I used the $1,900 Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 for a week — is this foldable worth it?

As its name suggests, the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 is the company’s sixth attempt at making a foldable phone one of the best smartphones on the market. Samsung spent these last five-plus years working on durability and the overall user experience, all to deliver a device that feels less like a concept or a compromise and more like a flagship worth bragging rights.

Last year’s Galaxy Z Fold 5 didn’t leave us wanting much more than better cameras, so I spent the last week using the Z Fold 6 to see if this year’s model provides a compelling case to upgrade. Personally, I’ve come away pretty impressed by the folding phone experience, but read on to learn more about how its battery life, performance and cameras stack up.

What I liked about it

A gorgeous design that’s easy to fold and unfold

I’m fond of the Galaxy Z Fold 6’s aesthetics, as the foldable wins points for its rear camera array that looks like vertically stacked vinyl records. Other than that, it’s so minimalist I don’t have much to say about its looks. What’s more important is how it feels, which I have mostly good news on.

Friends I’ve talked to all have the same questions about the Galaxy Z Fold 6, such as “what does it feel like?”, “how easy is it to type on?” and “how delicate is it?” The good news is that this sixth iteration of Samsung’s foldable feels sturdy and requires that perfect amount of intentional force to open up. I could open it with one hand, but that took a little more effort than I’d probably want or need since the open position is meant for two hands.

The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 may have a mouthful of a name, but it’s a pretty slender device when folded up. Not only does it feel pretty light in my hand when folded, but it’s 0.48 inches thick in this position, which isn’t much bigger than the 0.34-inch-thick Galaxy S24 Ultra. It also compares favorably to the two top foldable smartphones, measuring slightly taller, narrower and thinner than the Galaxy Z Fold 5 that preceded it, while much less wide and a little thicker than the new Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold.

Typing on the Z Fold 6, I was surprised how quickly I took to the split keyboard you’re given when using the phone in the opened position. That said, I really need Samsung to move the small “speech-to-text” button from the bottom left corner, where it’s hard to see and easily activated. I wrote multiple long-winded emails on the Z Fold 6 in its unfolded mode, and found the larger typing space easy to get used to.

Using the Galaxy Z Fold 6 in the closed position was its own exercise in changing muscle memory, as I’m used to a wider phone. I was a little surprised, though, to find that typing on the closed Fold 6’s screen felt more natural when using two hands than one. While I was easily able to type on the keyboard with just one thumb, the closed Z Fold 6 feels a bit heavier, due to how I’m used to lighter phones (the S24 Ultra is 0.25 ounces less, and the iPhone 15 Pro Max is 0.63 ounces less) and because its weight is densely distributed when it’s folded in.

The 7.6-inch Galaxy Z Fold 6 isn’t just 0.5 ounces grams lighter than the Z Fold 5 that preceded it, but it’s slightly smaller than the incoming 8-inch Pixel 9 Pro Fold. Unfolded, both make the iPhone 15 Pro Max and Galaxy S24 Ultra look downright modest. Neither foldable felt bad or unwieldy in hand, but your mileage may vary. Those looking for smaller foldables should consider the Motorola Razr and the Galaxy Z Flip 6, which sport easily pocketable clamshell designs similar to the flip phones of old

I occasionally find myself wishing the Galaxy Z Fold 6’s corners and edges were as rounded and curved as the Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold’s, but it’s not a deal breaker. When it’s closed, you get a little of what I want overall, as the Z Fold 6’s hinge almost matches the Galaxy S24 Ultra’s sides in terms of in-hand comfort. And while I first didn’t like the inner display’s protruding lip, I’ve come to realize it’s important to help me keep my grip.

Snappy performance and decent specs that enable smooth multitasking

Just like the Galaxy S24 and S24 Ultra, the Galaxy Z Fold 6 is armed with a speedy Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 for Galaxy processor. This long-named chip packed enough punch in my testing, and its 12GB of memory stopped me from noticing anything in the way of lag as I split its screen and jumped between Chrome tabs.

