Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 6 Review: Enhanced Cameras, Frivolous AI

These days, it feels like candy bar–style phones are out; instead, it’s the foldable phone that’s new and buzz-worthy. And Samsung is onboard, with its just-launched clamshell-style foldable phone, the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 6. New AI features, an improved camera and better battery life have given the new iteration spiffy upgrades compared to its predecessor. And, after testing the device for over a week in France, I can see exactly why that is—but some software components have also left me feeling conflicted.

I swapped out my Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra for the Flip 6 and tested the device for a week around France, putting the camera through an all-day workout in Chateau Versailles. I also cross-tested it with its predecessor, the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5, to double-check the improvements. Read on for thoughts on design, performance and more.

Best for:

• Content creators who shoot lots of images and video
• Unleashing your creativity with built-in AI features

Skip if:

• You don’t need a lot of extra “frivolous” features
• You prefer a book-style foldable phone

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 6: Design

Not Much Has Changed

While its book-style sibling, the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6, got some minor design adjustments, the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 6 looks exactly the same as its predecessor, the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5. In fact, when placed side-by-side, they look like twins. Samsung shaved 0.1 inches off the height and seemingly added boxy edges in lieu of the curved build on the Flip 5. I assume that Samsung took a look at this design, nodded in approval, and opted to make more hardware changes (more on that in a second). I’m not complaining. After all, I liked the design when I took the Flip 5 around Korea last year. It’s the same weight, too, at 187 grams.

The difference lies in the finer details that give it a fun flair. The Galaxy Flip 6 includes new colorways on the sides that match the backplate. No longer do you have to lose sleep over the fact that it’s only the backplate that gets all the fun hues. The whole device now adds this extra level of snazzy and fancy to its build–and I feel fancy flipping open this upgraded design in public.

One more design upgrade: waterproofing. In theory, its IP48 water-resistance rating means that it can survive dunks up to 1 meter in depth and also offers some dustproofing. Obviously, I didn’t get a chance to test this out–it was a sunny week in France, and I didn’t venture near any beaches–but it’s a vast improvement for those who plan to shoot footage around a pool.

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 6: Performance

Welcome To The 12GB RAM Family

The Flip 6 finally gets a much-needed upgrade with 12GB RAM. Combined with the power of the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset, taps, multitasking and gaming feels responsive and smooth, and it handled all of my needs on the fly. As I use my device(s) for working on the go, I absolutely loved this responsiveness.

Samsung added so many enhancements that content creators should absolutely love. This is a compact, powerful device that came to the party to be the party. Sprinkled throughout the device are AI enhancements–some may argue that there are too many, but I disagree. My main concern was how useful these extras prove to be long-term.

The first feature, Interpreter, is already on a good chunk of Samsung devices, specifically the S23 series and up and the Flip/Fold series 5. The Flip 6 adds translations right onto the cover screen, so you can flip the cover display up instead of flashing your main display at someone. On paper, it sounds especially useful, especially since as a native English speaker, my grasp of French is nonexistent. Having the peace of mind that I could ask for directions and have Interpreter flash the question on the front cover was so useful.

I noticed it didn’t wait for me to tap anything to conclude my side of the conversation and automatically waited for the response. However, the software quickly got confused and tried translating my words back into English—a downside—but, as a quick hack, I tapped the “French” mic to make sure it captured the other speaker before they began talking. So, it requires monitoring in addition to having your conversation. And make sure to download the language you need before you fly, as you have to download the language of your choice.

The same goes for content creators who want to use AI for their work. One of the latest features, Photo Assist, allowed me to place a fluffy cat in the middle of the gardens at Versailles. Sketch To Image also helped me make a watercolor of a chunky cat in a pinch, too. Being able to tinker and make fun images is pretty neat, and for Photo Assist, it does watermark the images as AI for authenticity purposes (but, it seems pretty easy to crop the watermark out, if you’re trying to make mischief). I had trouble with it on the Fold 6 during my hands-on with both devices, but once I got further into testing, the Flip’s AI responded to my scribblings accurately.

