One Month With The Galaxy Z Fold6: Is It Worth It?

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78%

78%

• Camera

  7
• Display

  9
• Design

  8.5
• Performance

  8
• Battery

  7
• Value for money

  7
• User Ratings (1 Votes)
  9.6

I genuinely never thought I’d switch to a foldable phone. I’ve always found them fascinating and can see why they have established a rather loyal fan base, but the idea of rocking one every day has always felt a bit… elaborate.

Well, 2024 has been the year of “let’s just give this a go” for me, and that’s why I’ve been using the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold6 full-time since it arrived last month.

For context, I used to be an iPhone user.

As you might expect, there are some things I like about it – and some things that I’m not very keen on at all. I also need to answer the big question: will I make this switch permanent?

What I like about the Z Fold6

Here’s something else I never thought I’d say: I like the cover display on the Z Fold6. There you go – bosh. There’s no going back. It is what it is. I’ve made a serious statement which goes against everything I’ve said previously.

My previous grumblings about the Z Fold series front displays were that they were just too narrow to be useful for anything beyond doom-scrolling your social feeds. The new version is only a tiny bit bigger, but it has made a difference. More importantly, I’ve realised that the trade-off for it being narrow is the fact that it’s a brilliant one-handed device (something I’ve not experienced since the death of the iPhone 13 mini). It’s also immeasurably satisfying to carry around, and, for some reason, to put to your ear when taking phone calls. Just make sure you replace the Samsung keyboard with Google’s Gboard.

The great thing about the Z Fold6 – and the phones that came before it – is the fact that you can switch at any time to the big internal display. I’m currently in China on a press trip and that great big canvas has been brilliantly useful for getting stuff done on the road (in the literal sense, when travelling in multiple coaches) and while sat in press conferences with little room to manoeuvre.

This brings me to a conclusion about why I’m enjoying the Z Fold6 so much: it just feels so different. We reached peak smartphone a couple of years ago, which is why brands are on a never-ending quest to find something interesting (beyond the relentless feed of AI features) to shout about. Foldables do this simply because of their form factor, and the more time you spend with one, the more time you grow to love it.

It hasn’t been all roses with the Z Fold6 though, I’m afraid.

What I don’t like about the Z Fold6

There’s a downside to having that big internal display and a cover display which is more useful than I previously thought: I find myself having to regularly force my way into that internal display, and the use case isn’t always there.

There are also still several apps that don’t make good use of that larger display; it’s always disappointing when you crack open the Z Fold6 and the BBC News app simply stretches itself to occupy the additional screen estate.

The two biggest issues for me, however, are the battery life and the camera system. The former is nowhere near flagship levels (granted, it has two displays to power, but it’s still frustrating not to have a two-day phone), and the camera system doesn’t have the optical focal length and quality of the S24 Ultra. Combined, they make the Z Fold6 an occasionally frustrating device to use as a content creator.

There’s smaller stuff that grates, too. The Z Fold6 is astronomically expensive, still, and when you combine the price with how many things can potentially be damaged (I’m referring principally to the dual displays and hinge) you find yourself treating it with kid gloves for far longer than any other phone. And on that note, this is not a kid-friendly device; handing the Z Fold6 to my two-year-old son for some YT Kids-fuelled respite is a decision full of potentially expensive outcomes.

The Z Fold6 is also looking rather dated against the increasingly thin, light, and crease-defying competition. Samsung does need to make some significant design changes with the seventh generation.

Wrapping up: will I stick with it?

Now for the big question: will I stick with the Z Fold6?

The challenge I have is the upcoming iPhone 16 launch event on the 9th of September. If you weren’t aware, I used to be an iPhone guy (for about ten years), and as much as I’m not missing Apple’s smartphone every single day, I’m conscious that I do need to get back into it when the new one arrives.

As for which device wins my heart going forward, well, you’ll have to stay tuned!

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