After the launch of the Galaxy S24 series at the beginning of the year, the South Korean company has recently announced its new range of foldable devices, namely the Galaxy Z Fold 6 and Galaxy Z Flip 6. Many will probably have noticed that, compared to the previous generation, there are not many big changes, especially on the Galaxy Z Fold 6. Therefore, given the decidedly high selling price, it is interesting to compare the new Galaxy Z Fold 6 and Galaxy Z Fold 5 to understand what the differences are and whether it is worth buying the new model or “settling” for the previous one.
The Galaxy Z Fold 6 differs from the Galaxy Z Fold 5 in terms of display quality.
Both models adopt a foldable internal display with OLED technology, specifically Foldable Dynamic AMOLED 2X. Essentially, it is the same panel, with only slight differences in maximum brightness and little else. The new-generation foldable phone adopts a 7.6-inch panel with a resolution of 1,856 x 2,160 pixels and a refresh rate of 120 Hz. The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5, on the other hand, adopts a 7.6-inch panel with a resolution of 1,812 x 2,176 pixels and a refresh rate of 120 Hz.
Both panels manage to reach very high brightness levels, with the Z Fold 5 reaching 1,900 nits of maximum brightness outdoors and the Z Fold 6 reaching 2,600 nits. As for the external display, the Galaxy Z Fold 6 adopts a 6.3-inch Dynamic LTPO AMOLED 2X solution with a resolution of 968 x 2,376 pixels and a refresh rate of 120 Hz. The Z Fold 5, on the other hand, adopts a 6.2-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X panel with a resolution of 904 x 2,316 pixels and a refresh rate of 120 Hz.
In both cases, these are two very high-quality panels, but above all, in terms of brightness, the new generation smartphone is superior. Furthermore, the new model will include LTPO technology.
The Galaxy Z Fold 6 differs from the Galaxy Z Fold 5 in terms of design.
The design of the two smartphones is substantially identical; in fact, in both cases we have an opening towards the outside that reveals the internal foldable display, transforming the smartphone into a small tablet.
In both cases, we have a body made of glass and aluminium with a small island placed on the back to house the photographic compartment. Samsung uses a body made of armour aluminium, or reinforced aluminium, to protect the device from damage on both models, but the new Galaxy Z Fold 6 sees the introduction of what is called enhanced armor aluminium, which brings some improvements in terms of resistance.
The dual-track Flex Hinge is strong and durable, and most importantly, it features IPX8 certification on the Z Fold 5 and IP48 certification on the Z Fold 6 for water resistance.
The Galaxy Z Fold 6 outperforms the Galaxy Z Fold 5.
The Galaxy Z Fold 6 and Galaxy Z Fold 5 both offer top-level performance; in fact, in both cases, we find a high-end Qualcomm chip. Specifically, the new model uses a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chip with a 4-nanometer production process, whereas the previous model used a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 with a 4-nanometer production process. In both cases, these are top-level hardware platforms, which are able to guarantee excellent performance and, at the same time, excellent energy efficiency.
There are no differences even in terms of the type of memory used; in fact, in both cases, we find 12 Gigabytes of LPDDR5X RAM and 256/512 Gigabytes, or 1 terabyte, of UFS 4.0 internal memory.
In everyday use, it will be difficult to notice any noteworthy differences between the two models, although we must specify that the Galaxy Z Fold 6’s chip manages to offer a little more in terms of raw power.
Galaxy Z Fold 6 vs. Galaxy Z Fold 5: the cameras
Even though Samsung is one of the best companies when it comes to mobile photography performance, the Fold series has always been a step behind the Galaxy S series. Both the Galaxy Z Fold 6 and the Galaxy Z Fold 5 use essentially the same sensors, but the new NPU of the next-generation model, coupled with the ProVisual Engine, is able to offer better final rendering.
Both Samsung foldables are equipped with three sensors, namely a 50-megapixel main, a 12-megapixel ultra-wide angle, and a 10-megapixel telephoto lens with support for 3x optical zoom. On the front, however, we have a 10-megapixel sensor on the external display and a 4 4-megapixel display on the internal one.
With both devices, you will always be able to get high-quality photos and videos in any light condition. However, do not expect performance in line with the top of the range of the moment.
Galaxy Z Fold 6 vs. Galaxy Z Fold 5: Battery and Operating System
The battery on the Galaxy Z Fold 5 and Z Fold 6 has a capacity of 4,400 mAh, which supports 25W fast charging and 15W wireless charging. In both cases, we are faced with two fairly valid models in terms of autonomy, but the new model manages to offer a little more, thanks to the better optimization of the chip used. In any case, we are talking about truly negligible differences.
Finally, as for the operating system, on the one hand, we have the Galaxy Z Fold 5 with Android 13 (already updated to Android 14) and the One UI interface, and on the other hand, we have Android 14 with the One UI interface. The Galaxy AI, or rather the entire suite of artificial intelligence that made its debut with the Galaxy S24 series, is present on both models. On the updates side, however, Samsung offers 7 years of operating system updates and security patches on the new model.
Galaxy Z Fold 6 vs. Galaxy Z Fold 5: the price
The last aspect to evaluate in this comparison between the Galaxy Z Fold 6 and the Galaxy Z Fold 5 concerns the selling price. In both cases we will talk about list prices, even if the Galaxy Z Fold 5 has been available on the market for a year, so it can easily be found at a lower price (take a look at our comparator).
Galaxy Z Fold 5 is available in memory versions of 12/256 Gigabyte at the list price of 1,999 euros, 12/512 Gigabyte at the list price of 2,199 euros, and the variant with 1 Terabyte at the list price of 2,359 euros.
