Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 Review: Slim, Smart, and Still Learning

After three weeks with the Galaxy Z Fold 6, I’ve got plenty to say. Samsung has made some solid improvements, especially in making the device thinner and lighter. It is a way better foldable phone than what we first saw when they made their first Samsung Fold. However, that’s not to say we have a 100% perfect device. Let’s dive into what stood out—and where it falls short.

You can watch the full video review here:

Design: Slimmer and Lighter, but Still Fragile

The first thing you’ll notice when you pick up the Fold 6 is how slim and light it is – this has been the reaction from all my friends through my time with the device. Samsung’s done a great job with this. When unfolded, it’s just 5.6 mm thick, and even folded, it’s 12.1 mm – which is quite impressive for a foldable. At 239g, it’s not going to weigh you down, and it fits comfortably in your pocket, which is a win for portability – remember this thing is almost 8-inches into the tablet territory when unfolded. To me, it’s wild how thin it feels, especially when it’s open, making me wonder how a thinner device would feel.

The hinge is solid too – it can hold the phone open at various angles, and it feels smooth when you open and close it. But while Samsung has reinforced the Fold 6 with Gorilla Glass Victus 2 and made it IP48 water-resistant, you still can’t help but feel cautious with it. It’s still a foldable, and foldables are inherently more fragile, especially when it comes to the main inner display. So when you’re using it there are many instances where you feel so cautious and reserved with what you want to do.

Display and Multitasking: A Big, Bright Winner

The 7.6-inch Foldable Dynamic AMOLED 2X display is really the star here. If you love multitasking, you’re going to enjoy this screen. It’s gets to 2600 nits peak brightness and the resolution is sharp at 1856 x 2160 pixels. Everything looks amazing – whether you’re working on documents, running multiple apps, or watching content. It’s also got a 120Hz refresh rate, making things look smooth and fluid, even when you’re multitasking. It just gets very smudgy and dirty quickly. Especially on the inner display.

In my time with it, I’ve found myself being way more productive on the Fold 6 compared to even larger devices like my iPad Pro 12.9-inch. It’s compact when you need it to be, but when you open it up, it’s like having a mini tablet. That flexibility is key, it makes you find very many scenarios to type out something, or checkout something online that better uses a bigger screen than on your phone. I really wish Samsung would give us a desktop-level browser like Safari on the iPad – that would take productivity up a notch.

The only real downside is the fragility of the foldable display, which makes me a little hesitant to use it in some scenarios. The aspect ratio of the cover display and the phone’s thickness when folded can make certain tasks – like taking photos or videos – feel awkward.

Samsung DeX: Impressive but Niche

Now, Samsung DeX is one of those features that sounds cool, and in practice, it really is amazing – but only if you find a use case for it. With DeX, you can wirelessly cast your phone to a monitor or TV without needing any HDMI cables or extra accessories. All you have to do is go to the settings, enable DeX, and cast to a display. The phone itself becomes a trackpad, which is neat, and if you’ve got a Bluetooth keyboard and mouse, you can connect them for a full desktop experience.

DeX is seamless, whether you opt for the HDMI connection or just go wireless. But here’s the catch – finding actual use cases for it is still an issue, at least that’s been my experience. I want to argue that it will be one of those features that you may not use on a daily, but when you do, it’ll blow you away, and everyone you’ll be presenting to if it’s say a boardroom scenario. If you want a full desktop experience from your phone, DeX delivers. You just need to figure out how often you’ll need that in your daily life.

Battery Life: Stellar, but Charging Can Be a Hassle

For all its power, the Fold 6 has great battery life. With the 4400mAh battery and the efficiency of the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chip, this phone can easily last through a day of heavy use. I’ve had a scenario where I got out of the house at 52% and I was hotspotting my 5G connection, using Google Maps to navigate, and running multiple apps, and it still didn’t die by the end of the day.

