Fold6 and Flip6: Samsung gives the folding phones an upgrade

The Fold is already celebrating its fifth birthday, while the Flip is celebrating its fourth. Manufacturer Samsung is sticking to the basic concept for the latest generation and, like every year, is improving the processor and some details.

Step by step thinner, more compact and lighter

At first glance, the Fold6 has hardly changed compared to its predecessor. The design of the cameras is slightly different - but what else? As soon as I hold the foldable smartphone in my hands for the first time at the product launch in Paris, I realise that the Fold6 is thinner and lighter and looks much more compact overall.

And this despite the fact that the large foldable phone is more angular than its predecessor and has fewer rounded edges. The device not only looks good, but also fits better in the hand than before. A second design change is less convincing: the new camera housing looks rather careless, which is much better solved on the Flip6.

A look at the data sheet supports the impression of a thinner and lighter Fold6:

Year after year, the dimensions of the Fold shrink. The display sizes remain the same. This year, the external screen has even grown from 6.2 to 6.3 inches. So more screen despite a more compact design.

It is also impressive how thin the Fold6 is. When unfolded, it is just 5.6 millimetres and even when folded, the phone is only a little thicker than a normal mobile at 12.1 millimetres.

What Samsung has not changed is the form factor. When folded, the Fold is still taller and narrower than most other mobiles. The Koreans have taken small steps towards a conventional format. But these are only steps in the millimetre range. A little less height, but a little more width.

Updates over seven years, slightly higher price

Unfortunately, not everything has shrunk: the official price has risen slightly to 1829 francs or 1999 euros. Many other features are identical to its predecessor, such as the display quality or the entire camera setup with a total of five sensors. The only improvements you can expect here are in the software.

At least the processor is new: we already know the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 from many of this year's top phones. In the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra, for example, it provides plenty of power and long battery life.

The two screens of the Fold have also been improved in one respect. The predecessor had a brightness of 1400 nits, now it is a maximum of 2600 nits - just like the S24 Ultra.

Another standard feature of the folding phones is the long update guarantee: buyers can look forward to seven years of new Android versions and security updates. Of course, this applies to the Flip6 as well as the Fold6.

The two folding phones have another thing in common: both have the new ultra-wide-angle lens with 12 megapixels integrated, which achieves better results, especially in poor light. We already know the camera from the S24.

Flip6: Finally the same top camera as in the S24

Samsung has also primarily improved details on the new Flip6. Although the dimensions and weight have remained practically identical, you can still recognise the new devices at first glance. This is due to the bright colour and the striking ring in the housing colour around the camera lenses.

It's amazing that such a small change can have such a big effect. The Flip looks new and fresh in the hands-on, although not much has actually changed. I also notice this when I place the Flip and Fold next to each other. The small folding phone is quite thick in comparison.

Two other upgrades are likely to be much more important in everyday use. The battery has been increased from 3700 to 4000 mAh. And the main camera has the same 50-megapixel sensor as in the S24 or the Fold6. This should significantly improve the image quality. However, it is disappointing that Samsung has not updated the 10-megapixel selfie camera.

The Galaxy Z Flip6 has an official retail price of 1149 francs or 1199 euros. Fortunately, the prices here have remained the same.

You can find more information about pre-ordering and the associated promotions on the following pages:

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Here you can find the other news from the Samsung keynote: