Focused primarily on trying to understand exactly how Samsung plans to distinguish the upcoming Galaxy Z Fold 6 from its predecessor and guessing what a top-of-the-line Z Fold 6 Ultra model could bring to the table, we must admit we haven't been paying much attention to the Galaxy Z Flip 6 these last few weeks.
Of course, that's also true for our usual sources of inside information on unannounced mobile devices, who've largely ignored Samsung's next-gen Android-powered clamshell. That's probably not good news for anyone who's expecting this bad boy to radically change the design or improve the capabilities of the Z Flip 6's forerunner, and a new benchmark listing "confirms" a few largely predictable specifications today.
A Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 powerhouse... with only 8GB RAM
Remember when the world's most powerful laptops packed 8GB RAM and 4 gigs of memory felt enough for the heaviest mobile multitaskers out there? Even though that wasn't a century ago, many budget 5G phones today come with 8 gigs of the good stuff, while Android flagships from brands like OnePlus, Asus, Oppo, and Vivo are pushing that number higher and higher.
Even Samsung has decided to ditch the entry-level 8GB option for the Galaxy S24 Ultra, which makes it a little disappointing to see the Galaxy Z Flip 6 benchmarked with precisely that memory count a few months ahead of its launch.
No, the Geekbench database doesn't mention the device by name, but with last year's Z Flip 5 carrying model number SM-F731U, it's pretty obvious what the SM-F741U designation stands for. Of course, just because this particular pre-release Z Flip 6 prototype features 8GB RAM (of which only 6.75 gigs are apparently user accessible), that doesn't mean Samsung isn't planning a higher-end 12GB configuration as well.
That would still represent an important upgrade over the Z Flip 5, which only comes with 8GB RAM, but for the time being, it's merely an assumption (and a dream) on our part.
On the decidedly bright side of things, this benchmark "confirms" that the Galaxy Z Flip 6 will pack a state-of-the-art Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 processor, which is hardly surprising. What's exciting is that, even with purportedly unfinished Android 14 software, this SM-F741U unit has managed to obtain a significantly higher Vulkan score than the Z Flip 5 while also breathing down the S24 Ultra's neck in terms of (theoretical) performance.
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You're clearly looking at a very powerful flip phone here, but the question of exactly what other key upgrades over the Galaxy Z Flip 5 it will bring remains.
Will there be an Exynos variant?
That's another question we can't answer with a very good degree of confidence right now, as there's no evidence (yet) to support those recent rumors of a Galaxy S-style processor separation for different regions.
Samsung's in-house Exynos 2400 SoC, mind you, is not that much slower than Qualcomm's Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 beast, so there's a decent chance that you won't be able to tell the difference between the two possible Galaxy Z Fold 6 models in terms of real-life performance.
Still, from a perception standpoint, it's probably going to be mighty hard for Samsung to convince prospective Galaxy Z Flip 6 buyers that the new phone is a true and significant upgrade over the Z Flip 5 with an Exynos chip and unchanged base RAM option.
That will be made even harder by the familiar design rendered a couple of months back and unchanged charging speeds. Thankfully, Samsung is planning to bump up the battery capacity from 3,700 to around 4,000mAh, and although we don't know anything for sure about the imaging aspect, we expect the Z Flip 6 to significantly improve at least one of its predecessor's two 12MP rear-facing cameras.
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Adrian, a mobile technology enthusiast since the Nokia 3310 era, has been a dynamic presence in the tech journalism field, contributing to Android Authority, Digital Trends, and Pocketnow before joining PhoneArena in 2018. His expertise spans across various platforms, with a particular fondness for the diversity of the Android ecosystem. Despite the challenges of balancing full-time parenthood with his work, Adrian's passion for tech trends, running, and movies keeps him energized. His commitment to mid-range smartphones has led to an eclectic collection of devices, saved from personal bankruptcy by his preference for 'adequate' over 'overpriced'.
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