Samsung just unveiled the Galaxy Z Flip 6 at the Galaxy Unpacked 2024 event on Wednesday, and with that big reveal comes the question on everyone's mind:
What are the biggest differences between the Galaxy Z Flip 6 vs. the Galaxy Z Flip 5?
While the Galaxy Z Flip 5 didn't boast many improvements over its predecessor, that's not the case for the Z Flip 6. Samsung's latest flagship Z Flip 6 promises better battery life, stronger performance, an improved camera setup, and more — but at a higher price.
With the price difference between Samsung's Galaxy Z Flip 6 and Z Flip 5, is one phone more worth it than the other? We'll answer that question and more in this face-off between Samsung's last-gen and current-gen Z Flip phones.
Galaxy Z Flip 6 vs. Galaxy Z Flip 5: Price
Samsung's Galaxy Z Flip 5 starts at $999 with 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage. And with this foldable now gaining a "last-gen" title, we're likely going to see it start going on sale for much less than that $999 starting price.
The new Z Flip 6 will start at $1,099 — that's $100 more than the Z Flip 5. It'll start with the same 256GB of storage as the Z Flip 5, but offer more total RAM at 12GB.
The $100 price difference between these two foldables does feel worth it for an extra 4GB of RAM, but there's likely going to be a larger price difference between these two phones.
Yes, the Z Flip 5 retails for $999, but it'll likely be discounted to much less with the debut of Samsung's Z Flip 6. Right now, there's about a $300-$400 price difference between the Z Flip 5 and Z Flip 4 on sale. If it's expected for the Z Flip 5 to dip that low after the Z Flip 6 launch, that's a much better deal.
Winner: Galaxy Z Flip 5
Galaxy Z Flip 6 vs. Galaxy Z Flip 5: Specs
Galaxy Z Flip 6 vs. Galaxy Z Flip 5: Design
There aren't many changes to the Z Flip 6's overall build quality and design. It features the same clamshell, compact design designed to fit snugly inside your pocket as the Z Flip 5. In terms of dimensions and weight, these two phones are exactly the same.
Regarding colorways, Samsung is shaking it up with some new options.
Most retailers currently use the Galaxy Z Flip 5 in Graphite, Mint, Lavender, and Cream. You can also buy it directly from Samsung in Yellow.
On the other hand, Samsung's Galaxy Z Flip 6 will be available at most retailers in Yellow, Blue, Mint, and a new Silver Shadow colorway. You can also grab the Z Flip 6 in Crafted Black, White, or Peach, which are exclusive colors through Samsung's website.
The biggest design change separating the Z Flip 5 from the Z Flip 6 is its updated water resistance rating. Whereas the Z Flip 5 features an IPX8 water resistance rating, the Z Flip 6 will offer an IP48 rating.
This slight number change will make a world of difference in the long-term durability of Samsung's Z Flip foldable. An IP48 rating adds some much-needed dust resistance to the Z Flip 6, which will hopefully help with hinge issues and cracked or scratched screens.
The Z Flip 6 also features a vapor chamber for cooling — a first for the Z Flip line.
Winner: Z Flip 6
Galaxy Z Flip 6 vs. Galaxy Z Flip 5: Display
Spec-wise, not much is different between the two displays offered on the Galaxy Z Flip 5 and Z Flip 6.
Both foldables offer a 3.4-inch Super AMOLED cover display with a 60Hz refresh rate and a resolution of 720 x 748 pixels, along with a main 6.7-inch FHD+ (2640 x 1080) Dynamic AMOLED 2X display with a 120Hz adaptive refresh rate.
Functionally, however, the Galaxy Z Flip 6 gains a few improvements. With its upgraded cover display, you'll be able to carry out AI-assisted functions without needing to unfold it, like replying to texts with 'Suggested replies' from AI. There are also more Widgets available, and you can simultaneously check info from multiple Widgets.
Winner: Galaxy Z Flip 6
Galaxy Z Flip 6 vs. Galaxy Z Flip 5: Performance
The Galaxy Z Flip 6 is equipped with Qualcomm's latest Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 CPU, which is also featured inside the OnePlus 12 and Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra.
In our Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra review, the phone scored an impressive multi-core score of 7,249 — the highest score we've seen from a phone so far. While we haven't performed a Geekbench performance test on Samsung's Galaxy Z Flip 6 yet, it's safe to say results would be similar to those of the Galaxy S24 Ultra.
We never got a Geekbench score for the Galaxy Z Flip 5 in our hands-on, but we did test two phones that share the same Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 processor — the OnePlus 11 and Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra.
The OnePlus 11 and Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra earned multi-core scores of 4,962 and 5,081, respectively. If we average that out to about 5,000, the Z Flip 6 should offer roughly a 40 - 45% performance boost compared to the Z Flip 5.
Winner: Galaxy Z Flip 6
Galaxy Z Flip 6 vs. Galaxy Z Flip 5: Battery life
The Galaxy Z Flip 5 shares the same 3,700 mAh battery with the Galaxy Z Flip 4, which lasted 8 hours and 33 minutes on the Laptop Mag battery test (continuous web surfing at 150 nits over network).
We don't have the Galaxy Z Flip 6 yet to test its battery life, but it does boast a larger 4,000 mAh battery and software optimizations that'll likely extend its life further than 8.5 hours. If we could get a 10-hour battery life out of the Z Flip 6, I'd be ecstatic.
Winner: Galaxy Z Flip 6
Galaxy Z Flip 6 vs. Galaxy Z Flip 5: Cameras
There weren't many camera upgrades between the Z Flip 4 and Z Flip 5, but that's not the case for this face-off.
The Z Flip 6 is equipped with a 50-megapixel rear wide camera, a major upgrade from the Z Flip 5's 12-megapixel wide camera. The Z Flip 6's new 50MP sensor will feature support for 2x optical zoom and AI zoom (up to 10x zoom).
With its 50MP main rear camera, you can expect more detailed, crisp photos taken with the Z Flip 6 compared to the Z Flip 5 and its 12MP camera.
Past differences between the main camera, the Z Flip 5 and Z Flip 6 share the same 12MP ultrawide lens and 10MP front-facing camera, with identical apertures.
Winner: Galaxy Z Flip 6
Overall winner: Galaxy Z Flip 6
In this battle between Samsung's last-gen and current-gen Z Flip foldables, one phone is clearly better: the Galaxy Z Flip 6.
For an extra $100, you'll get a foldable phone with more RAM, an upgraded main rear camera, dust-resistance to improve durability, a larger battery that'll last longer, and stronger performance with Qualcomm's latest Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 processor.
The only way the Galaxy Z Flip 5 comes out on top is if it's majorly on sale. At its full retail price, there's no way it's the better pick compared to the Galaxy Z Flip 6. But if it's slashed by $300 or $400, it becomes a more budget-friendly, high-end foldable that may be more worth buying than the Z Flip 6 for some people.
