Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 vs Galaxy S24 Ultra: Future versus present
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Intro
The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 is now finally official, succeeding the Galaxy Z Fold 5 and further propagating Samsung's strong position in the foldable phone market. Some key upgrades are rumored to be making the rounds on the Z Fold 6, namely a redesigned hinge which could finally do away with the unsightly display crease.
Meanwhile, the Galaxy S24 Ultra is Samsung's top flagship for 2024, which comes along with everything but the kitchen sink. Four cameras at the rear, a fresh new titanium design, S Pen stylus on board, as well as the powerful Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chip, the bevy of Galaxy AI features, and seven years of software support make this one arguably the best Android phone you can consider in 2024.
Also read:
- Galaxy Z Fold 6 AI features: Samsung is already making big improvements
- Galaxy S25 Ultra vs Galaxy Z Fold 6: Dread it, run from it, the true flagship arrives all the same
Both phones are arguably the best of the best in their respective classes, so while they are not technically direct competitors, it's intriguing to play mind games and compare the two. Is the Galaxy S24 Ultra the safe and logical choice, or is 2024 the year to get a foldable phone?
Galaxy Z Fold 6 vs Galaxy S24 Ultra differences:
| Galaxy Z Fold 6 | Galaxy S24 Ultra |
|---|---|
| A new design with a squarish aspect ratio, lighter ant thinner than before | Titanium design, standard candy bar form |
| 7.6-inch internal screen and 6.3-inch external display, both 120Hz | A 6.8-inch screen with higher 2,600 nits peak brightness |
| The same camera system as before (50MP+10MP+12MP), likely software upgrades | Four cameras on the back, including both a 3X zoom and a new 5X zoom periscope |
| The finest Qualcomm chip on board (Snapdragon 8 Gen 3) | Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 in most countries across the globe |
| S Pen stylus available as a separate purchase | S Pen stylus included |
| 4,400mAh battery on board | 5,000mAh on board |
| 25W wired charging, 15W wireless charging | 45W fast wired charging, 15W wireless charging |
Table of Contents:
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Design and Size
Foldable versus a classic candy bar
Flat and trendy design on both Samsung champs (Image by PhoneArena)
Of course, both the Galaxy Z Fold 6 and the Galaxy S24 Ultra differ quite a lot in the design aspect. One will aim to perfect Samsung's foldable phone formula, while the other is the epitome and the culmination of years upon years of candy bar phone evolution.
How is the Galaxy Z Fold 6 improving on Samsung's previous Galaxy Fold devices? Aside from a reinforced hinge and a much lighter overall build, the Galaxy Z Fold 6 still relies on Armor Aluminum and now has a more squarish design. Similarly to the Galaxy S24 Ultra, the Galaxy Z Fold 6 abandons the slightly curved design and relies on flat edges, which is in line with the design trends these days.
The external screen is slightly wider, while the inner one is shorter but wider, which could improve the ergonomics in comparison with previous Folds.
The Galaxy Z Fold 6 is Samsung's thinnest foldable (Image by PhoneArena)
Sadly, there's still a palpable display crease present, despite Samsung seemingly working hard to vanquish it. Other foldables like OnePlus Open lack such a stark crease, so a more low-level rethinking of the Galaxy Fold mechanism might be necessary.
Oh, and at just 239gr, the Galaxy Z Fold 6 is a surprisingly lightweight device!
Meanwhile, the Galaxy S24 Ultra is already employing a titanium body, with nearly flat design that still employs slightly curved sides for improved ergonomics.
And, unlike other phones, the Galaxy S24 Ultra has an S Pen silo on board, so it comes with its stylus out of the box, which is a major selling point. The Galaxy Z Fold will also support an S Pen, but you will have to buy it separately. Moreover, you probably won't be able to slot the stylus inside the Galaxy Z Fold 6 body, but will have to get the corresponding official case.
The Galaxy S24 Ultra is fully protected from the elements thanks to an IP68 certification. While foldable phones usually don't get a dustproof specification, they can be fully protected against water; that's precisely the case with the Galaxy Z Fold 6, which has an IP48 rating. This means it is waterproof but only dust-resistant to some extent.
These two flagships get you all the screen real estate you might need (Image by PhoneArena)
The Galaxy Z Fold 6 boasts a 7.6-inch AMOLED display with dynamic refresh rate that can switch between 1 and 120Hz. The same applies to the outer screen, which measures 6.3 inches across. Despite the use of thicker Ultra Thin Glass above the inner display, the Galaxy Z Fold 6 still features a visible crease.
Meanwhile, the Galaxy S24 Ultra comes with a large 6.8-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X display, with high maximum brightness and exceptional color rendition properties. Not only that, but it also uses Corning's latest Gorilla Glass Armor, which boosts scratch-resistance and is way less reflective than previous Gorilla Glass solutions.
