Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 6 vs Flip 5: Biggest differences

Now the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 6 is official, it's time to properly judge how it compares to the outgoing Galaxy Z Flip 5.

The Galaxy Z Flip 5 was the biggest update to the Z Flip series since it was introduced, offering a much larger outer display for more practical use than the old sliver of display that showed you notifications, a tiny camera viewfinder and little else. The Galaxy Z Flip 6 isn't as much of a revolution, but there are still changes under its skin that make it noticeably better. But whether that's worth the higher price is another matter.

We'll be updating this guide soon once we've conducted our full battery of tests on the Galaxy Z Flip 6, but here's how the two phones compare as it stands. And don't forget to check out the rest of Galaxy Unpacked July 2024's launches, like the Galaxy Z Fold 6, Galaxy Watch 7, Galaxy Watch Ultra and Galaxy Ring.

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 6 vs. Galaxy Z Flip 5: Specs

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 6 vs. Galaxy Z Flip 5: Price and availability

Samsung's been selling the Galaxy Z Flip 5 since last summer, but the Galaxy Z Flip 6 hits store shelves on July 24th, with pre-orders open from July 10th.

The Galaxy Z Flip 6, at $1,049/£1,049 is the same price as the $999/£1,049 Galaxy Z Flip 5 was at launch in the U.K., but in the U.S., the Z Flip 6 is now $100 more. And no doubt that gap will grow larger now that the Z Flip 5 is no longer the latest model, and starts to receive deeper discounts.

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 6 vs. Galaxy Z Flip 5: Design and display

It's hard to tell the Galaxy Z Flip 6 and Galaxy Z Flip 5 apart from a glance. The two foldables share the same size and weight, and the same AMOLED display tech inside and out. Both have 6.7-inch FHD inner screens with up to a 120Hz refresh rate, and outer, 60Hz 3.4-inch displays.

Samsung has at least switched around the colors between generations. You can buy the Galaxy Z Flip 5 in Mint, Graphite, Cream or Lavender by default, with Gray, Blue, Green, and Yellow available on top of those if you buy the phone directly from Samsung. 

Yellow and Blue are now default colors for the Galaxy Z Flip 6, which also keeps around Mint and the Graphite-esque Silver Shadow. The unique Samsung-only colors for this model are Crafted Black, White and Peach.

These colors can be seen around the Galaxy Z Flip 6's cameras, giving the otherwise blank outer screen a different personality for each colorway. The surrounds are all the same silver color on the Galaxy Z Flip 5.

The one key difference between the build of the Galaxy Z Flip 5 and Galaxy Z Flip 6 is their durability. The Galaxy Z Flip 6 uses improved Armor Aluminum and Gorilla Glass Victus 2 (instead of original GG Victus) to provide a tougher shell than the older model, and a stronger and thinner folding mechanism to boot.

This advantage extends to dust/water resistance. The Z Flip 5 has an IPX8 rating, which means it's certified survive against being dropped water but not necessarily dust or other small particles. Meanwhile, the Galaxy Z Flip 6's IP48 rating gives a Samsung flip foldable certified dust resistance for the first time, an important extra guarantee that the phone will survive accidents or unfortunate weather.

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 6 vs. Galaxy Z Flip 5: Cameras

One of Samsung's biggest upgrades between the Galaxy Z Flip 5 and Galaxy Z Flip 6 is the swapping out of the old foldable's 12MP main camera for a 50MP one. This allows for both higher-resolution standard photos when required, but also an effective 2x lossless zoom mode, just like Samsung's other Galaxy phones with this sensor offer.

Other than this, the two Z Flips use the same 12MP ultrawide and 10MP selfie camera resolutions. The Z Flip 6's ultrawide camera is a new model of sensor, offering 4K video for the first time and better low-light performance. But barring some firmware upgrades, there probably won't be much of a difference between these two phones' wide or front-facing shots. But we'll report back with full results once we've tested the phones together.

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 6 vs. Galaxy Z Flip 5: Performance

The Galaxy Z Flip 6 makes the obvious chipset upgrade from the Z Flip 5, using the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 for Galaxy instead of the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2. The Z Flip 6 also features 12GB of RAM instead of 8GB like all previous Z Flips used, and the first-ever vapor chamber cooling system on a Samsung flip foldable, both of which should provide performance benefits too. But like with the photos, we'll report back when we have full benchmark results.

Both phones have the same 256GB default and 512GB optional storage capacities. The only difference is that both are more expensive in the Galaxy Z Flip 6's case, even when comparing it against the Galaxy Z Flip 5's original pricing.

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 6 vs. Galaxy Z Flip 5: Battery and charging

The 3,700 mAh battery in the Galaxy Z Flip 5 has been swapped out for a larger 4,000 mAh model in the Galaxy Z Flip 6. Taking into account the identical displays and the newer, more efficient chipset, this could mean a nice upgrade in battery life for the newer phone. Check back soon for our test results.

Even if the battery life of the Galaxy Z Flip 6 could be improved over the Galaxy Z Flip 5, charging won't be, with both phones offering the same 25W wired and 15W wireless charging support. In fact with the larger battery, the Galaxy Z Flip 6 may charge slower than the Z Flip 5 since it's got more milliamp-hours to fill up.

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 6 vs. Galaxy Z Flip 5: Software and special features

The Galaxy Z Flip 6 ships with Android 14, which is a version newer than the Android 13 software that the Galaxy Z Flip 5 came with. But the Z Flip 5 can be updated to the same software version, which is only a minor inconvenience.

However, going forward the Z Flip 6 will receive more software upgrade generations both by being newer and by having a promised seven years against the Z Flip 5's four years.

Samsung's debuting some upgraded Galaxy AI features with the Galaxy Z Flip 6 such as Interpreter mode for in-person translations utilizing both the inner and outer displays, new AI-generated responses to messages, and real-time translation while in voice calls. The Galaxy Z Flip 5 didn't ship with any Galaxy AI abilities, but has been updated post-launch to offer them. Hopefully it'll gain these new powers itself within a few months, similar to before.

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 6 vs. Galaxy Z Flip 5: Outlook

Samsung's given the Galaxy Z Flip 6 a good bundle of upgrades over the Galaxy Z Flip 5, making it clearly the superior phone. Instead this comparison hinges on the value offering of these two foldables.

While a better main camera, chipset, and battery, plus a tougher design and better software are good to have, the question is if this is worth paying at least $100/£100 over what you'd pay for the older model that does all the basic stuff the same. We'd lean toward accepting the extra cost and getting the new model, but we'll have a full answer for you as soon as we've completed our testing.