The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 is one of the best foldable phones money can buy, and the best clamshell foldable phone Samsung has yet made, so we have high hopes for the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 6.
That said, Samsung might have to make some major changes to fully meet our hopes for the phone, and to find out what those are, head to the second half of this article where you’ll find a wish list for the Galaxy Z Flip 6.
Before that though, we’ve taken a look at when the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 6 might launch, what it might cost, and what the early leaks and rumors say about it. We’ll be adding leaks to this article whenever they emerge, so make sure to check back here soon if you want to stay up to date.
Cut to the chase
- What is it? The next clamshell foldable from Samsung
- When is it out? Probably July or August 2024
- How much will it cost? Likely at least $999.99 / £1,049 / AU$1,649,
Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 6: release date and price
The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 6 will probably launch around a year after the Galaxy Z Flip 5, which itself was announced in late July and shipped in mid-august.
So the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 6 will probably be announced in July or August of 2024, and given that the last few models have all actually gone on sale in August, we’d expect the same again from the Z Flip 6.
We also expect it will cost at least as much as the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5, which would mean a starting price of at least $999.99 / £1,049 / AU$1,649, but that’s all just speculation for now.
Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 6: news and leaks
We haven’t heard much about the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 6 yet, but Samsung itself has said it’s working on making a dust-proof foldable phone, so there’s a chance the Z Flip 6 will be that phone. The Galaxy Z Flip 5 already has significant water resistance, but no official dust resistance rating.
Beyond that, leaker @Tech_Reve (who has accurately leaked things in the past), claims that the Galaxy Z Flip 6 will have a 50MP camera. They don’t specify which camera will get this upgrade, but since then GalaxyClub has echoed the claim of a 50MP camera on the Z Flip 6, saying that it will be the main camera, and that a 50MP sensor is currently being tested for it.
For reference, the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 has a 12MP main camera, a 12MP ultra-wide, and a 10MP selfie snapper, while launch parter the Z Fold 5 leads with a 50MP sensor of its own, so switching out any of those on the Flip for a 50MP sensor could make for a sizable upgrade.
Current Upcoming RoadmapMaintain form factor through Fold 5Form factor changes starting with Fold6Flip6 adopt 50MPFoldable Lite model in developmentExpected to launch next yearApril 16, 2023
Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 6: what we want to see
Our Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 review awarded the phone 4.5 stars, so it’s a superb handset, but that doesn’t mean the next model can’t be significantly better. We want to see the following five things from the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 6, to make it the best clamshell foldable possible.
1. Dust resistance
Given how expensive foldable phones are you’d hope they’d be able to withstand a little dust, but most actually have no official dust resistance, and that includes all of Samsung’s foldables. So we’d really like to see this added to the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 6.
Thankfully, there’s hope, as Samsung itself has said it’s working on bringing dust resistance to future foldable phones, but it hasn’t named the Z Flip 6, specifically.
2. Better battery life
We noted in our Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 review that while its battery life was usable, and better than before, it still wasn’t as good as we’d like; no doubt because the phone relies on a fairly small 3,700mAh battery. So for the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 6 we’d like better battery life, whether that’s through a larger battery or optimizations.
We’d also like it to charge faster, as the 25W of the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 is fairly slow by 2023 standards.
3. A telephoto camera
The Galaxy Z Flip 5 isn’t the phone to buy if photography is your priority, and especially not if you’re into telephoto photography, because it doesn’t have a zoom lens.
So we’d love to see one added to the Galaxy Z Flip 6, to go alongside the main and ultra-wide lenses. We’re not even going to insist on a 10x zoom like the one we raved about in our Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra review – a standard 3x would be absolutely fine.
4. A lower price
The price of the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 in the US is actually quite attractive, coming in at just under $1,000, and being the same price as the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4 was at launch – despite coming with double the storage. But the picture isn’t quite so bright elsewhere.
In the UK, the starting price is £50 higher (albeit still marginally cheaper for an equivalent amount of storage, as you’re getting 256GB, rather than 128GB), and in Australia the starting price is substantially higher (with a 256GB version of both the Z Flip 4 and the Z Flip 5 having the same price, but there not being a cheaper 128GB option available in the latter’s case).
This is a trend that we definitely don’t want to see continue, so at the very least we hope prices remain the same for the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 6, but ideally we’d like them to drop in regions outside the US.
5. A bigger cover screen
With the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5, Samsung massively increased the size of the cover screen, to 3.4 inches, up from 1.9 inches on the previous model. That makes it far more usable, but it’s still quite cramped, and there’s space to make it at least a little bigger.
Samsung could even follow Motorola’s lead and put big camera cut-outs in the cover screen like on the Motorola Razr Plus / Razr 40 Ultra; thereby allowing it to take up the whole top half of the phone. But one way or another, we’d like it to be a little bit bigger on the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 6.
Comments