Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 review: Is the folding Samsung any good?

Samsung produces some of the best smartphones for photographers, with the laudable S series being high up in our list of recommendations. But what happens if you’re tempted by the new trend for folding phones?

Generally, it goes that folding phones are expensive propositions, but they offer you the opportunity to have both a regularly-sized phone and a tablet with you at all times.

The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 is the latest high-end foldable phone from the company, following on from the Z Fold 5. It was announced at the same time as the Z Flip 6, which is a much smaller folding phone, designed to appeal to a different audience.

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 at a glance

• 50MP 23mm f/1.8 main camera
• 12MP 12mm f/2.2 ultrawide camera
• 10MP 66mm f/2.4 telephoto camera
• 10MP selfie camera, 24mm f/2.2
• 4MP secondary selfie camera, 26mm f/1.8
• 8K 30fps / 4K 60fps video
• 6.3-inch 2376 x 968 AMOLED, 410ppi, 2600 nits peak brightness cover screen
• 7.6-inch 2160 x 1856 AMOLED, 374ppi, 2600 nits peak brightness inner screen
• 4400 mAh battery with fast charging, wireless charging and reverse charging
• Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 Processor
• Android 15

We’ve long been impressed by the camera performance of many different Samsung models across the range, but it’s usually the case that foldable models offer at least some compromise when it comes to the onboard cameras. This is true of the Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold, probably the Z Fold 6’s biggest direct competitor.

So, what do we have on offer here?

Features

Although you get three cameras, you get just one high-resolution sensor for the Z Fold 6, compared to other models in Samsung’s range, such as the Galaxy S24 Ultra, which has four cameras, two of which are high resolution. It’s also the case that some of the sensors are smaller, presumably due to less  physical space being available for the camera units in the device itself.

The main sensor is a 50MP 23mm (equivalent) f/1.8 camera, and it is joined by a 12MP ultrawide and a 10MP 3x telephoto lens. There’s two selfie cameras, one on the cover screen, and another on the inside screen – this is primarily so you can use either screen while making video calls and so on. You can also use the outer cameras to take selfies, as you can take advantage of the folding design (more on that later).

This set up puts it more in line with something like the Samsung Galaxy S24+, which also has a 50MP, 12MP ultrawide and a 10MP telephoto. However, the S24+ has a larger ultrawide sensor, and a marginally larger main sensor.

You’ll pay a large price premium for the Z Fold 6 over pretty much anything else in Samsung’s smartphone range, but clearly it’s not the camera capability you’re paying for. It’s the fact that you have access to screens, rather than one – if that’s something which appeals, you may be able to look past the camera compromise. Those screens comprise of a 6.3-inch cover / outer screen, with a 7.6-inch screen inside.

In terms of other specifications, up to 8K video recording is available, there’s a range of AI features (both for the camera and elsewhere) and there’s useful functions such as wireless charging (charger available separately).

The Galaxy Z Fold 6 is available in Silver Shadow (grey), Navy and Pink in most locations, as well as Crafted Black and White directly from Samsung. 256GB/512GB or 1TB variants are available, with price points to match.

Handling and Design

Samsung is quite pleased with how lightweight and compact it’s flagship folding phone is. The company has done a good job of keeping it pocket friendly, and while it is heavier than a typical candy bar phone, at 239g, it’s still pretty good. Samsung has managed to reduce the weight from the Galaxy Z Fold 5, too. It is thicker however than both the Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold and the Honor Magic V3, so if ultimately thinness is your goal, there are some better options out there.

The Galaxy Z Fold 6 is also very narrow when folded, with just a 6.3-inch screen. I preferred using the larger Pixel Fold 9 Pro, but on the plus side, it makes tapping out emails and the like quite easy. The interior screen is smaller than the Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold, being 7.6-inches, compared to 8-inches, but regardless, it’s good to have that extra real estate when you want to look at your images or videos in better detail. Being a square screen does mean that videos have black bars at the top and bottom, making it less appealing for watching films and so on.

At 2600 nits (both the inner and outer screens), it’s nice and bright  for showing off your images. It’s ever so slightly dimmer than the Pixel 9 Pro Fold, but only by 100 nits so you can’t really notice much of a difference when looking at them side by side.

The Galaxy Z Fold 6 has an “enhanced” Armor Aluminium frame, as well as Corning Gorilla Glass Victus 2, so it should withstand a fair amount of abuse – indeed, I have managed to avoid scratching or scraping it so far. It has an IP48 rating, notably less than the IP68 which is pretty standard among most bar phones. The 4 stands for the dust rating though, which is presumably lower than usual due to the hinge mechanism for the folding element of the phone. It being water resistant to the same standard is good news, however.

In terms of looks, I prefer the other models on the market, both the Honor Magic V3 and the Pixel 9 Pro Fold are slightly more appealing. That’s not to say this is inherently bad though – it still looks pretty nice – but personal preference may lead you to a different conclusion.

From a photography perspective, there are some benefits to a folding phone. The most obvious perhaps is being able to use the better cameras for selfies. To do this is a bit awkward however, and could definitely be improved upon. You need to open up the camera app while the screen is unfolded, then switch cover preview on, then turn the phone round to be able to use it. This is something which could – and should – be streamlined.

