Samsung Galaxy Z Fold6 hands-on and first impressions

When you think of foldable phones, Samsung will invariably be among the first to pop into your head. And for good reason too. It was the first to make foldable phones mainstream, and has since continued to improve its products with iterative upgrades.

Now into its sixth generation, Samsung took the wraps off its Galaxy Z Flip6 and the Galaxy Z Fold6. We spent some time with both devices at the launch event, and there’s quite a bit to write about them. Having already shared our initial thoughts on the Galaxy Z Flip6, here are our Galaxy Z Fold6 first impressions.

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold6 design

There isn’t a lot to write in this department, and you won’t immediately notice major changes when you first lay your eyes on the new Fold6. But once you start using it, you’ll notice a few differences.

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For one, the new foldable phone is thinner and lighter than its predecessor. You almost immediately notice the difference in the weight – 253g to 239g – when you pick up the device for the first time.

As with every new iteration, Samsung claims that the hinge has been improved and is now more durable. The crease on the display – still unavoidable – is thankfully not as prominent as the previous generations.

Another fact worth mentioning is that Samsung’s foldable phone now boasts of an IP48 certification. This means it will be resistant to water and dust to a certain level. While that’s nothing new in the smartphone world, an IP48 rating for a foldable is a first, and certainly worth pointing out.

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold6 AI prowess

While it may not look a very different, it’s clear where Samsung spent all its time and resources – to make the phone smart-er. There’s a bunch of Artificial Intelligence features baked into the device that aims to change the way you use a foldable phone – or for that matter any phone.

We got a glimpse at some of these AI features on Samsung’s Galaxy S24 series earlier this year. And they have now arrived on the Fold6 as well. From Circle to Search to features like Interpreter mode, Composer, Live Translate, Sketch to Image, and much more. The latter is quite a lot of fun to use, and really makes the most of the S-Pen.

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We can’t wait to put these AI features to test and share our thoughts in our in-depth review.

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold6 other key features

There’s not a lot of changes on the spec sheet, with the phone now sporting a 7.6-inch AMOLED display on the inside, and a 6.3-inch panel on the outside. Under the hood is a Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset, which not only powers the phone, but also enables all the on-device AI magic on the Fold6.

For photography, there’s a 50MP wide angle camera with OIS, a 12MP ultrawide, and a 10MP 3x telephoto camera. Up front on the cover is a 10MP snapper for quick selfies or video calls.

On the software front, the foldable phone runs Android 14-based One UI 6.1.1. It is the same as the Galaxy S24 series, and Samsung’s UI remains among the best in the market. Of equal importance is the brand’s software support for up to seven years.

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold6 first impressions

As you would have surmised by now, the Galaxy Z Fold6 isn’t a revolutionary device, but feels like a polished version of the previous generations. There’s a lot on board that needs to be tinkered around with before we can share our final judgement on the latest Samsung foldable phone.

In case you missed it, the Fold6 has been launched in India with prices starting from Rs 1,64,999, and will be available later this month. Stay tuned to Unboxed by Croma for a detailed review.