Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra vs Galaxy Z Fold 6 review: Function versus form
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Intro
The Samsung Galaxy S25 phones are now officially out. Atop the trio stands the Ultra — yet again, the shining example of Samsung's best work. A new design and slightly different camera work from before, but it's more of a refining of an already excellent phone (the S24 Ultra), than a whole new beast.
It comes with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite made for Galaxy — like before, Samsung and Qualcomm have partnered up to squeeze a bit of extra juice from the otherwise top-tier chipset. And, there are a few extra AI features
But the Galaxy S25 Ultra isn’t the only high-end Samsung device generating buzz. There's still the Galaxy Z Fold 6, the latest in Samsung’s foldable lineup. While it might not always surpass rivals in every metric, it’s still an innovative powerhouse in its category. As a hybrid between smartphone and tablet, the Galaxy Z Fold 6 stands as a unique alternative to traditional flagships like the S25 Ultra.
But the Galaxy S25 Ultra isn’t the only high-end Samsung device generating buzz. There's still the Galaxy Z Fold 6, the latest in Samsung’s foldable lineup. While it might not always surpass rivals in every metric, it’s still an innovative powerhouse in its category. As a hybrid between smartphone and tablet, the Galaxy Z Fold 6 stands as a unique alternative to traditional flagships like the S25 Ultra.
Whether you’re looking for cutting-edge power or futuristic versatility, Samsung’s 2025 lineup is shaping up to deliver on all fronts.
So, how exactly does the new flagship compare against the company's best foldable phone for now?
Galaxy S25 Ultra vs Galaxy Z Fold 6 differences explained:
| Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra | Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 |
|---|---|
| A fresh new design with rounded instead of straight edges | A foldable phone with a no-gap folding design |
| Thinner and lighter (8.2mm and 218gr) | Thicker and heavier (239gr) |
| The fastest Qualcomm chip –– the 3nm Snapdragon 8 Elite | Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, the previous Qualcomm flagship chip |
| Corning Gorilla Armor with anti-reflective coating protecting the screen | No anti-reflective properties, Gorilla Glass Victus 2 outside |
| 12 GB RAM, storage options in 256 GB, 512 GB, 1 TB | 12 GB RAM, storage options in 256 GB, 512 GB, 1 TB |
| 200 MP main camera New 50MP ultrawide Two zoom cameras (3x and 5x) | 50 MP main Old 12 MP ultrawide One 3x telephoto camera |
| Wi-Fi 7 | Wi-Fi 6E |
| 45 W wired 15 W Qi2-ready wireless charging (No magnets) | 25W wired 15W Qi wireless charging |
Table of Contents:
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Design and Size
Samsung's finest, but the Galaxy S25 Ultra pulls ahead
The Galaxy S25 Ultra gets rounded corners, and its sides are flattened. This brings it in line with the other two flagships, the Galaxy S25 and Galaxy S25 Plus, instead of making it look like a Galaxy Note of ye olde times.
We suppose this change could be a tough pill to swallow for Galaxy purists who have loved the strictly business and super-stylish appearance of previous Galaxy S Ultra flagships. I, for one, will miss the sharper lines, but if a design refresh is what Samsung decided, we should give it a chance to grow on us.
One thing is for certain: the Galaxy S25 Ultra keeps the titanium frame and S Pen stylus (sans Bluetooth now, which is a minor controversy). While the titanium frame is a fairly recent addition to Samsung's lineup, the stylus is a signature staple that will always set Samsung's Galaxy S Ultra flagships apart from all the others.
The Galaxy Z Fold 6 also has those flat sides — we assume Samsung is going for an uniform look across its range of devices. It also supports an S Pen, but that's a separate purchase. Ideally, you want the S Pen case for it, but it does add a level of bulk to the package, which will not be to everyone's taste.
What makes the Z Fold 6 special, of course, is that spatious 7.6-inch inner screen, which gives you a bigger canvas for multitasking, sheets and tables, writing or drawing. The outer shell has a 6.3 inch screen with a 22:9 aspect ratio. It's still a bit narrow but definitely usable if you are in a rush and don't want to commit to opening the entire phone.
