Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 6 review: Hitting the sweet spot before AI overload

Samsung's new foldable made the headlines recently and the Galaxy Z Flip 6 continues to build on the success of its predecessor with a blend of familiar design and notable improvements. Keeping that compact form factor and pocket-friendly dimensions that users have come to appreciate, there's some AI magic and more to look for in this phone.

The Galaxy Z Flip 6 is available in various shades, including Silver Shadow, Blue, and Mint, alongside special edition models in Crafted Black, White, and Peach. While the exterior design largely mirrors the Flip 5, Samsung focused on the core. There's a dual rail hinge and a more robust exterior. The matte finish on the back helps prevent scratches and has an IP48 rating this time.

So what's behind that familiar design is what we set out to explore and here are our findings.

Design and build

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 6 retains the familiar look and feel of its predecessor, even the dimensions and weight remain largely unchanged. When folded, the phone measures 85.1x71.9x14.9mm, and in unfolded state, it extends to a comfortably tall 165.1x71.9x6.9mm. The Galaxy Z Flip 6 tips the scales at 187 grams.

The Flip 6 shines in shades of Silver Shadow, Blue and Mint. All the shades look fresh, but the special edition models in Crafted Black, White and Peach make heads turn. The unit tested by us is the Blue one, which has an elegant look.

Coming to the design, the standout feature of the Galaxy Z Flip 6 remains its compact, pocket-friendly design. In the folded state, the size advantage is unmatched, making it incredibly portable, letting you carry earbuds and a bundle of cash in the same pocket, which is a rarity these days. Due to the exterior design being largely the same as the Flip 5, with only subtle improvements, one may be easily put off. But there's improvement where it matters the most, especially the enhanced dual rail hinge and the stronger exterior, made from an armor Aluminum frame and Corning Gorilla Glass Victus 2. Even the phone feels sturdier now.

The matte finish on the back of the Flip 6 is a welcome change, keeping scratches and finger smudges at bay. Having been using it for two weeks, that fresh look is still intact. The flat edges add to the premium feel and look aesthetically pleasing. The tactile buttons and reliable side-mounted fingerprint sensor remains unchanged from last year's model.

The biggest design update Samsung brings to this year's flagship is the improved the IP rating. The Flip 6 the first in its series to achieve IP48 certification, offering both dust and water resistance. This should be seen as quite a relief to users.

Display

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 6 features a 6.7-inch Full-HD+ Dynamic AMOLED main screen with a 120Hz refresh rate and a resolution of 1080x2640 pixels. The peak brightness has been significantly increased to 2600 nits, a huge bump from 1750 nits on the Flip 5. The cover display remains unchanged, with a 3.4-inch Super AMOLED bearing a 60Hz refresh rate and a resolution of 720x748 pixels.

The primary display is outstanding, with vibrant colours and sharp text. It is the ideal choice for multimedia consumption in any lighting condition. The increased brightness makes all the difference outdoors, offering an excellent viewing experience. That bright and vibrant display is a delight for those who indulge in gaming. The tall aspect ratio is surprisingly comfortable for most games, including COD: Mobile and Asphalt.

The cover display remains limited in functionality, which is more evident when compared to Motorola Razr 50 Ultra, another flip-style phone. We could get a lot more done with Good Lock app nevertheless. But it would be nice if Samsung could integrate those features without having to install an app.

Performance

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 6 is powered by the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 SoC, the best chipset out there to offer unparalleled flagship-level performance. Having used the device as a primary one for two weeks, it becomes clear that it can handle any task with ease and run graphically intensive games without any issues. It's worth noting that there was no heating, which is in part due to its vapor chamber cooling system.

During gaming sessions, the Flip 6 maintained high performance throughout without noticeable lag or frame drops. The cooling system effectively managed the device's temperature. The icing on the cake is OneUI 6.1.1, which offers a clean, bloat-free user experience. But a big part of that UI is the inclusion of AI features, which is the biggest USP of the Flip 6.

AI Features

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 6 has a bunch of AI features, which aren't just there for the sake of it. They enhance device functionality in the most practical sense. Check out a few features we used quite often during the review period.

Note-taking took a whole new turn with Note Assist in the Samsung Notes app, which we could use for summarizing and transcribing voice recordings. It came in handy while conducting interviews over the phone or taking quotes for stories. The Composer feature on the Samsung Keyboard has some nifty use case, which suggests text for emails and social media apps. Another useful feature is the Suggested Replies, which generates AI-driven responses for messages by going through some of the previous messages in the chat. It works well and gives context to automated responses, which are otherwise dull.

The best feature is the Interpreter tool, which translates real-time conversations and even displays translations on both screens. This is a foldable feature done right.