Testing it out on Geekbench 6, though, I saw scores that fell slightly below Samsung’s other 2024 phones that also run on that same chip. These scores beat 2023’s Google Pixel Fold and fall far under the iPhone 15 Pro Max. I expect the Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold to claw its way closer with Google’s new Tensor G4 chip, while Apple’s next iPhones will probably run even further ahead of the pack on Apple’s next processors.

The Z Fold 6’s big interior display is its strongest feature

In my week of testing, the Galaxy Z Fold 6’s foldable 7.6-AMOLED main screen proved great for everything from watching “Top Gun: Maverick” (again) to reading about Tom Cruise’s stunt at the Paris Olympics’ closing ceremony. Watching the star wince through another life-and-death situation, I noticed plenty of detail in his brow and bomber jacket.

The Z Fold 6 also helped me enjoy how my favorite band Charly Bliss is seizing the moment with their new music. Not only do the electric greens and pinks of lead singer Eva Hendricks’ outfits look resplendent in their video for “Back There Now,” but the gang’s new tunes also sound great on the Galaxy Z Fold 6’s stereo speakers. While I can enjoy their videos on my iPhone 15 Pro Max, this foldable screen gives me enough space to watch those videos in full size while I read critics raving about their new album “Forever.”

Switching sonic styles, I hit play on Flash Garments & Sw3rve The Realest’s “Big Pressure Trill Mix,” where the guest verses from Bun B and Westside Gunn sounded right, and there was even a little kick of bass. Nothing to replace a stereo, mind you, but enough to probably make you turn your head and judge me — justifiably — for listening to music out loud on a subway train.

The Galaxy Z Fold 6’s 7.6-inch screen also shows its true value on games optimized for its interior display. Genshin Impact looks great on the unfolded panel; I felt more immersed in the title than ever before as my Traveler ran through the forest. Arcade racer Asphalt Legends Unite also takes advantage of this larger canvas. Both titles played super smoothly, if you were wondering. Games aren’t the only apps optimized for the Z Fold 6, as Google’s announced YouTube TV will support a two-by-two grid of streams.

While you can use all four separate quadrants of the interior 7.6-inch screen for different apps, I quickly learned that I love to stack a YouTube video above or below either Chrome, Google Docs or Discord. The Galaxy Z Fold 6 feels like the perfect device to enable my YouTube addiction because 16:9 aspect ratios fit so perfectly on the top or bottom half of the screen. It looks a heck of a lot better than the iPhone’s picture-in-picture method of watching a clip while you do something else, because nobody likes squinting at a video.

Samsung may have also fixed one of our complaints with the Galaxy Z Fold 5, as I didn’t find the Galaxy Z Fold 6’s 6.3-inch cover screen to be that cramped. Typing on the front screen proved pretty simple and natural, which may have something to do with the fact that Samsung increased the width of the cover screen by a millimeter. A little can go a long way.

Excellent battery life, especially for a foldable

The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 lasts surprisingly long on a single charge, defying expectations for a huge-screen phone. The Z Fold 6’s interior screen lasted 19 hours and 28 minutes on our looping 4K video battery test, where footage plays at 50% brightness.

That’s more than eight and a half hours longer than the Google Pixel Fold lasted, and around six hours shy of the Galaxy S24 Ultra (which has a much smaller screen). The iPhone 15 Pro Max posted much shorter times, but recent iPhones have had trouble on our test.

A decent camera array, but not the best

Henry T. Casey/CNN Underscored

Shot on Galaxy Z Fold 6

Henry T. Casey/CNN Underscored

Shot on Galaxy S24 Ultra

Henry T. Casey/CNN Underscored

Shot on iPhone 15 Pro Max

Henry T. Casey/CNN Underscored

Shot on iPhone 15 Pro Max

I’m listing the Galaxy Z Fold 6’s cameras as the final thing I like because it borders on something I don’t. The good news is that I captured some great photos on it, including delicious-looking snapshots of the pastry I picked up mid-shoot.

