Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 vs Galaxy S24 Ultra: Key differences to expect

This summer, the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 will be released, succeeding the Galaxy Z Fold 5 and further propagating Samsung's strong position on 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. 

Will the Galaxy Z Fold 6 end up as the better device? 

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? Rumors have it Samsung might use a redesigned hinge, which could essentially deliver a display with no crease, similarly to OnePlus and Oppo's foldable devices. We've also heard that Samsung might use titanium for the Galaxy Z Fold 6, likely to achieve a lighter and more premium build. 

Not only that, but rumors point out Samsung might come up with a slightly wider device in the folded state, which would alter the aspect ratio of the external screen and make it that much more useful. Previous Galaxy Z Fold devices have all used relatively tall but narrow external screens, which has mostly hindered their usefulness. 

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; thus, we expect that the Galaxy Z Fold 6 will be an IPX8-rated device, which means you'd be able to dunk it up to 1.5m of water for up to 30 minutes without a hint of worry.  

Rumors have it that the Galaxy Z Fold 6 might come with a slightly larger set of displays, both on the exterior and in the interior. As we mentioned, the Galaxy Z Fold 6 might feature a slightly different aspect ratio, with a wider external screen that could boost its usability. 

Due to the use of thicker Ultra Thin Glass above the display, the Galaxy Z Fold 6 is also expected to feature no visible crease. Hallelujah! Of course, the rest of the display specs and properties will include OLED, super-smooth 120Hz dynamic refresh rate, HDR support, and possibly super-high brightness. 

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. 

The Galaxy S24 Ultra comes with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset globally––and we expect the Galaxy Z Fold 6 to follow suit. Presently, we don't really expect Samsung to use an Exynos chip in any Galaxy Z Fold 6 variant. As a matter of fact, Samsung has never used an Exynos chip in a foldable phone thus far, so here's to hoping the Galaxy Z Fold 6 won't set a precedent.  

The Galaxy S24 Ultra is equipped with the same Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chip, which means that the upcoming foldable should boast a pretty similar performance. 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. Graphics processing on the latest Snapdragon is especially spectacular, even surpassing Apple's latest A-series chips. 

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. 

The Galaxy Z Fold 6 will likely come along with the same camera setup employed since the Galaxy Z Fold 4 and utilizing a 50MP main camera, a 10MP telephoto with 3X optical zoom, and finally, a 12MP ultra-wide camera. So far, no changes are expected on the hardware front, but as usual, we anticipate numerous changes on the software front, including image-processing optimizations and other enhancements. 

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 camera excellence, so it's probably wise NOT to expect the Galaxy Z Fold 6 to be a dramatically better cameraphone than the Galaxy S24 Ultra. Still, we'd expect that it would take superb photos and videos. 

Samsung's flagship phones always deliver great audio quality, so no reason to expect anything less of the Galaxy Z Fold 6. 

That said, the Galaxy S24 Ultra has one of the finest audio-reproducing setups around, giving us excellent audio. 

The same applies to haptic feedback, which is strong and precise, just the way we like it. 

As per the rumors, Samsung might put a battery in the ballpark of ~4,600mAh inside the Galaxy Z Fold 6. That would be a small upgrade over the 4,400mAh battery of the Galaxy Z Fold 5, but an upgrade nevertheless. Paired with the faster and therefore more efficient Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, the Galaxy Z Fold 6 will likely outlast its predecessor as far as endurance goes.

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. 

Charging-wise, we expect that both the Galaxy Z Fold 6 will share the Galaxy S24 Ultra's 45W wired charging. Wireless and reverse wireless charging are surely part of both phones' specs sheets, too. 

Check out our Galaxy Z Fold 6 vs Galaxy S24 Ultra specs comparison table right below. Beware that it's still based on preliminary Galaxy Z Fold 6 specs:

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.

One is foldable, symbolizing the eccentric present and exciting future, while the other is arguably the finest example of the conservative old era of smartphone design. 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.

Which one is better? Hard to say considering the Galaxy Z Fold 6 is not official just yet, but we doubt that it will be able to match the Galaxy S24 Ultra in most areas in which the latter excels, like battery life, camera quality, and overall versatility. 

And the price factor should be considered as well: the Galaxy Z Fold 6 will be much pricier than the Galaxy S24 Ultra, with some rumors claiming a $100 increase over last year's $1,799 official price of the Galaxy Z Fold 5. Put that way, the Galaxy S24 Ultra has the logical upper hand.