Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 vs Galaxy Z Fold 5: Which foldable is better?
SamsungSamsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 offers key upgrades that make it a worthy successor to the Z Fold 5. We’ve put the changes of the Z Fold 6 against the Z Fold 5 for you to decide if it’s worth buying.
Samsung made foldable smartphones popular with the original Galaxy Z Fold, and it still leads the way with its newer foldables. The Galaxy Z Fold 5 dominated the market with its durable design and powerful performance. It tops our best foldable phone list, beating the likes of the OnePlus Open and the Pixel Fold.
Last year’s foldable now faces competition within its own ranks as Samsung has announced the Galaxy Z Fold 6. It offers a better display, a new chipset, and improvements in the design and build quality.
Price comparison
Samsung- Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5— $1900
- Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6— $1800
Samsung’s foldable phones don’t come cheap, with the Z Fold 5 starting at $1,800. That price has remained consistent for the last three generations, but Samsung has changed it with the Z Fold 6. The new foldable starts at $1,900, which is $100 more than its predecessor.
Design and display
| Display Specs | Galaxy Z Fold 6 | Galaxy Z Fold 5 |
| Unfolded Dimensions | 153.5 x 132.6 x 5.6 mm | 154.9 x 129.9 x 6.1 mm |
| Inner Display Size | 7.6 inches | 7.6 inches |
| Inner Display Aspect Ratio | 7:6 | 7:6 |
| Cover Screen Size | 6.3 inches | 6.2 inches |
| Cover Screen Aspect Ratio | 22:1:9 | 23.1:9 |
| Thickness (Folded) | 12.1 mm | 13.4 mm |
| Thickness (Unfolded) | 5.6 mm | 6.1 mm |
| Weight | 239g | 253g |
The Galaxy Z Fold 6’s design is almost the same as the Z Fold 5, but the new device features a boxier look and slightly tweaked camera island. It opts for a wider cover screen than its predecessor and gets sharp corners. The current Z Fold 5 has round corners.
Both devices are different in terms of dimensions. The Z Fold 6 has a 7.6-inch foldable display with a 7:6 aspect ratio and a 6.3-inch cover screen with a 22:1:9 aspect ratio. By comparison, the Z Fold 5’s cover screen has an aspect ratio of 23.1:9.
The main and cover screens on both phones feature a Dynamic AMOLED 2X with 120 Hz adaptive refresh rate. The cover display and the back of the phones have Corning Gorilla Glass 2 protection.
Cameras
SamsungThe Galaxy Z Fold 6 features the same cameras as the Z Fold 5. There’s a 50MP main sensor, a 12MP ultrawide lens, and a 10MP telephoto shooter on the Z Fold 6. For selfies, they have a 10MP camera on the outer screen and a 4MP under-display camera on the inside.
Specs
| | Galaxy Z Fold 6 (rumored) | Galaxy Z Fold 5 |
| Processor | Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 | Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 |
| RAM | 12GB LPDDR5 (max) | 8GB LPDDR5 (max) |
| Battery | 4400 mAh | 4400 mAh |
| Charging | 25W wired, 15W wireless | 25W, 15W wireless |
| Price | Starting at $1,800 | Starting at $1,800 |
The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 features a Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chip under the hood, similar to the Galaxy S24 Ultra. The Z Fold 5, on the other hand, utilizes the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chip. Both of these phones use a “for Galaxy” version of the chips with an increased primary clock speed.
For instance, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chip on the OnePlus 12 has a clock speed of 3.3GHz, while the same chip inside the Galaxy S24 Ultra operates at a 3.39Hz clock speed. There isn’t a noticeable performance difference between the two, though, according to XDA Developers.
Both the Galaxy Z Fold 5 and Z Fold 6 have the same 12GB of RAM and up to 1TB of storage. Their batteries also remain the same at 4400mAh, as does the charging speed at 25W wired and 15W wireless. However, Samsung claims that the Z Fold 6 will be more efficient.
Software and updates
SamsungThe Galaxy Z Fold 6 has more software features than the Fold 5. It brings over the Note Assist and Circle to Search features from the Galaxy S24 Ultra, and with the new Android 14-based One UI 6.1.1, it makes the most of the foldable design.
Interpreter mode lets both people see translations on the main and cover screens, while Sketch to Image uses AI to turn sketches into detailed artwork. Plus, the Z Fold 6 gets 7 years of software updates, compared to the 5 years for the Z Fold 5.
Which phone is better?
Judging by the raw specs, the Z Fold 6 appears to have a slight edge, but there aren’t many drastic changes. The display and cameras are essentially the same, though the cover screen is now slightly brighter. You also get a better processor with the Z Fold 6 and longer software support. However, the price increase might make you stick with your older foldable.