View this interactive content on CNN.com

The bad news, however, is that Samsung can’t fit as deep a zoom into the thinner Z Fold 6’s body. It maxes out at 3x optical zoom, which is a step below the 5x optical zooms in the Galaxy S24 Ultra and the iPhone 15 Pro Max. To see what a difference the jump from 3x to 5x makes, check out this photo comparison above.

View this interactive content on CNN.com

Oh, and when you’re taking your best selfies, make sure to use the Z Fold 6 in the closed position, as its 10-megapixel cover camera is far superior to the 4MP camera inside the phone. That interior selfie camera may be alluring because it lets you have a wider screen to see yourself, but the image quality is not going to get you something worth posting on your grid.

Henry T. Casey/CNN Underscored

Shot on Galaxy Z Fold 6

Henry T. Casey/CNN Underscored

Shot on Galaxy S24 Ultra

Henry T. Casey/CNN Underscored

Shot on iPhone 15 Pro Max

Curious how the Galaxy Z Fold 6’s camera compares with the iPhone 15 Pro Max and the Galaxy S24 Ultra? Check out these closeups of a celosia plant I shot to see how the Z Fold 6 does a great job of handling purples and greens, which look pretty close to what the iPhone 15 Pro Max and S24 Ultra captured. It’s hard to pick a winner in this shoot-out; while the Z Fold 6 doesn’t have any washed-out elements, the S24 Ultra has a little more detail and the iPhone 15 Pro Max’s shot is a little more vibrant.

Oh, and the Galaxy Z Fold 6 also features a nifty hands-free tripod mode where you place it down in a semi-opened position that’s around 90 degrees. After that, you open the camera, enable selfie mode and adjust the photo countdown timer (5 seconds seems to be best in my testing). Then, all you need to do is hold a hand up to start the timer. It’s a great trick for group photography, provided you have a surface at the right height to place your phone. If only that interior selfie camera were sharper like the cover selfie camera.

Just be careful with how and where you place the Z Fold 6 down in tripod mode. Since there’s no selfie cam on the left side of the interior and the rear camera bump is big enough to give you off-angle shots, you have to place the Z Fold 6 down on its cover screen for tripod mode. Do this with a little more care than I did, because I accidentally left a little nick on the cover screen.

What I didn’t like about it

Some inner display quirks

I can get used to the Galaxy Z Fold 6’s display crease, its little indentation that runs down the middle of the phone’s inner display. As a newbie to the foldable space, the larger learning curve is in using the phone when it’s not opened completely, and dragging a window or app across the crease.

What’s more awkward, however, is how the interior screen flexes ever so much as I tap and pinch to zoom. This is just the price of having a flexible screen, but it certainly feels like a step down in durability. What’s less excusable is how this inner display is a giant fingerprint magnet, especially when I see how much more smudged it is than my iPhone 15 Pro Max, which I use far more than anything else in my apartment (save for my bed).

The inner selfie camera is a bit flawed

My home office isn’t the brightest room, but that’s never been a problem for the iPhone’s Face ID unlock functionality. Multiple failed attempts to unlock Galaxy Z Fold 6 via its interior selfie camera’s Face Unlock have me convinced Samsung’s got something wrong here. Sometimes I can make it work by intentionally looking at the off-color dot where the camera is hidden; other times, that doesn’t work.

More annoyingly, the Z Fold 6’s facial recognition software will tell you to “Remove anything that may be covering your face, such as a mask or dark glasses” when you’re adding an additional appearance to enhance recognition. Apple’s Face ID biometric security doesn’t have these limitations.

Oh, and, about that little dot. Samsung’s trying to hide the Galaxy Z Fold 6’s interior shooter under a small circular patch of screen that always looks a little wrong — as if you’ve noticed a glitch in The Matrix. I’d rather the little black dot design of the Pixel 9 Pro Fold (or even the iPhones’ island-style notch).