But while the battery life is strong, charging is where things get a bit annoying. It’s bad enough that the Fold 6 doesn’t come with a charger in the box, however, it gets annoying when it now becomes picky about which chargers it works with. For instance, I’ve had issues with it not charging in the car. I was using Android Auto, and the phone connected well, but it said the charger was too slow – which is weird because other phones don’t have this issue.

The Fold 6 supports 25W wired charging, 15W wireless, and 4.5W reverse wireless charging.

AI Features: Great in Theory, but Forgettable in Practice

Samsung has packed the Fold 6 with AI features. This has been the thing they push the most with their launches. But here’s the thing from my three weeks of use, I think they’re pretty forgettable. Hear me out, in theory, they sound great, but in practice, I haven’t found much use for them. For example, the photo cleanup tool? It’s okay, but in my tests, it doesn’t perform as well as similar tools from Apple or OPPO. I did a comparison between all three, and Apple’s and OPPO’s cleanup features are just better at removing objects from photos. You can check out the video for yourself.

Another frustrating issue is that Samsung makes you use their apps to access certain AI features. For example, you need to use the Samsung Keyboard for the AI Composer, you need the Samsung Browser for AI Summary features. This feels restrictive, especially compared to OPPO, which allows you to use these features across third-party apps. I’m not a fan of the Samsung Keyboard, so forcing me to use it for AI Composer isn’t ideal, especially when once you do use the keyboard, accessing the tools also feels like so many unnecessary steps.

The Interpreter feature sounds cool, but it doesn’t support African languages. So where do I get to use it even? Yep, a missed opportunity. The overall idea about AI is great, but in reality, these AI features feel more like things you show off once and forget about.

Cameras:

The Fold 6’s cameras are solid. You’ve got a 50 MP main camera, a 10 MP telephoto lens with 3x optical zoom, and a 12 MP ultrawide lens. For everyday photos and videos, it’s more than capable, and the quality is good. It even shoots 8K video, which is impressive. If you’re big on shooting photos and videos, the quality to expect is at par with what Samsung flagships offer.

But there’re some underlining issues I must talk about. As a creator, I feel like the form factor makes it hard to use the Fold 6 for serious content creation – in video creation (For other content creation, it’s a very productivity-first gadget). The phone’s thickness when closed and the awkward aspect ratio of the cover display make it difficult to hold, or use the view finder for extended shoots. Plus, when open, the size of the device, the thinness of the bezels and the fragility of the foldable screen makes you think twice before using it as you normally would in different environments. You can’t mount it open for shooting say on a tripod. You cannot hold it for extended periods of shooting.

I think to get comfortable with the Fold 6 as your shooting companion, we need to get more assurance around the display, and have access to more accessories.

Other stuff on the Fold 6:

Performance: Fast and Smooth, as Expected

When it comes to performance, there’s nothing to complain about. The Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chip is incredibly powerful, and the Fold 6 handles everything you throw at it with ease. Whether you’re multitasking, gaming, or running heavy apps, the phone is smooth and fast with no lag. Samsung has also promised four years of Android updates, which is great for future-proofing.

Pricing and Accessibility: Still Expensive, but Easier to Get

The Fold 6 is still on the expensive side, but trade-in programs and financing options are making it more accessible than ever. If you’re someone who’s been curious about foldables but worried about the high upfront cost, these options make it easier to get your hands on the device. That said, I’d still love to see Samsung partner with telcos for more market incentives – like unlimited internet bundles or other deals to make the Fold 6 more appealing to a broader audience.

Conclusion:

The Galaxy Z Fold 6 is without a doubt one of the best foldable phones out there right now – actually to put it correctly for the Kenyan market, it is the best foldable phone you can get. It’s thinner, lighter, and more refined than previous generations, and it’s a fantastic device for productivity and multitasking. But it’s not perfect. The AI features are largely forgettable, the charging experience can be frustrating, and while the cameras are good, the form factor makes it awkward for video content creators like myself.