Educated speculation is the name of the game when it comes to assessing the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 vs Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 6. Neither phone is official yet, but we expect both models to be shown off at the next Samsung Galaxy Unpacked event – which is set for July 10 – as Samsung tends to unveil its next-generation foldables in the Northern Hemisphere's summer months.
Much like their respective predecessors, the Galaxy Z Fold 5 and Galaxy Z Flip 5, Samsung's upcoming foldables will aim to target two very different phone users.
The Fold 6 will be for people who want a flagship smartphone, in terms of both specs and cover screen size, since it'll open up into a device that’s akin to a compact Android tablet. The Flip 6, on the other hand, will be aimed at people who want the screen space afforded by a 6.7-inch main display, which can fold horizontally in the middle to shrink down into a more compact form factor, complimented by a small but usable cover display.
A question of price
As for which model will be best suited to you, that depends on what you’re after and how much you're willing to spend. The Galaxy Z Fold 6 is likely to be a good bit more expensive than its Flip stablemate.
For reference, the 256GB Galaxy Z Fold 5 started at $1,799.99 / £1,749 / AU$2,599, while the 256GB Galaxy Z Flip 5 started at $999.99 / £1,049 / AU$1,649; both phones jumped in price with a 512GB option, with only the Fold offering a 1TB storage option.
Going by the rumors so far, we expect this pricing cadence to continue with the next-generation models, with perhaps only a little fluctuation up or down.
Chewing over cameras, specs and design
Other core differences between the Fold 6 and Flip 6 will be found in their respective cameras. The Fold is set to have a trio of rear cameras, an under display camera on the main display, and a punch-hole selfie camera on the cover screen; all these are mostly tipped to have the same specs as those on the Fold 5, but there will likely be some upgrades on the software and processing side, with the latter being enabled by the expected Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chip.
The Flip 6 is set to follow its predecessor with two rear cameras that double up as cover screen snappers, and a punch-hole front-facing camera. However, unlike the Fold, the Flip is expected to get a main camera upgrade, ditching the 12MP sensor for a 50MP one. If this rumor holds true, then the Z Flip 6 could offer a healthy phone photography upgrade, especially when Galaxy AI features (such as the powerful Generative Edit tool) are taken into consideration.
Battery sizes are expected to be boosted for both phones, with the Fold 6 tipped to get a 4,600mAh battery, up from 4,400mAh in the Z Fold 5. While the Galaxy Z Flip 6 should see a battery size hike of 300mAh, taking the cell to 4,000mAh.
Going by seemingly leaked renders and dummy units, both the Fold 6 and Flip 6 won’t look drastically different from what’s come before. However, we can expect some improvements to the durability of the hinge mechanism on both phones, potentially less visible creases in their folding screens, and fresh colors.
With Samsung arguably having established the common design language for some of the best foldable phones, we can see why it might want to iterate on the design of its foldables rather than change them dramatically. There’s a chance that titanium could be used on the chassis, or at least on the Fold 6, as that would put it on a flagship par with the Galaxy S24 Ultra.
Evolution not revolution
All things considered, we expect the Galaxy Z Fold 6 vs Galaxy Z Flip 6 showdown to play out much like the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 vs Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 showdown, only with some improved specs and features. Samsung is likely to focus on wearables for its upcoming Unpacked event, notably the Galaxy Ring, so the folding phones will probably play second fiddle, which contextualises their minor tipped upgrades.
However, in our opinion, the Galaxy Z Flip 6 could be the most improved of the folding phones, with an upgraded main camera, better chip and battery, and potentially some slick design tweaks that make it more pocketable.
Of course, time will tell here, and we’ll need to get hands-on and fully put Samsung's predicted next-generation foldables to the test before we reach up any concrete conclusions. Right now, though, the Flip 6 looks like the more interesting of the two phones.