Galaxy AI (like all generative AI) fails to hit the mark

Since this is tech released in 2024, you won’t be surprised to hear that Samsung believes there’s a ton of value in the generative AI features built into the Galaxy Z Fold 6. A lot of this continues to ruffle my feathers, though, as it all seems like stuff nobody asked for and nobody will use. Sure, the Generative Edit tool lets you edit flaws out of photos by moving and resizing elements such as people, but it’s been odd and unreliable in my testing. Just like when I had trouble “moving” a car in photos with the Galaxy S24 Ultra, trying to move a traffic cone in the background of a selfie led Galaxy AI to create a new (and different) cone in its place, that I would have to delete manually.

Then there’s the Sketch to Image tool that lets you add to photos, such as doodling glasses onto a photo of a dog and make it look like your dog was actually wearing glasses. That’s cute, but not exactly something I’d want to use in my personal time. Fortunately, Samsung’s limited the Sketch to Image tool’s usage for images involving humans, as we don’t need more AI-generated photos muddying political campaigns. When I tried to add a hat to one of my own selfies or glasses to my colleague Mike Andronico, I got the error “Can’t generate due to location of drawing.” I wish Samsung saw a similar potential for misuse when it comes to the above Generative Edit tool.

One feature I could see people actually having fun with is Portrait Studio, where Galaxy AI will analyze a face in an image and spit out a render of that person in one of four styles (comic, 3D cartoon, watercolor and sketch). None of mine seem exactly accurate, though its Pixar dad version of me made me chuckle while I regretted feeding the machine. Unsurprisingly, these generated images still look and feel a bit empty, reminding me how these tools were built off of the work of uncredited and unpaid artists.

Galaxy AI also includes text-editing Composer tools in Samsung’s Notes app, which I tested by having it rewrite my London travel tips. Its attempt to turn my note about the Beigel Bake restaurant into “casual” language was comically bad, beginning with “Yo, so when I get off the plane,” and calling their meat “a pastrami on steroids.” The “#social” treatment actually used the #FoodPorn hashtag, which made me want to disable Galaxy AI entirely.

I wasn’t able to test Samsung’s Interpreter or Live Translate modes, but we’ll look out for ways to see if that AI — which attempts to replace the work of a translator — is useful going forward. Part of me wonders how much I’d want to keep my eyes on my phone while abroad when I’d probably be better off observing the country I’m visiting. Aren’t we all trying to spend less time looking at our screens?

The Galaxy Z Fold 6’s price is a bit too high

The $1,900 price of admission to unfold your own Galaxy Z Fold 6 still feels a bit too exorbitant, especially when the longer-lasting and slightly faster $1,300 Galaxy S24 Ultra is a whopping $600 less. You can pick up the excellent Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 FE Plus tablet alongside an S24 Ultra for the price of a Z Fold 6, but I guess that’s the point. You’re spending more to juggle less, rather than just have great versions of both.

While there are current big sales on the still-good Galaxy Z Fold 5 ($300 off at Best Buy), there is some good news for this generation of foldables. Google’s doing its part to get pricing down, as the Pixel 9 Pro Fold is competitively priced at $1,799 — a whole $101 less than the Z Fold 6.

How it compares on specs

Bottom line

Right now, Samsung’s got the top foldable on the market. The Galaxy Z Fold 6 provides multitasking power on a big, beautiful screen that’s perfect for watching the latest trailers and reading about them at the same time, all with much better battery life and performance than the original Pixel Fold. We look forward to seeing how the Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold changes things, and if Samsung’s adorable Galaxy Z Flip 6 can punch above its screen size.

Yes, it’s frustrating that the priciest Galaxy phone doesn’t have the best camera array in the lineup, but that’s the same deal with the Google Pixel 9 Pro and its folding sibling. So while the best Samsung phone for photos is still the Galaxy S24 Ultra, those who love to use multiple apps at once without skipping a beat or compromising on picture size will enjoy the ride when they open up the Galaxy Z Fold 6.