After years of being uncontested in the foldable space, Samsung finds itself in a peculiar spot trying to reclaim its throne. There’s more pressure for the upcoming Galaxy Z Fold 6 to prove it’s the best foldable phone around, especially considering how the competition in the last year has whittled away at Samsung’s tight grasp.
With rumors about the next Galaxy Unpacked event happening even earlier this year, it’s only a matter of time before the foldable phone is officially revealed — presumably alongside the Galaxy Z Flip 6. Rumored details around the notebook style foldable phone have been swirling around for some time now, so expectations are going to be much higher with this release than any model before because it’s a huge opportunity for Sammy to set the bar for all other foldable phones released this year.
Samsung can’t afford yet another modest upgrade like last year’s Z Fold 5, which saw heated competition from the OnePlus Open and Google Pixel Fold. Here’s all the biggest rumored upgrades coming to the Galaxy Z Fold 6.
Embracing wider aspect ratio
For five generations the Galaxy Z Fold line held onto a narrower looking aspect ratio that makes it taller than most slates, but the Galaxy Z Fold 6 could be in for a major shakeup. That’s because it sounds like it’s adopting a wider aspect ratio with its cover screen, which would make it feel more natural to hold in the hand. Leaked 360 video and renders show this big change.
By widening the phone, this would make the design this time around thinner both folded and unfolded. There are also practical applications for this change when it comes to its usability, much like how apps better scale side-by-side with the larger, inner display.
Sturdier titanium frame
Along with the aspect ratio change, the Galaxy Z Fold 6 is also tipped to gain one of the Galaxy S24 Ultra’s exclusive features — a titanium frame. Given the hefty price tag that the phone is expected to fetch for, this premium material makes perfect sense for Samsung’s most expensive smartphone.
This would inherently improve the durability of the Galaxy Z Fold 6, which would replace the aluminum frames Samsung has been using. Due to its better durability, the titanium frame should hold up better against drops and other dings.
More resilient foldable display
One of the challenges that foldable phone owners face, especially those using notebook style ones, is the tremendous wear and tear exerted on the inner display. Samsung certainly improved the foldable display in the Galaxy Z Fold 5 last year by incorporating a gapless hinge, but the Z Fold 6 may be in store for a more resilient one due to a trademark application uncovered for the term “Ironflex.”
The only detail surrounding this in the filing is how it’s related to a “foldable OLED display panel” and a “foldable smartphone.” Based on the name alone, it could be more durable against scratches, including from wear and tear folding it constantly. Of course, this would be a great addition if Samsung also improves the brightness output of both the inner and outer displays.
Exclusively running Snapdragon 8 Gen 3
One could argue that notebook style foldable phones are far more demanding than the average phone, which is why the Galaxy Z Fold 6 needs as much muscle power with its multitasking and gaming experiences. Samsung made a departure this year by choosing two different processors to power its S24 flagship series, but it looks like the Galaxy Z Fold 6 will be exclusively running the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 — as opposed to breaking it up with its in-house Exynos chips for certain markets.
This means no matter where it’s sold, stateside or abroad, the Z Fold 6 will harness Qualcomm’s latest and greatest silicon. This makes sense, given the tremendous performance boosts and battery gains we’ve seen in phones powered by it, like the Galaxy S24 Ultra and OnePlus 12.
Longer battery life
There’s no denying the improved power efficiency of the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3. Even if the Galaxy Z Fold 6 ends up getting the same battery size as its predecessor, the power efficient Snapdragon should still deliver big gains.
Last year’s Galaxy Z Fold 5 reached a respectable 10 hours and 55 minutes with its 4,400 mAh in Tom’s Guide’s battery benchmark test. To put it into perspective, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 equipped Galaxy S23 Ultra reached a time of 13 hours and 9 minutes — while the newer S24 Ultra with a Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 goes longer at 16 hours and 45 minutes. And it’s worth mentioning that they both have the same 5,000 mAh battery.
This bodes well for the Galaxy Z Fold 6 to eclipse the OnePlus Open in the battery life department, which got a time of 11 hours and 45 minutes.
Galaxy AI features
AI has been the hot topic of late just about everywhere you look in consumer tech, so we suspect that it’ll play a major part in the Galaxy Z Fold 6’s story. What’s important to mention here is that the recent One UI 6.1 update actually brought many of the Galaxy AI features first introduced by the Galaxy S24 to older Galaxy devices, including the Galaxy Z Fold 5. Meaning, it has Galaxy AI features such as Generative Edit, Live Translate, and Instant Slow-Mo.
There’s been very little around what new, if any, Galaxy AI features that will be introduced with the Z Fold 6. Obviously, it should gain new features related to Flex Mode — like perhaps incorporating better multitasking similar to the Open Canvas on the OnePlus Open. Given the phone’s high price point, exclusive Galaxy AI features would be big reasons for people to choose it.
Premium Galaxy Z Fold 6 Ultra
And lastly, one of the biggest rumored upgrades could actually turn out to be a surprise model in a Galaxy Z Fold 6 Ultra. As the naming convention suggests, this could be a more premium version of the foldable phone — complete with a built-in S Pen, larger 200MP main camera, bigger battery, and perhaps a more powerful telephoto zoom camera. Knowing that this model would sit above the Galaxy Z Fold 6, it would inherently cost much more. There hasn’t been a whole lot of Galaxy Z Fold 6 Ultra rumors, with only leaked model designations hinting to this possibility.
Only time will tell if all of these upgrades can help the Galaxy Z Fold 6 to reclaim the top position. So far, the phone's tipped to launch at around the same price as before — which would put it $1,800 and maybe a lot more for the rumored Ultra model.
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