Samsung Galaxy Z Fold6: what we know so far
With the Galaxy S lineup now outshipping its predecessors, Samsung has lofty ambitions for its 2024 foldables - the Z Flip6 and the Galaxy Z Fold6.
All the rumors suggest we're in for the biggest revamp of the lineup yet and the book-style foldable will be the star. So here's what we know so far.
It will launch in July
Samsung will launch the Galaxy Z Fold6 alongside the Galaxy Z Flip6, the new Galaxy Watch7 series, and the novel Galaxy Ring in July. Reports point to July 10, which is right before the summer Olympics kick off on July 26.
This continues the trend with Samsung's past Galaxy foldable releases - the Galaxy Z Fold4 arrived in late August, while the Z Fold5 came in early August.
A Galaxy Z Fold6 Ultra is coming, 200MP camera in tow
For the first time, Samsung will split the Galaxy Z Fold series in two. It wasn't clear for a time whether we're getting a regular Fold and a cheaper Fold, or a Fold and a Fold Ultra but it's seemingly clear now that a higher-end Galaxy Z Fold6 Ultra is coming.
The Z Fold series is taking a page out of the Galaxy S book here but it's not yet confirmed what the Galaxy Z Fold6 Ultra will upgrade over the regular model.
The most credible reports point to a thinner and lighter Galaxy Z Fold6 Ultra with a better camera setup. It's likely the Ultra will get the 200MP ISOCELL HP2 camera from the Galaxy S24 Ultra but no word on the rest of the camera setup.
The other rumors points to a thinner and lighter Galaxy Z Fold6 Ultra. It will reportedly weigh 239g, which is considerably lower than the Fold5's 253g. Additionally the Ultra may use Titanium, like in the Galaxy S24 Ultra.
The Ultra Fold will be just 5.6mm thick when unfolded and 12.1mm when folded - down from 6.1mm and 13.4mm on the current Fold5.
A cheaper Galaxy Z Fold6, with the Z Fold5 cameras
It's unclear whether we'll see a regular Galaxy Z Fold6 under the Ultra or a Galaxy Z Fold FE. There are some credible reports on the FE, but it seems unlikely Samsung will forgo a vanilla model.
Whatever the name the cheaper book-style foldable will be running both an Exynos and a Snapdragon chipset, depending on the market, with a fixed 12GB of RAM, and either 256GB or 512GB of storage.
This Galaxy Z Fold6 will likely use the exact same camera setup as the Galaxy Z Fold5. That means a 50 MP 1/1.56" ISOCELL GN3 wide-angle camera will be joined by 10 MP 1/3.94" 3x zoom and 12 MP 1/3.06" ultrawide shooters. A 10 MP 1/3" punch hole selfie, and a 16MP 1/3" under-display selfie camera complete the list.
Best part is this base model Galaxy Z Fold6 could be cheaper than we expected. This report says it could launch at $799. That's amazing value, considering the Galaxy Z Fold5 started out at nearly twice that. Of course, $799 could translate to nearly â¬1,000 across the pond.
New design with a thinner frame and a wider cover display
Samsung marginally tweaks the design of the Galaxy Z Fold each year, but it's too conservative and has fallen behind the competition lately. Last year, we got a flat-closing phone with an ever-so-slight widening of the aspect ratio.
This year, we're hearing of more substantial changes. We already mentioned the thinner frame, expected to allow for an 11mm folded Galaxy Z Fold6.
Early renders suggested a device nearly identical to the Galaxy Z Fold5 but with flatter, sharper sides.
Those renders came with dimensions too - 153.5 x 132.5 x 6.1 mm. That's a few mm off the other, more recent report of a 5.6mm unfolded thickness. CAD renders back the 6.1mm profile, but it could be a difference in models - Z Fold6 vs Z Fold6 Ultra.
The same report says the cover display will become a bit more conventional - it will be a 6.3" 22:9 unit, compared to the Fold5's 6.2" 23.1:9 one. Expect the inner display to retain the 7.6" diagonal.