We may earn a commission if you make a purchase from the links on this page.
Intro
The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 launched in the summer of 2024, featuring minor hardware updates and additional AI capabilities to enhance the Galaxy AI suite. It’s powered by the same impressive Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset as the Galaxy S24 Ultra, delivering top-notch performance. Notably, the Z Fold 6 tackles some shortcomings of its predecessor, the Z Fold 5, and introduces an IP48 rating — the first foldable to offer both water resistance and protection against dust particles.
However, the Z Fold 6 isn't a major leap forward. This raises the question: should you upgrade from the Z Fold 5 or opt for a discounted Z Fold 5 instead? If you’re unsure, here’s a detailed comparison of the Galaxy Z Fold 6 vs. Z Fold 5, covering performance, battery life, display quality, and build improvements.
Both devices are slated to receive the One UI 7 and Android 15 update, hopefully in early 2025. This update will bring advanced AI integration, enhanced privacy features, and improved multitasking, focusing on optimizing Android for foldable screens as Google continues to invest in the foldable future.
One UI 7 is expected to refine the interface with smoother performance and exclusive Samsung features. Since both the Z Fold 6 and Z Fold 5 are eligible for the update, comparing them as equals makes perfect sense!
Galaxy Z Fold 6, 512GB: Save up to $1,300 with trade-ins
$719
99
$2019
99
$1300 off (64%)
Get your Z Fold 6 with 512GB of storage from Samsung, and you can save up to $1,000. To take advantage of that huge price cut, you must provide an eligible trade-in in good condition. The promo only applies to online exclusive colors.
The foldable market has evolved quite a bit since the original Galaxy Fold hit. Samsung has insisted on keeping its cover screens "one-hand-friendly", with a very tall and narrow design. However, that doesn't lend itself well for dual-thumb typing and more "regular" smartphone use. Other foldables, like the Google Pixel Fold, the OnePlus Open, Honor Magic V2, Xiaomi Mix Fold 3, and others, have adopted a wide external display and a much thinner overall build.
Well, Samsung has cracked a bit. The Galaxy Z Fold 6 comes with a 22.1:9 external display — a bit wider than the 23:9 aspect ratio of the Galaxy Z Fold 5. It is no candybar phone, but does feel a little more lax.
Z Fold 6 - top, Z Fold 5 - bottom
The main display has also had upgrades. With extra protective layers and yet another hinge redesign, Samsung says the crease has disappeared. We'd say it's still visible, but much less prominent than on the Galaxy Z Fold 5. On the Fold 6, it's also less annoying or noticeable when you swipe through it.
Z Fold 6 - left, Z Fold 5 - right
You will also notice that the shape of the Z Fold 6 is starker — sharp corners on the body and on the screens. It kind of gives you the feel like you have some more real estate to work with, and it helps the Z Fold 6 look like a futuristic digital booklet. We do like that more than the rounded corners of the Galaxy Z Fold 5, though, something can be said about them feeling softer to the touch, without much jabbing action.
The colors of the Z Fold 6 are Silver Shadow, Pink, and Navy, and there are two colors exclusive to the Samsung.com store — Crafted Black and White. The Galaxy Z Fold 5 came in Cream, Phantom Black, and Light Blue, with two extra colors at the official store — now rare to get ahold of — Blue and Gray.
In the Galaxy Z Fold 6 box, we expect you'd only be able to find a USB C data cable and the phone itself, plus the general information leaflets. No charger, and very probably — no case to go with the premium phone, unless you order one yourself. The same can be said about the Galaxy Z Fold 5's box contents.
Z Fold 6 - top, Z Fold 5 - bottom
Both phones' hinges feel sturdy and reassuring to open and close. But the Galaxy Z Fold 6 scored an upgrade in the overall durability factor — it now has an IP48 rating, which means that it isn't only water-resistant, but also protected against particles. Keep in mind that an IP4 only protects against particles that are 1mm in diameter and up — so it's not exactly dust-tight. Still, a step up from the Galaxy Z Fold 5, which has an IPX8 rating — no dust protection at all.
