OPINION: Samsung might’ve been one of the first to market with a foldable with the release of the original Galaxy Fold back in 2019, but the competition has caught up – and arguably surpassed – the Korean giant in the past few years with alternatives that are thinner, lighter and more user friendly.
However, rumours suggest that could finally change with the upcoming Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6.
The source of this rumour is the ever-reliable Ice Universe, who took to X (formerly Twitter) earlier this week with a whole host of leaked Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 spec claims – and if true, it sounds like the biggest upgrade for the book-style foldable yet.
Per the leaker, the Galaxy Z Fold 6 could drop 14g, bringing it down to a more acceptable 239g which isn’t that far off the 232g Galaxy S24 Ultra, and it’s also the same as the competing OnePlus Open.
Not content with a lighter foldable, Samsung has allegedly reduced its thickness. The Z Fold 6 reportedly measures 5.6mm thick when unfolded and 12.1mm when folded. That’s a big improvement on the 6.1mm and 13.4mm, respectively, of last year’s Galaxy Z Fold 5.
Considering that the Galaxy Z Fold 5 was among the thickest foldables on the market even at its launch in August 2023, it should make a big difference to the device’s overall look and feel.
After all, I’ve praised the OnePlus Open and Honor Magic V2 for their svelte dimensions, which really do make a difference in daily use. The Z Fold 5 was just a little too chunky, and that’s a tad awkward considering it’s still one of the most expensive foldables around. Both the OnePlus Open and Honor Magic V2 come in at slightly less despite their improved designs.
However, the big change I’m most looking forward to is the redesigned cover screen – arguably the biggest pain point of the Z Fold line since its inception. All current iterations of Z Fold sport an awkwardly tall and narrow 6.2-inch cover display that’s a little too tall for comfortable one-handed use and too narrow to enjoy TikToks or games without having to unfold the phone.
That, again, is in stark contrast to the foldable competition with the OnePlus Open and Magic V2 sporting 6.3- and 6.4-inch panels that closely resemble a regular smartphone display.
That means they’re instantly more easily useable one-handed, and apps load as you’d expect, reducing the need to unfold the phone for a quick scroll through TikTok or a round of Call of Duty Mobile.
Even the Google Pixel Fold, with its short, squat 5.8-inch cover display, provides a better experience than the Z Fold 5’s narrow panel.
There is a caveat here though; even with the change, it will still not be as user-friendly as the competition. Ice Universe claims it’ll sport a slightly more regular – but still tall and skinny – 22:9 aspect ratio.
For context, the current Z Fold 5 6.2-inch cover screen has a 23.1:9 aspect ratio, while the OnePlus Open sports a 20:9 aspect ratio shared by plenty of regular phones.
Of course, there’s still a lot that we don’t know about the Galaxy Z Fold 6.
It’s safe to assume it’ll sport either the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 or Samsung Exynos 2400 chipset as with the Galaxy S24 range, but whether elements like camera, battery life or screen tech get a much-deserved boost is yet to be seen.
Considering the Z Fold 5 falls behind the camera offering of the competing Magic V2 and OnePlus Open, both in terms of megapixel count and overall quality, it’s certainly in need of some TLC.
In a world with increased competition in the premium foldable space, Samsung can’t afford to simply rest on its laurels with the Galaxy Z Fold 6. It really needs to keep innovating to regain the foldable throne that it helped build, but we’ll have to wait until later this year to see if it has succeeded.