Being a foldable phone, the Z Fold 6 is a bit harder to protect against the elements. It has an IP48 rating — it can still survive submersion in clean water for a limited time, and has some particle protection, but smaller (than 1 mm) grains and debris can still get in. The Galaxy S25 Ultra, of course, has IP68, meaning it's dust-tight and can survive for at least half an hour when submerged in fresh water.
Display Differences
The Galaxy S25 Ultra features a 6.9-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X display with a 1-120Hz dynamic refresh rate, exceptional HDR support, and we get the return of that excellent anti-reflective coating, which we saw on the Galaxy S24 Ultra with its Gorilla Armor glass. No increase in peak brightness, as the S25 Ultra still hits 2,600 nits — plenty enough.
The Galaxy Z Fold 6 has a 7.6-inch inner screen with a pretty squarish aspect ratio of 20.9:18. The outer screen is still a narrow 6.3-inch AMOLED with a 22.1:9 aspect ratio. Both panels have the Dynamic AMOLED with a refresh rate of 1 to 120 Hz for the ultimate and smoothest viewing experience.
While the outer screen has a punch-hole, the inner one has an under-display camera that is hidden beneath the panel, but can be easily spotted if you know where to look.
Clearly, the Galaxy Z Fold 6 has more screen room if you spend a lot of time on and keep a lot of apps open at the same time. The Galaxy S25 Ultra will give you full access to a large, 6.9-inch screen without requiring the commitment of opening up the entire phone body, or carrying a thicker handset. One has to consider exactly how they use a phone or whether they want to "learn" how to get the most out of a foldable.
Performance and Software
Welcome, 3nm
The Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset is the first 3 nm chip to power a high-profile device with international appeal. With the Snapdragon 8 Elite, there's some improvement in performance and energy-efficiency. Realistically, not as massive a leap that we had hoped for, but there's enough of a performance bump there to bring it up to Apple A18 score levels. That includes the throttling.
It's just not all sunshine and roses: 3 nm chips tend to run slightly hotter than their older 4 nm counterparts, so an exceptional thermal management system is always a must. Samsung says the new vapor cooling chamber is 40% bigger than before. But the benchmark scores speak for themselves:
Performance Benchmarks:
That said, our current experience with the Galaxy Z Fold 6 is that it's snappy and satisfying. Right now, those 30% speed increases feel more like headroom and less like an acutal need.
Memory-wise, we have 12 GB of RAM in the Galaxy S25 Ultra, as well as 256 GB, 512 GB, and 1 TB UFS 4.0 storage versions. The Galaxy Z Fold 6 offers the same storage variations, also with 12 GB of RAM.
So, on to the software — there are some new AI features announced with the Galaxy S25 Ultra, but we have a feeling they will trickle down to the Galaxy Z Fold 6 with the next One UI 7. The Samsung skin, laid on top of Android 15, will now offer AI Select, which an upgrade of the old Smart Select. It's just that it can now automatically recognize what's on screen before you even choose it and give you contextual options faster. Supposedly, it hasn't impressed us so far.
That said, the rest is Gemini — Samsung even removed Bixby from the power button by default. You can still go into settings and choose Bixby, but since Google is already doing all of those multi-modular, inter-app interactions with Gemini, Samsung has kind of surrendered control there. Just like how Apple kind of surrendered AI features to ChatGPT.
That is to say that right now, the Galaxy S25 Ultra has a couple extra AI-branded features, but we are pretty sure they will also come to the Z Fold 6 when OneUI 7 drops for the rest of the cast. Samsung's flagships now come with a 7-year update commitment, so both the S25 Ultra and Z Fold 6 have a long way ahead of them.
Camera
It's the Ultra that will be on top
No two opinions here: the Galaxy S25 Ultra is the camera phone by Samsung. The main camera has a 200 MP sensor, there's a new 50 MP ultra-wide camera, as well as the good old 50 MP 5x and 10 MP 3x zoom cameras. The Z Fold 6 takes a step back with its 50 MP main, 10 MP 3x zoom, and 12 MP ultrawide.
In our experience so far, the Galaxy Z Fold 6 has a "pretty good" camera, but is overshadowed by the Galaxy S24 Ultra, which has a pinch better dynamics, some better details, and definitely a lot more zoom. We expect the S25 Ultra to perform similarly.