The Galaxy Z Fold 6 is also a little bit thinner than its predecessor, when in folded form — we appreciate that in the case of foldable phones, as they can get quite chunky when closed.
The CIE 1931 xy color gamut chart represents the set(area)of colors that a display can reproduce,with the sRGB colorspace(the highlighted triangle)serving as reference.The chart also provides a visual representation of a display's color accuracy. The small squares across the boundaries of the triangle are the reference points for the various colors, while the small dots are the actual measurements. Ideally, each dot should be positioned on top of its respective square. The 'x:CIE31' and 'y:CIE31' values in the table below the chart indicate the position of each measurement on the chart. 'Y' shows the luminance (in nits) of each measured color, while 'Target Y' is the desired luminance level for that color. Finally, 'ΔE 2000' is the Delta E value of the measured color. Delta E values of below 2 are ideal.
The Color accuracy chart gives an idea of how close a display's measured colors are to their referential values. The first line holds the measured (actual) colors, while the second line holds the reference (target) colors. The closer the actual colors are to the target ones, the better.
The Grayscale accuracy chart shows whether a display has a correct white balance(balance between red,green and blue)across different levels of grey(from dark to bright).The closer the Actual colors are to the Target ones,the better.
The screens themselves are equally excellent here. Samsung calls it Dynamic AMOLED X2, we like to shorten it to "these look awesome". Bright, punchy colors, deep blacks, sharp resolutions. And they all run in dynamic 1-120 Hz refresh rates.
Performance and Software
Even more Snap, even hotter Dragon
Over the past few years, Samsung has deepened its collaboration with Qualcomm, resulting in flagship Snapdragon chipsets being offered in a "Made for Galaxy" version. Essentially, these are slightly overclocked variants of the standard Snapdragon chips used in other Android devices. This partnership also reportedly gives Samsung valuable insights to optimize thermal design for these powerful processors.
Recommended Stories
Back to the topic at hand — the Galaxy Z Fold 5 is powered by 2023's Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 Made for Galaxy, a chip that remains highly efficient, powerful, and reliable. The Galaxy Z Fold 6, on the other hand, upgrades to the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 Mobile Platform for Galaxy. It made its first appearance with the Galaxy S24 series, and impressed with some modest improvements, but overall reliable performance. But we are not badmouthing the Gen 2 — it may be from 2 years ago, but it's still a very good processor to have inside your smartphone. Here are some benchmarks:
As for software — the Z Fold 6 comes with the Galaxy AI tricks in the new One UI 6.1.1 — the full set of features we saw in the Galaxy S24, plus a new image generator, which can transform your S Pen sketches into pretty drawings. The Z Fold 6 also comes with a 7-year software update commitment — it will be getting Android builds and security patches up until 2031. The Z Fold 5 came out with a promise of 4 Android updates and 5 years of software support, so it will reach its end-of-service time about 3 years earlier than the Z Fold 6.
Both of these should be getting Android 15 with One UI 7 very soon. That'll bring a UI redesign with the new Now widgets, as well as some more AI features from Google's Gemini. We'll see if they will score things like Audio Eraser for video or the new adjustable filters for photos.
On specs, both of these camera modules are the same — 50 MP main camera, 12 MP ultra-wide, 10 MP telephoto 3x zoom camera. On the front flap, we have 10 MP selfie cameras on both. Inside — there's a 4 MP camera under the display, convenient for video calls, not really a photo maker.
If there are any differences in the camera quality here, it'd be software — Samsung markets the Galaxy Z Fold 6 to have the ProVisual Engine of the Galaxy S24. It's basically all the great features of the Galaxy Camera — from the excellent viewfinder, to generative editing, to portrait shot editing, to getting a video to go slow-mo by just holding it with a finger.
Main Camera
< Z Fold 6Z Fold 5 >
Very similar images from the get-go. But on deeper inspection, the Z Fold 6 is a bit less heavy-handed with post processing. Highlights are allowed to shine a bit more, before being flattened by HDR. And the sharpening is a bit less aggressive on the Z Fold 6.