Another useful thing however is essentially being able to use half of the phone as a stand for the cameras. This comes in useful for shooting in low light for example, when you might want to keep the phone as still as possible. If you half open the phone, the camera viewfinder will appear on the top, vertically positioned half of the screen, while the controls will appear on the flat part.

Native camera app

If you’ve used a Samsung phone at all before, then you’ll likely already be familiar with the layout of the native camera app.

You can open the app from the cover screen, or from the open full screen if you prefer – though it is a bit more awkward to compose your images if using it in “tablet” form.

The default shooting mode is “Photo” where you can access all three of the inbuilt lenses, as well as pinching to zoom up to 30x digital zoom. If you tap on any of the lenses, you will also see some digital options appear at that point too, including 10x, 20x and 30x. You can also change various settings such as aspect ratio, turning on the flash and so on.

If you are shooting in low light, Night mode should automatically activate, but there is a separate selectable Night mode if you want to enter it manually. Unlike Samsung’s top-line smartphone, the Galaxy S24 Ultra, the Z Fold 6 doesn’t have a macro mode, so if you move the camera very close to a subject, all you’ll get is a blurry mess. You can get some kind of approximation by using the 3x lens, meaning you can fill the frame at least.

Swiping to the left leads you to a Portrait mode for creating shallow depth of field effects. With this you can shoot at either 1x, 2x or 3x, as well as applying different types of blur at different strengths.

To the right you’ll find the video mode. You can shoot 8K if you feel so inclined, but it’s likely most people will prefer to record in 4K or Full HD. There’s a few different options here, including “Super Steady” – but note this can only be used in certain resolutions.

For more shooting modes, tap on the “More” tab and you’ll be presented with additional options, including two different advanced shooting modes, Expert Raw and Pro. It’s here that you’ll be able to make changes to various settings, such as shutter speed, as well as shooting in raw format if you wish. Other modes include Pro Video, Panorama, Night, Food and Hyperlapse.

The Galaxy Z Fold 6 includes the same suite of AI editing tools as seen elsewhere in Samsung’s range. This uses a mixture of cloud-based and on-phone tools to improve your photos, without needing any third-party apps. You can do things such as remove reflections,  add a portrait effect or remove, move and resize objects. It’s quite good fun to play with and produces some good results in certain conditions, so it’s worth giving it a go.

Image Quality

As is becoming ever more apparent the more I use folding smartphones, one of the big areas of compromise is with the camera. For photographers who want the very best mobile imaging quality possible, it’s just not realistic to recommend a folding phone.

That said, if you’re willing to accept that image quality will not be as good as seen elsewhere, it’s still possible to get some good images.

The best results, predictably, come from the main, 1x sensor. The 50MP sensor gives good colours, decent exposure and a good amount of detail when shooting in good light. The ultrawide lens is also fairly good in low light too, and shows fairly similar colours to the 1x lens.

Things start to go a little downhill with the telephoto lens. It produces images which are OK in good light, and if you’re only looking on the phone screen, but as soon as you look at them on anything larger – and that includes the phone’s inner screen – then you can see a noticeable loss of detail, even when shooting in good light.

When light is poor, images lose detail even when shooting with the 1x lens – again though it’s not so bad if you’re only looking at shots at fairly small sizes. The ultrawide produces some usable but fairly smudgy results, while the 3x lens is very smudgy and grainy – just about usable if you’re desperate but not what I’d rely on.

Portrait mode produces some good results, again in good light. The outlines are reasonably realistic, with some good background blur. As you can use the main lenses for selfies, you can also get some good results here. I wouldn’t use the other selfie cameras for selfies, but they’re of course useful for video calls and so on.

Value for Money

As is common for folding phones, the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 will set you back a pretty penny.

The price starts at £1599 for the 256GB version, rising to £1699 for 512GB. That’s a lot of cash to pay for a smartphone, but if you really want the folding element, then it’s perhaps worth it.

It’s worth noting that it is currently cheaper than the Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold, and, it’s probably also true that the Samsung will hold it’s value a little better when it comes to trade-in time (though there’s no guarantee there). It’s also cheaper than our favourite folding phone so far, the Honor Magic V3 – though that phone is slimmer and seems to produce better images, so you might consider it less good value for money.

For photographers, you’ll be paying a lot of extra cash and getting a worse camera than if you were to invest in a model elsewhere in Samsung’s line-up, such as the excellent Galaxy S24 Ultra, which you can pick up for around £1199 for the 256GB version.

Essentially, if you want a folding phone, then the Samsung represents good value for money, so long as you’re prepared to compromise on the camera quality.

Verdict

The main difference between the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 and its predecessor, the Z Fold 5, seems to be that Samsung has made is slimmer and lighter. However, in terms of the cameras, image quality remains about the same.

While it is capable of producing some decent images in good light, in other situations, such as low light, it falls way behind regular “bar” phones which cost half the price.

Therefore, it’s next to impossible to recommend this phone for those who want the best possible image quality. Of course, that’s not generally the point of folding phones – if you want one for the convenience of having a larger screen with you at all times, then it’s arguably worth the compromise, especially if you have a high budget to play with.

That said, there are other folding phones which produce generally better results, most particularly the Honor Magic V3, which remains our pick as the best available in this category for photographers.

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