AI features coming to the camera are an enhanced night video mode, as well as an audio eraser for sound in videos, which might help you remove unwanted noise and focus in voice, as if with a shotgun mic (kind of?).
How does the Galaxy Z Fold 6 measure in comparison?
PhoneArena Camera Score:
Well, not that great. Samsung's foldables have never boasted too great of a camera package, relying on a standard triple-camera setup, mostly the same one as on the previous foldables. We are talking about a 50MP main camera, a 10MP telephoto with 3X optical zoom, and finally, a 12MP ultrawide camera.
There's an under display inner selfie camera, but we don't like the quality it delivers. The external one is miles better, of course.
Main Camera
We praised last year's Z Fold 6 because its camera color science, dynamics, and HDR were very, very close to the mainline S24 Ultra. It's still a very good camera today. The Galaxy S25 Ultra did add some upgrades, where it doesn't oversharpen fine details as much. And it doesn't make grass look toxic green in specific scenarios. But, that aside, the Z Fold 6 does stand up for itself versus the Galaxy S25 Ultra main camera.
Surprisingly, the Z Fold 6 also holds it together very well in low light. It's arguable which of the above samples here is "better". We do like that the S25 Ultra didn't go hard on the noise reduction. Sure, there's more grain in the photo, but at least details look more realistic. But it added a weird yellow coat on top, and highlights seem like they pop out a bit more than they should. The Z Fold 6, on the other hand, smoother over quite a lot while dealing with noise. But the colors and contrast are a bit better.
Zoom Quality
The S25 Ultra definitely wins at zooming. It does have the two zoom cameras for a reason, and here we are dialed at 10x. This means we are using the 50 MP sensor with 5x lens, digitally enhanced to reach 10x. The Z Fold 6 is stuck with the 10 MP sensor under 3x lens, and we can see it's just not enough. The image becomes hazy, details are blurred, and a lot is lost at 10x magnification.
Ultra-wide Camera
The Galaxy S25 Ultra has a new 50 MP sensor under the ultra-wide camera. In photos, we can't say we can see a big boost in performance — both samples here are excellent and look as if taken with the same phone. Where the S25 Ultra's new ultrawide camera shines is in video recording. It now allows for 8k video, just like its main camera, so you have more framing options when capturing ultra-high def video.
Selfie Camera
The Galaxy S25 Ultra selfie camera definitely looks better. With nice, even dynamics, excellent HDR, well represented details, and definitely better skintone. The Z Fold 6 selfies are a bit more washed out, with skin being brighter and details being a bit more jagged due to sharpening. But at least it also has an excellent handle on dynamics!
More Camera Samples
Battery Life and Charging
The Galaxy S25 Ultra will most likely pull way ahead
Samsung is, again, putting a 5,000mAh battery inside the Galaxy S25 Ultra, a standard capacity that has been used on most of its recent flagships. That's fine, but Samsung might probably want to watch the competition closely, as thin silicon-carbon batteries with nearly 6,000mAh of capacity are starting to pop here and there (used on some Honor devices, the Redmi Note 14 Plus, likely the OnePlus 13).
Now, the question is whether the 3 nm Snapdragon 8 Elite will have improved energy efficiency, or if it will be a power hog. Standby for the tests!
The Galaxy Z Fold 6 is just okay thanks to its humble 4,400mAh battery. Even in comparison with the Galaxy S24 Ultra, the Galaxy Z Fold 6 was way behind in terms of battery endurance (see our Galaxy Z Fold 6 vs Galaxy S24 Ultra comparison here).
PhoneArena Battery and Charging Test Results:
Charging-wise, the Galaxy Z S25 Ultra scores 45W wired charging and 15W Qi2 wireless charging with no magnetic ring. The Galaxy Z Fold 6 has 25W wired and 15W wireless charging.
Audio quality and haptics
The Galaxy Z Fold 6 has quite the audio quality. Yes, there's a good amount of low end and the sharpness and tinniness of highs is reigned in — a sound profile you can find on most modern Samsung flagships. But the Fold series in particular also have a wider sound somehow shooting from its dual speakers — maybe because the drivers are actually shooting out the opposite ends of the frame. In any case, excellent speakers.
