“OMG!”
“What phone is this?”
“How does it fold?”
These have to be some of my favourite reactions from people who catch me using my flip phone for the first time! I don’t blame them because last year, before officially joining the flip side with Samsung Z Galaxy Flip5, I had very similar thoughts. There are so many reasons that I would not switch to an un-foldable phone, or we can say the regular basic ones.
As a 2000s kid, I always wanted a flip phone while growing up, or I love to hang up on people with a simple screenfold.
One of my favourite reasons to use them is the style factor; not only do they fold, but you should see how cool they look with your daily outfits. If you disagree with me, ask the cast of Emily In Paris, who were seen sporting the phone in every scene in the latest season.
And if you need more style proof, you won’t ever not catch a K-drama where the leads flip their phones in a shot or two.
The AI Waggon
I have been using the Samsung Z Galaxy Flip5 since last year, and things have been running smoothly given some software updates and screen guard changes. When I was asked to review the newest member of the Samsung family I had a lot of questions.
The new Samsung Z Galaxy Flip6 has placed its biggest bet on AI; every internal app has something getting enhanced with it. Some features will turn your younger sibling’s rough drawing into a Louvre-worthy image (just kidding, but you got the gist). Other major features are the super easy interpretations, which make it perfect for your Europe trip (sorry, Duolingo).
Nevertheless, my personal favourite part about using the phone was—the new autofocus/auto zoom feature AI feature, which helps external cameras snap pictures of the phone while it is partially open, like a tiny laptop. The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip6 can automatically switch between its main and ultrawide cameras to capture the perfect moment in a photo, depending on the position or the group of people in the frame.
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This surely gives Samsung an upper hand in the market that is filled with AI-developed cameras. What tickled my fancy is that the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip6’s best new features aren’t even these AI enhancements. With its new 50-megapixel primary camera, Samsung has finally caught up to the best of phone cameras with a flagship-worthy finish, giving it tough competition from others. The internal hinge fold line is also less noticeable because of the sleeker hinge.
The new software updates include a new CPU with Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, along with 12GB of RAM. To sum it up, the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip6 is essentially a Galaxy S24 that has the ability to fold in half!
But speaking of the AI enhancements, the phone’s ability to sketch on a photo and turn your sketch into a realistic object like a flower or animal or turn your friend’s image into sketches is a little crazy and addicting. So, if you see me adding a butterfly over my frozen yoghurt, please ignore me.
The Chic Display
As I mentioned earlier, the Samsung Galaxy Flip series is the most stylish phone on the market. To stress the point, Samsung has swapped the gloss of the Z Flip5 with a neater matte finish that makes it appear much more smart. My review unit is blue on the back with matching highlights around the rings of the cover screen’s cameras. The phone’s holds is more rigid than the earlier version. It is dust and water-resistant, with an IP48 rating that allows it to be immersed for up to 30 minutes in 1.5 meters of water.
Like last year’s phone, this one has an inbuilt 6.7-inch display with a refresh rate of up to 120 Hz. The main screen now reaches a peak brightness of 2,600 nits, compared to the Z Flip 5’s internal display’s 1,750 nits. This is the biggest gain. It did take me some time to get used to the tiny aspect ratio of the primary display, particularly the narrow keys on the keyboard.But for those who enjoy catching up on their K-dramas or films, this aspect ratio is excellent for stuff that was shot in a theatre aspect ratio. With one app on the top half of the screen and another on the bottom, the tall, thin screen is also ideal for multitasking.
Performance
With its 12GB of RAM and Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip6 is easy to use. The phone seems unaffected by even taxing activities like recording 4K video or playing heavy games like Genshin Impact. The phone features an integrated vapour chamber cooling mechanism for the first time, which undoubtedly helps keep things from becoming too hot. Sometimes, it gets a little hot, but not to the point where I would have be concerned.
In the end, the new Galaxy Z Flip6 is a fantastic phone. It’s incredible that Samsung provides seven years of OS and security software updates; it’s more than twice as long as its biggest competitor, Motorola, guarantees for the Razr Plus, which is three years. So, are you ready to join the flip side?