Display Measurements:
Above, you can check out our in-house display measurements for the screen quality, as well as max and minimum brightness. A take-away from these benchmark tests is that the Galaxy Z Fold 6 can hit a noticeably higher peak brightness versus the Galaxy S24 Ultra. The minimum brightness that can be achieved is also technically slightly lower on the Galaxy Z Fold 6.
Meanwhile, the Galaxy S24 Ultra comes with a large 6.8-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X display, with high maximum brightness and exceptional color rendition properties. Not only that, but it also uses Corning's latest Gorilla Glass Armor, which boosts scratch-resistance and is way less reflective than previous Gorilla Glass solutions.
Above, you can check out our in-house display measurements for the screen quality, as well as max and minimum brightness. A take-away from these benchmark tests is that the Galaxy Z Fold 6 can hit a noticeably higher peak brightness versus the Galaxy S24 Ultra. The minimum brightness that can be achieved is also technically slightly lower on the Galaxy Z Fold 6.
Also read: Galaxy Z Fold 6: Size Comparison
Performance and Software
Qualcomm's finest––and no sight of Exynos
The Galaxy S24 Ultra comes with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset globally––and the Galaxy Z Fold 6 follows suit.
And given just how great the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 performance is inside the Galaxy S24 Ultra, we have extremely high expectations for the Galaxy Z Fold 6, both in terms of overall performance and battery efficiency. Graphics processing on the latest Snapdragon is especially spectacular, even surpassing Apple's latest A-series chips.
And totally unsurprisingly, the Galaxy Z Fold 6 and the Galaxy S24 Ultra reach similar performance heights in our custom benchmark tests. In both the CPU-heavy Geekbench 6 and the GPU-centric 3DMark Extreme tests, the two devices perform similarly. This means that you can expect proper flagship performance out of Samsung's new foldable phone.
The Galaxy Z Fold 6 comes with 12GB of RAM and 256GB, 512GB, or 1TB of on-board storage. The same setup applies to the Galaxy S24 Ultra.
What's especially intriguing about the Galaxy Z Fold 6, however, is the prospect of a long, seven-year software support that will match the existing Galaxy S24 Ultra policy. This means the upcoming foldable will receive major Android updates and security patches until the end of the decade, and slightly beyond.
Camera
Quad vs triple
One less camera on the Galaxy Z Fold 6, but does that matter? (Image by PhoneArena)
The Galaxy Z Fold 6 comes along with the same camera setup employed since the Galaxy Z Fold 4. It uses the same 50MP main camera, a 10MP telephoto with 3X optical zoom, and finally, a 12MP ultra-wide camera. The latter is reportedly new and improved, albeit it shares the same specs as the previous ultra-wide found on the Galaxy Z Fold 5.
Meanwhile, the Galaxy S24 Ultra has one of the best camera setups around. It comes along with a 200MP main camera, a 50MP telephoto with 5X optical zoom, as well as a 10MP telephoto with 3X magnification, and a 12MP ultra-wide. Notable here is the omission of a true 10X periscope, but the 50MP 5X telephoto delivers optically superior results.
With that said, Samsung's foldables have never put too much focus on the camera experience, so it's probably wise NOT to expect the Galaxy Z Fold 6 to be a dramatically better cameraphone than the Galaxy S24 Ultra.
Main camera
The main cameras of the Galaxy Z Fold 6 and the Galaxy S24 Ultra deliver similar performance during the day. Great colors, excellent dynamics, and lots of detail are common on both phones. The Galaxy S24 Ultra takes the cake as it would take a slightly sharper image without oversharpening, which is always a plus. The Z Fold 6 still performs admirably, though.
At night, the two phones perform extremely similarly, with pictures boasting great dynamics in details on both accounts. No clear victor here, except for us, the users!
Zoom quality
At 3X zoom, which is native for both devices, the Galaxy Z Fold 6 and Galaxy S24 Ultra perform similarly and deliver great pictures. Tons of detail and no sign of oversharpening are good news for Galaxy fans.
At 5X, however, the Galaxy S24 Ultra starts to establish a lead: as the Galaxy Z Fold 6 is already out of its comfort zone and relies on digital zoom, the dedicated 5X camera of the Galaxy S 24 Ultra makes the difference. Although the Galaxy Z Fold 6 delivers usable results, the regular flagship beats it in sharpness and optical quality.
At 10X, it's the Galaxy S24 Ultra that takes the cake. The Galaxy Z Fold 6 still succeeds in capturing a photo that doesn't strike as oh-too-bad, but it's a bit hazy and lacks the finer details delivered by the Galaxy S24 Ultra.
Ultra-wide Camera
The ultra-wide camera of the Galaxy Z Fold 6 is apparently improved in comparison with the Galaxy Z Fold 5, and it really does deliver more than decent results, but it can't really match the Galaxy S24 Ultra. The new foldable fails to resolve as much detail as the Galaxy S24 Ultra; it also lacks a dedicated macro mode, which the S24 supports.
