the overexposed sky), but it's nothing severe if you're shooting in more ideal conditions.

The 10x digital zoom sees heavy lifting from the phone's software. That shot was originally much more blurry and splotchy, but Samsung's AI has significantly sharpened the details to highlight the lines on top of the sheltered crossing, the words on the roads, and the road signs. While it's a very artificial result, we think it's the right direction for the Flip6 as its users will likely prefer capturing detail and restoring noisy photos over getting more realism.

Benchmark Performance

The Galaxy Z Flip6 packs the same Samsung-customised Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset found on its book-style sibling. In addition to a new chipset, Samsung added a vapour chamber to help with thermal management—a first for its clamshell flip form factor.

When reviewing the Galaxy Z Flip6, the closest rivals we’ve tried are all from 2023 or earlier, so we expect the Flip6 to outperform the rest, at least on paper. You can see it's on par with Galaxy Z Fold6, so you know it's not any less capable.

Putting it to the test

To find out how the competitors line up specs and price-wise, check them out in this link.

To find out more about the tests we conduct and what they relate to, we've jotted them down here.

Benchmark Performance remarks

The Galaxy Z Flip6 delivers performance somewhat similar to the Galaxy Z Fold6, so let it be known that prioritisng style (in Samsung's case), doesn't compromise capability and processing speed. In day-to-day use, the device excels at heavy workloads (recording, editing content) and casual browsing.

Naturally, we'd want to know if the battery life is any better, especially when it has higher performance ceilings than its predecessor.

Battery Life

Our battery benchmark uses PCMark for Android’s Work 3.0 Battery Life test to determine a modern Android-based smartphone's battery uptime in minutes. This controlled benchmark simulates real-world usage with a combination of both web and social media browsing, video and photo editing, parsing data with various file formats, writing (on documents), and more. 

Galaxy Z Flip6 has a 4,000mAh battery capacity, which is 7.5% more than the Galaxy Z Flip5's. We won't know how Samsung managed to squeeze in 300mAh more without tearing the phone apart, but we appreciate the extra ~40 minutes it got from the same battery benchmark we did. It's even more impressive considering the performance jump it got between generations. It is also one of the longest-lasting clamshell flip phones we have here, which makes the Flip6 even more appealing to its target audience.

The phone does not have a charging adapter in its packaging, so we had to rely on a random third-party wall charger. It delivered 0 to 100% in about two hours, which is par for the course at normal charging speeds.

If you're nitpicky about ruining your USB-C port with scrapes, consider using its built-in wireless charging array found on the phone's rear plate (we tried, it works well).

Conclusion

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip6 maintains Samsung’s lead in having the most fashionable premium flip phone, with its changes gradually becoming more sensible for the users it’s designed for. It also has the premium bells and whistles Samsung offers as a phone, which makes it a little bit better than buying a regular, boring Android phone.

Besides an upgraded build quality and design, Flip6 does excellently on synthetic benchmarks and real-world use, with its existing Galaxy AI perks well integrated into the device despite not exploiting its form factor to create a generative AI killer app for foldable phones. The cherry on top is the long battery life on the Flip6, which means users can expect high-end functionality, even if their primary purchasing decision was because of the phone’s novelty and appearance. 

With more widgets, Live Wallpapers, and better customisation options on its FlexWindow secondary display, Flip6 also lets users make their phones stand out, even among other fellow Flip6 users. 

However, the ultimate reason to buy the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip6 is Auto Zoom. With software and hardware helping users frame their shots automatically, Auto Zoom has given its flip form factor deeper meaning and practicality. We were especially taken in when we realised Auto Zoom can handle different aspect ratios since every social media platform uses different formats and dimensions. If you’re on Instagram, Flip6’s built-in Nightography support for Instagram’s in-app camera would be much appreciated, too.

Now that we think deeper about Samsung’s two new foldables, it’s also clear that the Flip6 is Samsung’s favourite child, given its many non-AI-related improvements relative to the book-style foldable’s lack of innovation (to be fair, Fold6 is slimmer and lighter than before, but that’s about it).

It’s not all praise for the Galaxy Z Flip6 because we think Samsung can do even better for an already excellent flip phone. For one, the crease and inner display bezels are the last things stopping Flip6 from truly embodying its focus on aesthetics. We know it must be challenging from an engineering perspective, but that doesn’t make these changes any less necessary. 

Second is its weird price increase, with the Flip6’s starting price now S$150 higher than its predecessor’s launch. If the price went up because Samsung figured out it needed more expensive components for a creaseless display, that’s fine, but it wasn’t the case here.

While Samsung’s biggest flip phone opponents have yet to bring its equivalent into the Singapore market (for example, OPPO’s upcoming rival and the super-immersive Xiaomi Mix Flip), we still think it would be hard to beat Samsung’s Galaxy Z Flip6, especially in terms of overall polish, design, and software additions it had this time around. Unless these rival flip phones are secretly working on a killer feature for this form factor or coming in at a much lower price for the same parts, the Flip6 can likely breathe easy as the best clamshell flip phone for the rest of this year. We’re earmarking it as Editor’s Choice since it unites what’s pretty and practical in a very portable form factor.

The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip is officially available now (from 24th July) at these official price points:-

• 12GB + 256GB config: S$1,648
• 12GB + 512GB config:​​ S$1,828 

Order the phone here:

• Official Samsung website
• Samsung LazMall store
• Samsung Shopee store

For more details on its launch offers and where to buy information, don’t forget to check out our pricing article here, or find out what the telco contract plans and offers are like.

If you're in the market for a suitable phone case for this stylish clamshell, remember to also check out this article.

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