Between its Z Flip and Z Fold lines, Samsung used to have the folding phone market sewn up – but challengers are arriving thick and fast, meaning the firm can’t afford to coast any more. That means all eyes are now on the Galaxy Z Fold 6, which is almost certain to launch in summer 2024.
How will it differ from the Galaxy Z Fold 5, which is easily one of the best-selling foldable phones worldwide? Will it take design or hardware inspiration from the Google Pixel Fold or OnePlus Open, the two rivals snapping at its heels? And will its cameras finally be on par with the best traditional smartphones? Here’s everything we’d heard about the upcoming foldable so far.
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 expected release date
Whether Samsung will launch a Galaxy Z Fold 6 or not isn’t really up for debate: company reps hinted they had already started work on a Z Fold 5 follow-up when we visited Samsung’s HQ as part of that phone’s launch event. And given Apple has yet to attempt a foldable phone of its own, Samsung will surely want to extend its lead as much as possible.
As for when a Z Fold 6 will arrive, though? That’s more of an unknown. Last year Samsung mixed things up by introducing the Galaxy Z Fold 5 in July, several weeks earlier than its traditional August launch slot:
- Galaxy Z Fold 5: launched 26 July 2023
- Galaxy Z Fold 4: launched 10th August 2022
- Galaxy Z Fold 3: launched 24th August 2021
- Galaxy Z Fold 2: launched 5th August 2020
The days of Samsung piggybacking on trade shows such as Mobile World Congress or IFA are long gone. Expect the Z Fold 6 to arrive alongside a Galaxy Z Flip 6, and possibly new Galaxy Watch wearables, at a dedicated Unpacked event.
The rumour mill is currently more focused on the upcoming Galaxy S24 series, which looks set to appear in January 2024. Once that is done and dusted, we expect Samsung to finalise its dates – and leaked reports to follow shortly after.
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 hardware & design rumours
Right now there’s very little information about the Galaxy Z Fold 6, official or otherwise, doing the rounds – but that doesn’t mean we’re completely in the dark about what to expect when it arrives.
During a trip to Samsung’s HQ back in July 2023 we got to see several dummy handsets used as design studies for an upcoming foldable phone; almost all had wider outer screens than the current Z Fold 5, suggesting Samsung is finally planning to alter the Fold format from ‘slim and skinny’. We also saw one prototype with a built-in S Pen stylus. The camera bump and central frame are unlikely to change too dramatically, as they’re now consistent with the rest of Samsung’s Galaxy phone line-up.
Naver, a leaker with a good track record, has suggested the Z Fold 6 is getting new aspect ratios for both its inner and outer screens. There are no specifics, but the smart money would be on Samsung using a wider outer screen, as it’s what many people have been clamouring for. Another suggestion is that the design will provide a hint at the Galaxy S25 line-up, which isn’t due until early 2025.
Internally, a Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 processor looks certain; Qualcomm and Samsung announced a ‘multi-generation’ deal when the firm swapped from its own Exynos CPUs, and performance-wise it’s already shaping up to be quite the flagship chip. It’ll also bring AI smarts into the fold, helping Samsung compete with Google and the rumoured AI-assisted Apple iPhone 16 Pro.
Memory and storage options will probably remain unchanged, while battery capacity will depend on whether the screen size increases by any meaningful amount, freeing up space inside the handset for a bigger cell. The Galaxy S24 Ultra is rumoured to be getting faster 65W charging speeds, which are then likely to filter through to the Z Fold 6. The current Z Fold 5 can only charge at 25W, which is a long way short of some rivals.
There’s nothing confirmed as yet, but based purely on Samsung’s prior form we’re expecting some camera hardware upgrades this generation. That’s because the Z Fold 2 and 3 used the same sensors, which were then changed for the Z Fold 4 and 5 models. An obvious move would be to add a 5x zoom lens, as plenty of rivals can now reach that far without digital trickery.
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 feature wish list
As much as we loved the Galaxy Z Fold 5, it only earned four stars in our review. There’s plenty of room for improvement, and these are the areas we reckon Samsung should address first so its next model scores even higher. Oh and if these sound familiar, it’s because we had a similar wish list for last year’s model. Fingers crossed Samsung is listening this time around…
Killer cameras
It’s a story that isn’t unique to Samsung, but we’re tired of seeing foldable phones costing north of $1500/£1500 packing camera kit that isn’t as capable as a traditional handset costing half the price. Google is guilty of it, too. OnePlus seems to have bucked the trend, though, and we’d love to see the Z Fold 6 do the same.
A shorter, wider outer screen
This is very wishful thinking on our part, given Samsung seems set on keeping the tall, skinny screen seen on the Galaxy Z Fold 5, but we’d love to see some different dimensions instead. The OnePlus Open found a sweet spot that’s a lot easier to use while folded shut, single-handed or otherwise than either the Z Fold 5 or stubby Google Pixel Fold. Samsung following suit would make the Z Fold 6 much more usable as a phone, rather than a tablet that can be folded up to fit in your pocket.
Find room for an S Pen
The Galaxy Z Fold 5 officially supports Samsung’s S Pen digital stylus – but you still don’t get one in the box, and there’s still nowhere to store it inside the phone itself, like there is on the Galaxy S23 Ultra. We get that folding inner screens are more delicate than a traditional phone display, but another year of research into materials hopefully means the Z Fold 6’s display will be tougher – meaning more owners can be trusted with a stylus.
