SAMSUNG isn’t giving up on the flip phone anytime soon.
The South Korean tech giant has launched its sixth version of the Galaxy Z Flip – though most folk will struggle to tell the difference between previous models on the surface.
But there have been some upgrades on the inside – and a few minor design tweaks – not to mention some extra features.
The camera has also received a big boost, both technically and on the software side.
However, at over £1,000 / $1,000, is it the premium experience we’ve come to expect?
Read on for The Sun’s full review.
You’ll be forgiven for having deja-vu when you first look at the Galaxy Z Flip 6.
Samsung has stuck with the existing design – though this isn’t a bad thing, the handset is pleasing on the eye both open and closed.
One tiny change is the arrival of coloured rings around the rims of the cameras to match the main body of the smartphone.
There’s a choice of seven colours – see the full list further down.
Samsung has also kept the matte finish, which is always my preferred material as it feels nicer to hold and avoids pesky hand smears – of which I sadly produce many.
The company’s so-called “Armor Aluminium” is used on the hinge and frame and it does give off a solid, premium touch.
However, I still struggle to comfortably flick the device open with one hand, there’s just no gap to pull it off and the Flip 6 stays shut pretty tight.
Of course, no gap is also a good thing too, there’s way in for dreaded dust and dirt to get in. Samsung has also upgraded to IP48 water and dust resistant so it’s much harder for bits to get under the surface and damage anything too.
There are seven colours to choose from:
Samsung has done some work to boost performance so the smartphone is super zippy, even when playing games.
This includes a newer chip – the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 – 12GB of RAM instead of 8GB as found in previous versions, and the first-ever vapour chamber cooling system used on a Samsung flip foldable to prevent overheating.
The Flip 6 runs on Samsung’s own version of Android 14, One UI 6.1.1 which is a pretty clean version of the operating system.
Samsung is still annoyingly insistent on having its own apps alongside the Google ones – the latter of which I’m pretty content with – but you can uninstall most of pre-installed apps you don’t want.
It packs some genuinely useful new AI features – and others less so, but they’re still fun
The tech firm is still going big on AI – or as Samsung calls it, Galaxy AI – and there are some additions, including some that are genuinely useful.
It’s best addition by far is the auto zoom feature – which we go into more detail about below in the camera section.
The handy translation features introduced in January are also there, so you can translate a real-time phone call (and it translates your voice back to the other person too regardless of what phone they have).
Text messaging translation has also been rolled out to third party apps, such as popular platforms like WhatsApp – meaning you can translate messages directly within the app.
And if you’re struggling with language barriers on holiday you can translate conversations here too, the translation will not only read out verbally but appear on the back screen for the other person to read.
Samsung has continued its pledge to offer seven years of free software upgrades and security updates on the Flip 6.
The longer you receive updates, the longer you can safely continue using your smartphone - with the latest features thrown in too for free.
Samsung
Since the Galaxy S24 series, Samsung said it would provide at least seven generations of OS updates and seven years of security updates.
OnePlus
At the launch of the OnePlus 12, OnePlus committed to at least four years of Android updates and five years of security updates.
Xiaomi
Xiaomi offers four years off Android updates and five years security updates.
Google
For the Pixel 8, Google said that devices would receive at least seven years of support.
The battery has been upped to a 4,000mAh.
Samsung says this will get you a good day’s battery life – and in our tests we found that to be true after a fair bit of browsing, playing videos and some games.
Charging speeds wired are stuck at 25W, which is slower compared to some rivals.
One of the parts that has been significantly upgraded on the Flip 6 is the camera.
There’s now a massive 50-megapixel snapper, the same tech found on the Galaxy S24 Ultra.
This is paired up with a 12-megapixel ultrawide, which can take some decent group shots.
There is a 10-megapixel selfie camera too but it’s much better to fold the device and let the main camera do the job.
A new auto-focus feature uses AI to cleverly frame up the image, zooming in on subjects appropriately. You can hold up your palm and it’ll then take the photo.
Less useful but still fun, you can also draw rough objects on photos with your finger and the AI will magically figure out what you want there – for example, I took a photo of my friend’s cute dog Zena and drew a ball in front of her, which transformed turned into a very real looking ball.
I even tried drawing a cat (full bodied) and it did deliver, albeit rather creepily with just a head, as you’ll see below.
The Flip 6 has some minor upgrades on the surface but it's still a glorious smartphone.
It packs some genuinely useful new AI features – and others less so, but they’re still fun.
And it’s a delight to take photos on.
The commitment to seven years of software upgrades is also welcome.
But at £1,049 / $1,099 it’s a big ask for so few major changes, especially when there are considerably cheaper phones with a folding screen like this, such as the Motorola Razr 40 Ultra.