The same is true in low-light conditions as well. In this scene, the Galaxy S24 Ultra delivers richer colors and better dynamics in comparison with the foldable phone.
Selfie camera
Samsung phones usually take great selfies, and these two champs here are no different. You get all the detail you need, alongside a mostly unaltered and realistic capture of your facial features. Definitely Instagram material.
Audio Quality and Haptics
The Galaxy Z Fold 6 is up there with the Galaxy S24 Ultra when it comes to audio quality. Both phones deliver rich and deep sound from their loudspeakers, making media consumption a lovely experience. Still, we'd recommend using a pair of earbuds for the ultimate enjoyment without disturbing the folks around you.
The same applies to haptic feedback on the Galaxy Z Fold 6 and the Galaxy S24 Ultra, which is strong and precise, just the way we like it.
Battery Life and Charging
Comfortable endurance
The larger phone comes with a smaller battery, so the outcome is quite logical... (Image by PhoneArena)
Samsung has once again put a 4,400mAh battery inside its latest foldable phone. That's just as much as the Galaxy Z Fold 5 and Galaxy Z Fold 4, so don't expect the battery life to be radically better than the one on those two models.
Meanwhile, you can find a 5,000mAh battery if you dig into your Galaxy S24 Ultra. The phone has more than a decent endurance, although it's not a "two-day" phone by no means. Still, you can expect it to last you a full day of even heavier combined usage, scoring above 20 hours in our custom web browsing test, more than 8 hours in our video streaming test, and finally, some six hours and a half in our dedicated 3D gaming test. All in all, superb battery life.
As per our custom battery benchmark tests, which are all conducted with the displays set at 200 nits, the Galaxy Z Fold 6 loses to the Galaxy S24 Ultra in our web browsing and video streaming tests. That's to be expected given the difference in battery size and the same chipset on deck.
Charging-wise, the Galaxy Z Fold 6 supports up to 25W wired, while the Galaxy S24 Ultra has faster 45W wired charging. Wireless and reverse wireless charging are similarly fast on both devices.
Specs Comparison
Check our Galaxy Z Fold 6 vs Galaxy S24 Ultra specs comparison table right below.
| Specs | Galaxy Z Fold 6 | Galaxy S24 Ultra |
|---|---|---|
| Size and Weight | Unfolded: 153.5 x 132.6 x 5.6mm Folded: 153.5 x 68.1 x 12.1mm Weight: 239gr | 162.3 x 79 x 8.6mm, 233gr |
| Display | Main screen: 7.6" AMOLED, HDR, 1-120Hz, 20.9:18 aspect ratio Cover screen: 6.3" AMOLED, HDR, 1-120Hz, 22.1:9 aspect ratio | 6.8" OLED LTPO 1-120Hz 2,500-nit brightness |
| Processor | Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, 4nm | Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, 4nm |
| RAM, Storage and Price | 12GB RAM 256GB/512GB/1TB | 12GB LPDDR5X RAM 256/512GB/1TB |
| Software | One UI 6.1.1, Android 14 | One UI 6.1, Android 14 |
| Cameras | Main: 50MP primary sensor with f/1.8 aperture and OIS; Telephoto: 10MP secondary telephoto lens with f/2.4 aperture, OIS, and 3x optical zoom; Ultra-wide: 12MP, f/2.2 aperture Internal selfie camera: 4MP under-display camera, F1.8 External selfie camera: 10MP, F2.2 | Wide: 200MP ISOCELL HP2SX 1/1.3", 0.6µm pixels Ultra-wide: 12MP Telephoto: 3X Periscope: 5X 50MP Sony IMX854 5X 1/2.52" telephoto, 0.7µm pixels Front-facing: 12MP |
| Battery Size | 4,400mAh | 5,000mAh |
| Charging Speeds | USB-C 25W wired 15W wireless | USB-C 45W wired 15W wireless |
- You can also use PhoneArena's tool to compare Samsung phones.
Summary
Z Fold 6 - left, S24 Ultra - right
The Galaxy Z Fold 6 and the Galaxy S24 Ultra are both top Samsung flagship phones, yet they couldn't be any more different despite sharing a ton of components.
Which one should you get? Hard to come up with a one-fits-all answer: the Galaxy Z Fold 6 is clearly a futuristic phone that hints at what the inevitable future of smartphones looks like. The other one is tradition perfected, a no-nonsense device that's adept at everything.
While both will suit power users quite well, one is aimed at adventurous individuals who get excited by foldable tech, while smartphone traditionalists will undoubtedly go for the tried-and-tested Galaxy S24 Ultra.
And the price factor should be considered as well: the Galaxy Z Fold 6 is much pricier than the Galaxy S24 Ultra. It's actually $100 more than last year's Fold, so a $1,900 starting price. The Galaxy S24 Ultra, on the other hand, can be yours starting at $1,300, which is a significantly lower bar for entry.
With that in mind, the Galaxy S24 Ultra surely feels like the better bang for your buck.
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