I took over 200 photos with the Galaxy Z Fold 6 vs OnePlus Open — here's the winner

Galaxy Z Fold 6 vs. OnePlus Open both held in the hand showing off their cameras.
(Image credit: Future)

Now that the first notebook-style foldable phone released this year is available, the Galaxy Z Fold 6, it’s aiming to reclaim the top position in our best foldable phones guide. In order for it to do that, however, it’ll need to prove it’s better at capturing photos than the OnePlus Open.

In my OnePlus Open review, I mention how it’s one of the biggest surprises in the foldable space because of its robust features, ingenious multitasking, long battery life and excellent cameras. I was even more impressed by its telephoto camera when I compared it to the Galaxy Z Fold 5 and Pixel Fold last year, but its latest challenger is no slouch in that department either.

Samsung’s amplifying the Galaxy Z Fold 6’s package with brand-new Galaxy AI features that aren’t found in other phones, like the generative wizardry of Magic Sketch and Portrait Studio effects. But it needs more than these extra post-shooting features in order to make a lasting impression among the best camera phones out there.

When it comes to the specs, the Z Fold 6 is accompanied by a 50MP main camera, 12MP ultrawide, 10MP telephoto with 3x optical zoom, 10MP outer selfie, and a 4MP inner selfie camera. In comparison, the OnePlus Open is packing a 48MP main, 48MP ultrawide, 64MP telephoto with 3x optical zoom, 20MP outer selfie, and a 32MP inner selfie cam. Needless to say, the specs heavily favor the OnePlus — but numbers don’t matter until its produced images are compared.

Just like my other shootouts, I compare the over 200 photos I’ve captured between the Galaxy Z Fold 6 and OnePlus Open on my computer to pixel peep everything to uncover the differences between them. Given how last year’s Galaxy Z Fold 5 vs. OnePlus Open gave the win to Samsung’s foldable, it could turn out to be the same here. Let’s find out.

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Galaxy Z Fold 6 vs OnePlus Open: daytime

The results couldn’t be any closer with these images of the carousel at Bryant Park. Both main cameras do a phenomenal job at capturing all the ornate details of the carousel, especially when I zoom into golden frames outlining the top. The only difference between them is how the Fold 6 exposes the shadowed areas of the shots better, while the OnePlus casts a better contrast throughout the shot. This one’s a tie.

Winner: tie

Galaxy Z Fold 6 vs OnePlus Open: dynamic range

Diving deeper into the set of shots I captured to compare their dynamic range performance, the Galaxy Z Fold 6 consistently pulls in more detail in the shadows because of how it bumps up its exposure. Take a peek at the tree branches in all the photos above, which shows how the shadowed areas are better exposed. I also prefer how the Fold 6 handles the brighter sky in all the images.

Winner: Galaxy Z Fold 6

Galaxy Z Fold 6 vs OnePlus Open: color reproduction

This one’s close because both foldable phones have a strong tendency to produce saturated colors. Although, the Galaxy Z Fold 6 is a smidge more aggressive at it. I can see it most in the first set of images of the brightly colored sign right behind the bike racks, which have deeper reds and orange tones. I know how over-saturated colors help to draw attention by giving images that pop, but I would say the slightly less saturated tones of the OnePlus Open are better here.

Winner: OnePlus Open

Galaxy Z Fold 6 vs OnePlus Open: macro

Due to how it offers a dedicated macro mode, the OnePlus Open benefits from being able to get closer to subjects than the Galaxy Z Fold 6. Well, it’s not to say that the Samsung can’t take a good closeup, which it does stunningly, but it can’t achieve the same level of closeness as the OnePlus Pen.

The flower in the first set of images represents how much closer I’m able to get with the OnePlus Open, while still maintaining sharp clarity of the petals and stem. When I punch in more to the shots, I can still see that there's better detail with the OnePlus.

Winner: OnePlus Open

Galaxy Z Fold 6 vs OnePlus Open: outer screen selfie

Since there are several ways of shooting selfies with these foldable phones, I’m going to start with how their outer screen selfie cameras perform because they’re the most convenient to use. The OnePlus Open’s 20MP outer screen camera produces inconsistent results, often over-exposing the scene and details come out much softer. In contrast, the Fold 6’s 10MP outer screen selfie shooter cranks out crisper looking shots paired with better contrast.

Winner: Galaxy Z Fold 6

Galaxy Z Fold 6 vs OnePlus Open: inner screen selfie

Moving onto their inner screen selfies cameras, they’re actually the worst option for selfies or video calls because of their much softer results. But if you absolutely need to use them, the OnePlus Open easily has the better pics. There’s a big disparity between them, which I suspect is due to how the Galaxy Z Fold 6’s selfie camera is positioned underneath the display — whereas the OnePlus Open has a dedicated cutout for it. The Fold 6 simply looks terrible by comparison due to the heavy artefacting elements it produces, which dials down the details in a tremendous way. 

Winner: OnePlus Open

Galaxy Z Fold 6 vs OnePlus Open: portrait

Since they can fold, I would recommend unfolding these phones to pair the rear cameras with their cover screens for the best results with portrait and selfie shots. I’ll say that they both do an excellent job at capturing portrait photos with their main cameras, especially at isolating subjects — all while applying that creamy out-of-focus effect to the background. Between, I favor the Z Fold 6 mainly because of how it better balances out the exposure throughout the scene and results in the better contrast.

Winner: Galaxy Z Fold 6

Galaxy Z Fold 6 vs OnePlus Open: zoom