I used the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6. This is the best thing about it

Andy Boxall / Digital Trends

recapitulate after me : thin and lighter make foldaway phones better . This is the mantra I want you to recall when you lay your deal and eyes on the raw SamsungGalaxy Z Fold 6 , as it ’s the best thing about the phone so far — at least in the short time I ’ve used it .

The fuss is that Samsung want to distract you with its Galaxy AI features , which it seems set to really crowd with this release . Unfortunately , they are nowhere virtually as alluring as it thinks they are . gratefully , the balance of the phone seems pretty darn great .

A person opening the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6.

Andy Boxall/Digital Trends

The Galaxy Z Fold 6’s biggest upgrade

TheGalaxy Z Fold 5was thinner and light than theGalaxy Z Fold 4 , and once again , Samsung ’s applied scientist have successfully shaved even more off the sizing and free weight of its big - concealment foldable . close down up , it ’s only 12.1 millimeter thickset , so while it ’s still thicker than most prominent - screen non - folding phones , it ’s only by a few mm and buzz off far less elusive than it once was . I put it in my sack , and it did n’t really feel any different from theiPhone 15 Pro Maxin the other scoop . It weighs just as much and is equally thick inside a case .

Perhaps astonishingly , the Galaxy Z Fold 6 has catch bigger in all the right places despite these of import reductions . unfold , the silver screen is 2.7 millimeter wider than before , and the cover version screen is a millimetre wider and has smaller bezels , which has land about a little variety in aspect ratio . As with the weight — 239 grams , or 14 grams less than the Galaxy Z Fold 5 — it ’s becoming a more “ normal ” telephone set to arrest and use . I bump typewriting , swiping , and interact with the cover screen pleasurable and not at all awkward to utilize . However , I ’m certain I ’ll still discover more fatigue from holding it vertical for longer periods of time .

Samsung has made the ripe determination to emphasize lastingness , too . Enhanced Armor Aluminum covers the sound , there ’s Gorilla Glass Victus 2 over the cover screen , a new protective bed over the inner screen , and improvements in strength across the folding sharpness and screen plication . There ’s IP48 H2O and dust resistance , too . Although not up to the top standard , it is still enough to keep the phone good in most normal usage situations .

A person holding the closed Samsung Galaxy Z Fold6.

Andy Boxall / Digital Trends

When you seem closely at the phone itself , the ends of the flexible joint section have been suitably refine so that they ’re almost as invisible as the gap between section when the phone is closed . Genuinely , the Galaxy Z Fold 6 is a beautiful bit of engineering science .

What’s all this about AI?

The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 as a mobile gimmick is superb , and the condition and size of it are being ( slowly ) refined to where everyone can vindicate own and using a big - screen folding telephone set . However , we ’re at the point where Samsung does n’t seem to know how to make the phone and its feature interesting and desirable , and look too shy to use the fact the phonefolds upas the primary reason you should purchase it . This is n’t a television camera phone , and there are barely any change liken to the last manikin , so Samsung has turn toGalaxy AIto do the heavy lifting when it comes to extra solicitation .

unluckily , the multiple Galaxy AI features onboard hold back only ecological niche appeal , and while they are doubtless technically impressive , as they were being explain to me , I sputter to conceive of how often I ’d use them . For deterrent example , Interpreter mode works in Flex Mode , where the outer covert testify the translation of your words to the other individual , and the inner cover shows their translation to you . It ’s clever , and there are obvious genuine - world benefits . But how often will I really use it ? Far fewer times than I ’ll wonder at opening and end the phone , that ’s for trusted .

Galaxy AI does a lot of summarizing , translating , and curation , adding some appeal to the Z Fold 6 ’s obvious productivity advantages over a non - foldaway phone , but asGoogle showed us during Google I / atomic number 8 2024 , there ’s only so much we can take .

Z Fold 6 from the back

Andy Boxall / Digital Trends

For good amount , there are a few AI - assisted modes that change your photo . Want the AI to bestow a realistic - look pair of glasses to a photo of your dog ’s face ? Galaxy AI can do that , ostensibly . Perhaps I was extra curmudgeonly on the daylight this was shown off , but how often would anyone desire to do something like that ? Once or double , maybe , and then I guess the novelty will wear off .

That ’s the trouble with pushing Galaxy AI as a reason to grease one’s palms the Galaxy Z Fold 6 . None of the features sound like ones you ’d use more than a few time , and even when you do , it would only be in very specific luck . I ’m just not sold on it , no matter how well it may all bring .

Samsung is missing the point

Concentrating on Galaxy AI is evidently important for Samsung from a business organisation perspective , and it ’s there in all the up-to-the-minute Samsung products — from the Z Fold 6 to the Galaxy Ring — but I ca n’t see it holding much entreaty for the world-wide world . The thing is , what ’s special about the Galaxy Z Fold 6 is what was especial about the original Galaxy Fold and all the models that have come since : It folds up and is a gaming , medium , and productivity human dynamo that barely postulate AI to meliorate it .

Using multiple apps on the monumental 7.6 - column inch screen is so easy . It has been a while since I used a Galaxy Z Fold telephone set , but I quickly remembered how to view several apps at the same clip as it ’s so intuitive . The speed and fluidness of the process and using the apps are telling , and there ’s no suggestion of anything but mega performance from the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 . Maybe I ’d use Galaxy AI ’s annotation Assist modality — which automatically formats and summarizes text — but that ’s not the newspaper headline productiveness feature at all . No , it ’s because you ’re doing it on a massive screen that you may pen up in one-half when you ’re done .

When you tune up out Samsung ’s AI obsession and look at the unvoiced numbers behind the Galaxy Z Fold 6 ’s hardware — then remember the fact it folds up and make water it chill in the first station — you ’ll ultimately understand why this is the best interlingual rendition of the telephone yet . As each Z Fold loop is expel , it gets more comfortable to hold and use , and more durable , lighter , and slender than before .

The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold6’s camera module.

Andy Boxall / Digital Trends

The Galaxy Z Fold 6 does n’t postulate AI to be worthy , and in my short time with it , I quickly find out it ’s the most desirable model yet because it ’s also the most normal yet .

A person holding the open Samsung Galaxy Z Fold6.