If the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 has a nemesis, it's sand. The dual-purpose foldable phone that was introduced at Galaxy Unpacked in Paris a few weeks ago has a nice IP48 rating, which makes it well-equipped to handle fresh water but only somewhat protected against debris. Sand is the kind of debris it really doesn't like, which is why some might consider my bringing the Galaxy Z Fold 6 to the beach reckless, to say the least.
A risk-taker I am not, but sometimes safety considerations come up against desire, and the latter wins out.
With temperatures hovering in the 90s (Fahrenheit) and humidity almost equal I surmised there was no better place to ride it out than the shore, which promised cooler air and the semblance of a breeze. The only problem was I wanted to watch the 2024 Summer Olympics.
We're heading into Week 2 of the international sports competition and I'm hooked, specifically on Peacock's Gold Zone, an all-encompassing look at medal-winning, potential medal-winning, and hot ticket events across virtually every sport (I've watched more archery and fencing than I ever thought I would).
I wanted to keep watching, especially since the weekend was the only time I could see the events live. If you live in the US, every bit of the Olympics you watch from, say, 8pm ET is a pre-recorded rehashing of events that concluded at least six hours earlier in Paris.
I knew I'd be on the beach during Olympic prime-time coverage. I could have brought my iPhone 15 Pro Max, which has a lovely 6.7-inch Super Retina XDR display that can reach a peak brightness with HDR content of 2000 nits. On the beach, that last number matters, a lot.
As I considered my options, I thought it would be nice to watch the games on a larger screen, something like the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6's 7.6-inch, foldable Dynamic AMOLED display, one that promises 2,600 nits of brightness, which might be enough to beat back the blazing beach sun.
As I packed for the beach, I decided to bring the whole kit. I slapped on the beefy Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra, a wearable that could handle not just the sand and surf, but a dive into the salty ocean. I also threw in the new Samsung Galaxy Buds 3 Pro, figuring that they'd make it easier to hear the action over the beach noise and protect others around me from having to listen to my Olympics obsession.
The Buds 3 Pro's active noise canceling also came in handy because we were setting up under something called a Shibumi. It's a large fabric tent that has one flexible spine and the rest just blows in the wind. The stronger the wind, the louder the flapping sound gets. The Buds 3 Pro did an excellent job of cutting out that loud background noise.
Taking the Samsung Galaxy Z fold 6 had an immediate benefit. It let me bring a tablet-sized screen in a flagship phone size. We already have enough to carry without taking an extra tablet of any size.
As soon as we were set up, I opened the Z fold 6, settled in, found Peacock on the Live Goldzone feed, and started watching. I had Adaptive Brightness on, which means the screen adjusted automatically to challenge the beach brightness. Granted, I was set up in the shade of my Shibumi, but there was still a ton of ambient light bouncing off the surrounding sand. I kept my sunglasses on.
That last act led to a big surprise. Initially, I didn't realize that I was comfortably watching the Z Fold 6 screen while wearing my shades. Sure, if I took them off, the screen was vibrant, colorful, and bright but with my sunglasses on it was still sharp and very viewable.
I settled in and watched more archery, fencing, gymnastics, and Judo (who knew it was mostly lapel-grabbing, leg-swinging, and throwing?). This went on for an hour. At one point I checked the battery life which was holding up nicely. Over the course of the next few hours, I switched between the Galaxy Z Fold 6 and my Kindle Paperwhite. That E Ink display is 6.8 inches and does not fold. Imagine if it did.
I was careful when holding the Z fold 6 to not casually brush my fingers in the sand and then touch the screen. I knew that a single grit in the folded screen could lead to disaster.
Still, when I wasn't using the Z Fold 6, I would fold it up and slip it into a Ziplock bag. I'm not insane.
Is Samsung's Galaxy Z Fold 6 the perfect beach companion? With the right care and protection, it could be but I understand that not everyone is as fastidious as I am when it comes to technology. I knew I could get the Galaxy Z Fold 6 wet and it would be OK (though salt water is not recommended) but I was truly concerned about those acres of sand. When the wind picked up, I kept checking that the sand was not airborne.
And yet that larger screen hidden in a flagship body, competition-beating brightness, the excellent combo of the phone and Buds 3 Pro, and Peacock's Olympic Gold Zone all made it a nearly perfect beach day.