It’s designed to unleash more creativity but, is it really needed? I personally struggled to see how I would use this software daily, especially since it removed one of the fountains behind the cat. Ultimately, I concluded that this software will collect metaphorical dust on my device, and while I can see plenty of folks jumping to use this AI feature, your mileage may vary.

Another note—the Flip 6 does get warm with heavy tasks. Samsung introduced its first-ever vapor chamber for the Flip into this new iteration. Between the 4,000mAh battery (up from 3,700mAh), the 12GB RAM (up from 8GB), the new processor and the peak brightness increase to 2,600 nits (up from 1,750), it’s a necessary addition to the device. These all require power, even with NPUs in place to reduce the strain, and the components get toasty.

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 6: Cameras

A Whole New Lens Opens Up Worlds Of Fun

One of my favorite upgrades isn’t in the performance or the AI–well, kind of, actually–but it’s the camera set. Samsung added a new 50MP wide-angle camera and swapped the 10X digital zoom for a 2X optical-quality zoom and a 10X digital zoom. There are also a lot of upgrades, including an Auto Frame feature on the cover screen preview. This is only a fraction of what the new Flip offers, and on paper, it all sounds great.

In practice and after comparing it with the S24 Ultra, I’d also go a step further and state that while the camera set on the S24 Ultra is still stronger for capturing details in an image, the AI-enhanced images look much better on the Flip6.

It’s a bold statement, considering that the S24 Ultra is the Samsung flagship device. But hear me out—I took more than 300 photos in and around Versailles on each camera to understand how it performed. Each time, I noticed the built-in AI gave my images a brighter, more saturated pop that I preferred. I also showed my husband the side-by-side images and asked which one he felt looked better. The consensus: Images captured on the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 6 images look gorgeous, and I couldn’t wait to share them with friends and family.

There’s also not too much of a detail loss when I zoomed in on these images. When I zoomed in to check for any blur on my dress, I found myself pleasantly surprised. It’s only slightly more blurry compared to the S24 Ultra, so unless you’re trying to get a super-enhanced image (in that case, I recommend investing in one of the best mirrorless cameras), you won’t notice.

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 6: Verdict

AI Gets Extra Fun With Content Creators

The Flip has improved with surprises like new cameras and improved battery life. And, of course, it has fun built-in AI features that I’ve admittedly spent way too much time playing around with. I loved the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 phone when it launched last year, and the Galaxy Z Flip 6 keeps my love for the Flip series strong. Sure, the AI software may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but even without these features, this is still a strong device that should tick most content creators’ boxes. If you’re going to pick up any foldable phone right now, the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 6 is the device to get.

One of the biggest factors to mention is that all this fun and power comes with an increased price tag. At $1,100 starting, up from the $999 price tag of the Flip 5, a large criticism for this phone is that it doesn’t justify that extra $100. I disagree; it’s a great blend of foldable features, price and more.

How I Tested The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 6

I spent a week in Paris, France, covering the latest announcements at Samsung Unpacked, attending briefings about the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 6 and testing the device around the city. I used the new Interpreter AI feature with local populations to see how it performed in a real-time setting.

I also put the cameras through serious testing, cross-testing the cameras with the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra. I particularly put them through their paces at Chateau Versailles, to get a sense of how the cameras captured finer details in darker spaces and bright outdoor spaces. I tested the front camera’s Auto Frame mode to see how it framed and captured multiple people in an image.

In addition to cross-testing with the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra, I cross-tested the new software features against its predecessor once I was back in the United States. I checked the AI features in Interpreter against the same features in the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5. I reviewed the difference in the nits brightness against each device, and tested playback on both devices simultaneously to test the battery life.

My Expertise

As the consumer tech and electronics editor at Forbes Vetted, I’ve been covering tech for over five years. In addition to working with home entertainment such as testing the best gaming TVs, I have also tested most of the latest mobile devices on the market. I’ve tested the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5, the Asus ROG 8, the Google Pixel 8, the Apple iPhone 15 Pro and many more.

My time testing phones focuses on everyone, from the casual user to the dedicated mobile gamer who needs the best device for those long-haul Call of Duty marathon sessions. For this story, I focused on the new AI integrations Samsung packed into this small foldable device as well as the new hardware upgrades, specifically the camera set.