The Galaxy S25 Ultra's sound is not bad — definitely meaty, loud, and detailed. It does compress a bit and can even slightly distort at max volume. Not a Bluetooth speaker replacer, but you can definitely rely on those speakers when enjoying most types of media over the phone.
The same applies to haptic feedback on the Galaxy Z Fold 6 and the Galaxy S25 Ultra, which is strong and precise, just the way we like it.
Specs Comparison
Here's how the Galaxy S25 Ultra and Galaxy Z Fold 6 will likely fare in terms of specs:
| Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra | Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 | |
|---|---|---|
| Size, weight | 162.8 x 77.6 x 8.2 mm 218 g | Unfolded: 153.5 x 132.6 x 5.6mm Folded: 153.5 x 68.1 x 12.1mm 239gr |
| Screen | 6.8" Dynamic 2X AMOLED 2600 nits peak brightness 19.5:9 aspect ratio 1-120Hz Anti-reflective coating | Main screen: 7.6" Dynamic AMOLED, 1-120Hz, 20.9:18 aspect ratio, 2,600 nits peak Cover screen: 6.3" Dynamic AMOLED, 1-120Hz, 22.1:9 aspect ratio |
| Processor | Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite, 3 nm | Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, 4 nm |
| RAM, Storage | 12 GB LPDDR5 RAM 256 GB / 512 GB / 1 TB UFS 4.0 | 12 GB RAM LPDDR5 RAM 256 GB / 512 GB / 1 TB UFS 4.0 |
| Cameras | 200 MP main 50 MP ultrawide 10 MP 3X telephoto 50 MP 5X periscope 12 MP front | 50 MP main 12 MP ultrawide, f/2.2 aperture 10 MP 3X telephoto Internal selfie camera: 4MP under-display camera External selfie camera: 10MP |
| Battery | 5,000mAh | 4,400mAh |
| Charging | USB-C 45W wired 15W Qi2 wireless (No magnets) | USB-C 25W wired 15W wireless |
Summary
At the end of the day, the difference between the two devices will boil down to their appeal.
The Galaxy S25 Ultra is set to be the more advanced device, equipped with Samsung's cutting-edge tech—its best 3 nm chipset, top-tier camera, and most refined user experience. And it has that regular smartphone design — what you see is what you get, full 6.9-inch screen on the front and available as soon as you take it out. Oh, also, it has a silo for its S Pen and keeps it neatly tucked away inside the phone.
It's likely to be the predictable front-runner, not only for the best Samsung phone of 2025, but also for the title of "best phone".
Meanwhile, the Galaxy Z Fold 6 still hasn't reached its full potential. Its "wow factor" relies heavily on the folding feature, which requires you to commit to unfolding the phone every time you want to actually use that main screen. It takes a bit to get used to, but you can never make it thinner or lighter. The Z Fold 6 just feels chunky, especially if you slap an S Pen case on it so you can have the stylus with you. It is very definitely a poweruser's phone — the type of people that don't mind carrying a tiny block, because they care about that big square screen and its multi-tasking capabilities.
The Galaxy S25 Ultra is set to be the more advanced device, equipped with Samsung's cutting-edge tech—its best 3 nm chipset, top-tier camera, and most refined user experience. And it has that regular smartphone design — what you see is what you get, full 6.9-inch screen on the front and available as soon as you take it out. Oh, also, it has a silo for its S Pen and keeps it neatly tucked away inside the phone.
Meanwhile, the Galaxy Z Fold 6 still hasn't reached its full potential. Its "wow factor" relies heavily on the folding feature, which requires you to commit to unfolding the phone every time you want to actually use that main screen. It takes a bit to get used to, but you can never make it thinner or lighter. The Z Fold 6 just feels chunky, especially if you slap an S Pen case on it so you can have the stylus with you. It is very definitely a poweruser's phone — the type of people that don't mind carrying a tiny block, because they care about that big square screen and its multi-tasking capabilities.
If the cameras bother you — don't worry too much, the Z Fold 6 has shown that its snapper is adequate enough. If the performance worries you — it shouldn't. The Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 for Galaxy, turns out, is still very very good in 2025.
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