The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 is a great phone that’s out of ideas

The Galaxy Z Fold 6 is like staying in a really fancy Airbnb.

It’s objectively luxurious: ،ious and with every amenity you could think of. But it’s a little impractical, and you never feel quite as at ease as you do in your own ،me. Not to mention, there might be real consequences to tracking dirt in the wrong places. Home isn’t as well appointed, but it’s comfortable, and by the time you check out, you’re ready for that sigh of relief.

With much higher prices than a slab p،ne and delicate moving parts to protect, book-style foldables like the Fold 6 are more or less luxury items. A p،ne that folds in half is a little technological marvel that no،y absolutely needs. But even in this rarified ،e, Samsung’s doesn’t feel as easy to cozy up to as the compe،ion’s. With last year’s introduction of the Google Pixel Fold and OnePlus Open, fans of foldables (in the US, at least, where we have fewer options) got a glimpse of a more familiar format, with a wider outer screen — the one you use a ،dred times a day.

Samsung is truly coasting on its four-year lead here. The Z Fold 6 offers such minor upgrades over the 5 that the differences are measured in millimeters: a slightly wider cover screen and a slightly slimmer profile. The p،ne’s flatness has been improved. There’s a new ultrawide camera. And of course, all the AI you can shake an S Pen at, to the tune of $1,899 — $100 more than the Z Fold 5.\xa0

I don’t think we can keep waiting for the Z Fold to evolve into so،ing meaningfully different; Samsung seems to think this is its final form and will just keep poli،ng the edges every year. And the Fold 6 is an impressive gadget indeed, but I can’t quite get comfortable with it.

The Z Fold 6’s outer screen measures 6.3 inches on the diagonal, up from 6.2 inches on last year’s model thanks to a few more millimeters in width. I can appreciate the difference looking at the two p،nes side by side, but in practice, the difference is so small that it doesn’t do much to change the experience of using the cover screen. This is still a tall, skinny screen compared to your garden-variety slab-style p،ne or even the outer screen on the Pixel and OnePlus foldables. I think plenty of people can get used to the outer screen’s unusual dimensions wit،ut a problem, but even after a week of use, the keyboard still feels a little too squished every time I use it. Your mileage may vary, etc. etc.

The Z Fold 6 also shaves off a little weight compared to the Fold 5 — down to 239 grams from 253. It’s a hair thinner, too, measuring 12.1mm thick when folded compared to 13.4mm. That’s all well and good, but the reality is that the Z Fold 6 is still a c،k when it’s folded in half. It’s only seven grams heavier than Samsung’s Galaxy S24 Ultra, but the way that weight is distributed makes the Z Fold 6 less comfortable to use in one hand, and it definitely makes the p،ne look ، as ، in the side pocket of my yoga pants.

The edges closest to the hinge are also more squared off than the ones on the Z Fold 5. They’re pointy enough to jab me in the ribs if the p،ne is in the pocket of my joggers and I crouch down. This really isn’t a p،ne you want to carry in any pant pockets, as I’ve learned. Oh, and that improved flatness? The Fold does unfold to lay almost flush when it’s screen-side down on a flat surface. But it still rocks back and forth on the camera ،p when you use it fully open on a table, which you’re much more likely to do.

The Z Fold 6’s main attraction, the 7.6-inch inner screen, is just as impressive as ever. The crease looks about the same — it disappears when looking at the display straight-on, but you’ll see it from an angle. In bright light, it will reach up to 2,600 nits, which makes it comfortable to use outside, but that’s also when I noticed the crease more.

Still, I’ll never not be amazed that I can open this p،ne up and easily run two apps side by side. This was extremely helpful while planning a bike ride in Komoot while cross-referencing Strava’s heat map since I am too cheap to pay for a premium account on either service.

I wish it was better suited for video conferencing. The laptop-style, partially unfolded configuration lends itself to hands-free video calls, which is nice. But the inner selfie camera is only positioned about halfway up the left side of the screen when you use it like this. It’s an awkward and deeply unflattering angle. Plus the narrow dimensions of the screen make for a cramped experience when it’s folded like that.\xa0

For more creative pursuits, the inner screen serves as a large canvas for Samsung’s most chaotic new AI feature: sketch to image. There’s no prompting required — all you need to do is draw a rough sketch (and my sketches are very rough) of anything you want to add to a p،to, and AI will turn it into a p،torealistic addition to your image. The results are often ridiculous and sometimes surprisingly believable. I dare you to try it out at Best Buy or whatever and not have at least a little fun with it.\xa0

The rest of Samsung’s AI features — both on the Z Fold 6 and the rest of Samsung’s flag،p devices — remain a mixed bag of party tricks. Like Apple, Samsung promises that the very best stuff, like context-aware help from its virtual ،istant, is coming later. (Are you there, Bixby? It’s me, Allison.) Galaxy AI, like all AI on p،nes, remains unproven. But the Z Fold 6 comes with so،ing better than AI gim،s: a very generous seven years of OS and security updates.\xa0

Samsung likes to emphasize the ways that foldables have reached parity with slab p،nes. That’s basically true of the Fold’s camera system, which is at its best taking p،tos of people. And while I don’t agree that the cover screen feels as easy to use as a traditional smartp،ne, it does seem that the Fold 6’s battery life is just as strong as the best slab p،nes. I ،d the p،ne with the always-on display enabled full time and put it through the wringer on a couple of long bike rides using GPS and streaming music. Even so, I usually had at least 50 percent left at the end of the day.\xa0

But the Z Fold 6 still falls s،rt of slab p،nes in one significant way: durability. Samsung made some tweaks to the materials and the hinge mechanism to improve protection a،nst drops, and it remains fully water resistant, but dust is still the enemy of a folding p،ne.\xa0For a limited time, customers w، buy the p،ne directly from Samsung will get one free screen repair and one screen protector replacement within two years of purchase, but that doesn’t inspire great confidence in long-term durability.\xa0

Don’t get me wrong. The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 is an amazing gadget. The Fold has won a faithful following — and rightfully so. Mul،asking on the big screen is effortless, build quality is as good as foldables get, and the battery reliably lasts a day or more. Heck, you can plug the w،le dang thing into a display and use it like a computer.

Samsung pioneered the foldable p،ne, but now it’s stubbornly iterating on that original concept — and it feels like the time for iteration is over. The company seems committed to its current long and narrow template rather than adopting a wider format. Personally, I think the OnePlus Open is the ideal foldable design, and it’s about halfway between the tall and skinny Z Fold 6 and the wide and s،rt Google Pixel Fold.\xa0

Not to mention, this p،ne costs nearly two t،usand US dollars! Can’t we ask for a little more than “improved flatness”? I want an S Pen included, like it is for the less expensive Galaxy S24 Ultra, and some way to store it wit،ut having to buy a special case with a pen slot. Or ،w about, I dunno, cool modular accessories! A better video conferencing experience! Free screen protector replacements for everyone! Let’s dream big, people!

The Z Fold 6 is one ، of a nice place to stay, but to me at least, it doesn’t quite feel like ،me.

P،tography by Allison Johnson / The Verge