Samsung’s new foldables aren’t different but they are built better

It's been a decade since Samsung started experimenting with foldable screens and the newly-minted Galaxy Z Flip 6 and Galaxy Z Fold 6 promise to reap the benefits of that long-term investment.

Unveiled at this week's Unpacked hardware event, this year's Galaxy Z foldable smartphones look a lot like their predecessors. However, much like the Galaxy S24 (and its siblings), the new devices are shipping with a suite of new and improved generative AI features that promise to offer new possibilities.

With a starting price of $2749, the sixth-generation Galaxy Z Fold is the more expensive of the two. Like the previous model, it's got a 7.6-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X screen on the inside with a 6.3-inch display on the outside.

Despite that boost in pixels, Samsung is billing the device as the lightest and thinnest Galaxy Fold to date. Compared to the Galaxy Z Fold 5, it's about 15g lighter. This makes it only a little heavier than the biggest boy in the Galaxy S24 lineup, the heavy-duty Galaxy S24 Ultra. Aside from that though, design revisions have been kept to a minimum. For those keeping track, there's still no S-Pen storage bay built into the Z Fold 6.

Under the hood, the Galaxy Z Fold 6 is kitted out with the new Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 processor, 12GB of RAM and up to 1TB of onboard storage. On the back, it features a 50MP main lens, a 10MP telephoto lens and a 12MP ultrawide lens. That's the same camera setup as its predecessor, though it does come backed up by a new AI-powered "ProVision" image processing engine.

This inclusion is far from the only mention of 2024's biggest tech buzzword. In addition to Galaxy AI features like those introduced by Galaxy S24 (including note assist, browsing assist and live translate), the Galaxy Z Fold 6 will mark the debut of a new AI-powered feature that Samsung is calling Sketch to Image.

Similar to the Cocreator feature found in Microsoft's Copilot Plus PCs, this will turn rough sketches you draw using the S-Pen into more detailed assets. It's unclear at this time whether Samsung will be looking to keep results from getting too wild with any sort of content moderation guardrails.

When it launches, the Galaxy Z Fold 6 will be available in three colours: Silver Shadow, Pink, and Navy.

As with its book-shaped counterpart, this year's Galaxy Z Flip 6 has a lot in common with its 2023 predecessor. You're still getting a 3.4-inch cover display on the outside and a 6.7-inch screen on the inside.

Even if the overall look and feel is pretty synonymous with last year's Galaxy Z Flip 5, the Z Flip 6 looks like it's getting an overdue upgrade when it comes to specs.

For starters, it'll feature the same Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 processor as the Z Fold 6 with up to 512GB of onboard storage. It'll also feature the largest battery in a Z Flip device to date at 4000mah, with an integrated vapour chamber promising to help offer improved performance and power efficiency.

Samsung is also talking up a more robust level of durability when it comes to this year's foldable smartphones. The crease is less visible, the outer screens are more scratch resistant while the inner ones rely on a reinforced dual rail hinge to better protect against adverse pressure and sharp objects.

While it won't feature the Sketch to Image functionality of its foldable sibling, the Galaxy Z Flip 6 will share access to a new photography feature called Portrait Studio that uses generative AI to transform your amateur selfies into something more stylish. If you've messed with many AI apps over the last year, it's probably nothing you haven't seen before but it is noteworthy to see it included as part of the baseline that Samsung customers can expect going forward.

Speaking of the camera, the back of the Galaxy Z Flip 6 is also getting an overdue glow-up. Rather than the dual 12MP setup seen in last year's Galaxy Z Flip 5, the new model will feature a 50MP main sensor and a secondary 12MP one with an ultrawide lens.

In Australia, the Galaxy Z Flip 6 starts at $1799 and is available in four colours: Blue, Yellow, Mint and Silver Shadow. Both it and the Galaxy Z Fold 6 are available for preorder now ahead of a local launch on 30 July 2024.