On the fun side of things, there's more. The Sketch to Image tool in the Gallery app is a hit among kids; my daughter loves it. It transforms doodles into detailed images, and the way it tries to match the strokes while transforming the doodles is a nice personal touch.

I tested the Flex Cam with Auto Zoom, which adjusts framing based on subject detection, and it works great. If you're into aesthetics, you'll love the Photo Ambient feature, which is a must-try. It updates wallpaper in real time based on weather and time. Try it next time it snows or rains in your city and watch magic unfold.

The plethora of AI features included in the Galaxy Z Flip 6 are impressive. It must be nothing short of it, given how much is riding on its success.

Camera

A big part of the upgrades in the Galaxy Z Flip 6 is its primary camera. The phone features a 50-megapixel primary (wide-angle) ISOCELL GN3 sensor with an f/1.8 aperture, dual-pixel PDAF, and OIS. In simple words, it's a capable sensor to capture every moment with details. But Samsung didn't change the 12-megapixel ultra-wide camera, so the results are just the same as on the Flip 5. On the front, there's a 10-megapixel front-facing camera for selfies. The lack of telephoto camera is hard to ignore, but the primary sensor does offer some level of improved zoom quality.

Let's come to shooting. In daylight conditions, the Galaxy Z Flip 6 captures images with excellent detail, accurate colors, good exposure, and a wide dynamic range. With swift autofocus across various lighting situations, it's fun to shoot images. I'm not a fan of the lackluster macro sensor, so I didn't miss it much. But that doesn't mean the phone cannot capture decent close-up shots in well-lit scenes.

What I loved shooting with the Flip 6 were portraits. With great exposure and depth effects, you get really good portrait shots. Since AI is a huge part of the Flip 6 upgrades, there are fun AI features that let you play with photos. Yes, that feature where portraits can be transformed into cartoon styles works well. The generative feature keeps improving until we like what we see, but it gets it right in the first attempt. For now, it takes some time, so watching those images get processed can leave you impatient at times.

The ultra-wide camera maintains good detail and colour accuracy, producing high-quality images.

What's impressive is how well the Flip 6 performs in low-light conditions, handling dynamic range, details, and noise more effectively. The ultra-wide camera also performs surprisingly well in low light, maintaining colour accuracy and decent detail levels.

As for selfies, Samsung has come a long way in the last few years. The 10-megapixel selfie camera in the Flip 6 produces natural skin tones and details.

The Flip form factor is ideal for video recording. The quality is excellent and holding the phone like a camcorder makes shooting for long durations even while moving or still comfortable. All in all, the camera has witnessed a noticeable upgrade over the Flip 5 and if that's something you've been looking forward to, an upgrade is worth considering.

Take a look at some of the camera samples below:

Battery

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 6's battery size has also increased, from 3,700mAh in the Flip 5 to 4,000mAh battery. There's support for 25W wired charging and 15W wireless charging, which is still considered basic seeing how smartphones that are a lot cheaper are offering much faster charging speeds. With the increased size, the battery life hasn't seen any big upgrades.

The phone was used for various activities, including IMs, internet browsing, navigation, and moderate gaming. With such use, the Flip 6 managed to last the whole day, requiring it to be plugged in at the end of the day. The phone managed to deliver about 5.5 hours and 6 hours on the best days.

Once plugged in with a compatible 25W charger, the phone can charge to about 50% in about half an hour but it takes an hour and a half to fully charge.

For those who are comparing the Flip 6 against the Flip 5, yes, there's some improvement. Compared to previous models, the Flip 6's battery performance is a step up, which is good considering the Flip 5 was the best of the Flip series in terms of battery. The Flip 6 can easily last a day with heavy use.

Verdict

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 6 brings notable improvements over its predecessor, particularly in camera and AI. The enhanced 50-megapixel primary camera, combined with AI-driven features, gives a unique photography experience. The primary display is better and the crease is barely there. The overall performance of the Galaxy Z Flip 6 is on par with flagships, so there's no compromise there.

The Flip 6 maintains a sleek, compact design, sometimes making me wonder if the phone is even in the pocket. The IP48 rating is a welcome and much-needed addition. We wished the charging speeds were faster and Samsung made an effort with the design overhaul. It is the need of the hour now, seeing how well Motorola has put its best foot forward with its flip phone.

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 6 is available in two variants, both with 12GB RAM, but 256GB or 512GB storage options. The former costs Rs 1,09,999, while the latter costs Rs 1,21,999. Motorola's Razor 50 Ultra costs Rs 95,000 and poses a real threat to Samsung's flip phone.