< Z Fold 6Z Fold 5 >
In night shots, the two phones also take a slightly different processing route. The Z Fold 5 looks yellow-ish and soft, whereas the Z Fold 6 feels like it got an upgrade with sharper details and more natural colors — where possible.
Both phones have a 3x telephoto camera and use digital enhancement to go beyond that. Aside from the Z Fold 5 being more heavy-handed with its HDR and exposure boosting — the details seem pretty much the same from both zoom cameras.
Ultra-wide Camera
< Z Fold 6Z Fold 6 >
With the ultra-wide cameras, it's pretty hard to tell one from the other. Colors get a bit skewed, details get a bit jagged. We guess, the HDR on the Z Fold 6 photo is a bit less pronounced.
Selfies
< Z Fold 6Z Fold 6 >
The Z Fold 6 camera manages to squeeze some more sharpness and detail out of selfies, but is a pinch more saturated than the Z Fold 5, which gets us slightly more realistic skintones.
Battery Life and Charging
More of the same here
It seems nothing has changed in the battery department. The Galaxy Z Fold 6 comes with a 4,400 mAh cell — same as the Galaxy Z Fold 5. That said, the upgraded processor inside is more energy-efficient, so it's able to squeeze out more time out of that battery:
What's slightly disappointing is that we — again — didn't get any form of fast charging upgrade. We are still looking at 25 W wired charging. There's also Fast Wireless Charging 2.0 as before — no Qi2 and no magnetic ring. There's a good reason for that, though — the S Pen's digitizer does not play well with magnets close to the phone.
A more cynical opinion of the new Galaxy Z Fold 6 is that not much has changed. However, we do appreciate the slight design upgrades, and we definitely value that 7-year software update program. Since foldables are not cheap, not at all, having a promise of long support makes it easier to spend that cash. It definitely has enough going for it for us to recommend you spend the cash on a Galaxy Z Fold 6.
That said, let's say you happen to stumble upon an incredible Galaxy Z Fold 5 deal — if a retailer is clearing shelves, for example. Well, then... then — it'd be worth jumping on it. The Z Fold 5 is still very fast, powerful, useful. It doesn't have the new Snapdragon with its fancy NPU, so it may not get the full suite of cool new AI features. But we figure you can live with that, right?
Create a free account and join our vibrant community
Register to enjoy the full PhoneArena experience. Here’s what you get with your PhoneArena account:
Preslav, a member of the PhoneArena team since 2014, is a mobile technology enthusiast with a penchant for integrating tech into his hobbies and work. Whether it's writing articles on an iPad Pro, recording band rehearsals with multiple phones, or exploring the potential of mobile gaming through services like GeForce Now and Steam Link, Preslav's approach is hands-on and innovative. His balanced perspective allows him to appreciate both Android and iOS ecosystems, focusing on performance, camera quality, and user experience over brand loyalty.
Recommended Stories
Loading Comments...
COMMENT
All comments need to comply with our
Community Guidelines
Phonearena comments rules
A discussion is a place, where people can voice their opinion, no matter if it
is positive, neutral or negative. However, when posting, one must stay true to the topic, and not just share some
random thoughts, which are not directly related to the matter.
Things that are NOT allowed:
Off-topic talk - you must stick to the subject of discussion
Offensive, hate speech - if you want to say something, say it politely
Spam/Advertisements - these posts are deleted
Multiple accounts - one person can have only one account
Impersonations and offensive nicknames - these accounts get banned
Moderation is done by humans. We try to be as objective as possible and moderate with zero bias. If you think a
post should be moderated - please, report it.
Have a question about the rules or why you have been moderated/limited/banned? Please,
contact us.
![T-Mobile users can get iPhone 16 for the price of a budget phone (no new line) [UPDATED]](https://m-cdn.phonearena.com/images/article/167601-wide-two_350/T-Mobile-users-can-get-iPhone-16-for-the-price-of-a-budget-phone-no-new-line-UPDATED.jpg)
FCC OKs Cingular\'s purchase of AT&T Wireless
Things that are NOT allowed: