First Impressions Of The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip6: What's The Deal With Flip Phones Anyway?
With enhanced durability, better battery life, and significant camera improvements, the Galaxy Z Flip6 is a solid choice in the clamshell foldable market.
By Laila Zain — 15 Jul 2024, 03:02 PM
Samsung recently unveiled their latest line of products and advancements at the Samsung Unpacked 2024 event in Paris, France, on 10 July
We got our hands on the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip6 to see what all the fuss is about.
As someone who is not all that convinced that flip phones should have even been revived from their heyday of the '90s, I was skeptical about the new Z Flip6. I mean, aesthetics aside, is it even necessary?
Regardless, the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip6 continues to solidify its position as a leader in the clamshell foldable market with a blend of subtle yet significant upgrades over its predecessor, the Galaxy Z Flip5.
While its visual design remains largely unchanged, with minor enhancements like colour-matched rings around the rear camera lenses and a satin finish on the frame, the real advancements are found under the hood and in its durability.
Design and Display
One word that describes the look and feel of the Z Flip6 is sexy. I'm not even pandering. Every single person in our office who got a look at the flip phone was in awe at just how sexy it is.
From the sleek black matte packaging of the box, to the sheen of the phone and the snap of its flip, you feel sexier just by virtue of holding it. Maybe that's why a potato like me just can't vibe with it.
Visually, the Galaxy Z Flip6 retains the same tried-and-tested design as the Flip5, featuring a 3.4-inch, 60Hz AMOLED cover display, and a 6.7-inch Full HD+ AMOLED main display with an adaptive 1-120Hz refresh rate. The dimensions and weight also remain unchanged, making it a compact and lightweight option in the foldable market.
Personally, I find it impressively lightweight for its size, which makes it easy to carry around without feeling bulky.
The "Flex Window" cover display continues to offer a range of useful widgets and now includes interactive wallpapers and ambient weather animations.
Straight off the bat, the cover display is my favourite thing about the phone. Great for selfies and fit checks, it also allows you to take calls and check notifications at a glance. For idle hands, you can even play mini games on the cover display if you enjoy gaming on a tiny square screen (I do).
Durability Enhancements
Samsung has made notable improvements in the durability of the Galaxy Z Flip6. The Armor Aluminum frame is now 10% stronger, and the phone features an upgraded hinge and edge design.
Most impressively, it now boasts an IP48 dust- and water-resistance rating, offering better protection against dust and water than its predecessors and competitors.
Even so, the foldable nature of the device still makes me anxious about the screen getting damaged over time. Although, I will add, this is a 'me' issue, and my colleagues who have been rocking the Z Flip5 and previous iterations assure me their screens remain as perfect as the day they unboxed them.
Performance and Battery Life
Powered by Qualcomm's Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset and 12GB of RAM, the Galaxy Z Flip6 promises top-tier performance. The battery capacity has been increased to 4,000mAh, and the inclusion of a vapour cooling chamber — the first in a flip phone — should ensure better heat dissipation and longer battery life.
However, after 10 minutes of taking photos and videos outdoors, we did find that the phone was beginning to feel hot.
Checking on the battery life, I charged the phone to 100% on a Friday, used it lightly over the weekend (taking photos and videos, gaming, browsing), and it was at 3% by Monday morning. Impressive.
Camera and Photography Features
The 0.5 selfie, which is the current obsession du jour, works best on the flip due to the cover display allowing users to view the photo prior to taking it.
For the uninitiated, the 0.5 selfie is literally taken with a smartphone's ultra-wide angle lens. On regular phones, it doesn't work in selfie mode, which means users have to turn the phone away and take the snap blind, so to speak.
Our resident Gen Z social media exec was elated to discover she could take 0.5 selfies with the Z Flip6 while still seeing herself in the cover display.
The camera setup has received a significant upgrade, with the main and ultra-wide lenses now matching those of the Galaxy S24 Plus. This includes a 50MP main lens and a 12MP ultra-wide lens, a considerable improvement over the 12MP lenses on the Flip5.
New camera features like Auto Zoom and an improved Camcorder Mode enhance the photography experience, making it easier to capture high-quality photos and videos.
Software and AI Features
The Galaxy Z Flip6 benefits from Samsung's continued focus on foldable-specific software optimisations.
The new Interpreter feature allows for live, two-way translated conversations using the internal and external displays, showcasing practical applications of AI in everyday scenarios.
With the flip, the person you're speaking to can see the translations of what you're saying, and in return can speak into the mic and be translated to the language of your choice.
As incredibly mediocre French speakers, three of us in the team had a great time testing out the feature.
Look out for our next article where we get into more of the AI features on the Z Flip6.
The Galaxy Z Flip6 may not be a revolutionary leap from the Galaxy Z Flip5, but its iterative improvements make it a compelling option for those new to foldables or looking to upgrade from an older model
With enhanced durability, better battery life, and significant camera improvements, the Galaxy Z Flip6 is a solid choice in the clamshell foldable market. Its blend of practicality, performance, and style ensures that it remains at the top of its class, even with limited competition.
Watch our unboxing here:
