In the half-decade we’ve had folding phones, they have operated at opposite ends of the spectrum. One side wants to maximize power and productivity with tablet-like foldables, while the other wants to make your phone as minimalistic as possible. Samsung caters to both of these groups with its Galaxy Z Fold and Z Flip series, and it’s had five years of experience in that department.
We’re not far away from both the Galaxy Z Fold 6 and Z Flip 6, but the rumor mill is still steadily churning. Here’s what we know about the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 6 so far.
Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 6: release date
Samsung releases the Galaxy Z Flip alongside its larger sibling, the Galaxy Z Fold, at the same time. In the past, Samsung’s foldables have always come out in the summer. The Galaxy Z Flip 3 was released on August 27, 2021, the Z Flip 4 was launched on August 26, 2022, and the Galaxy Z Flip 5 was released on August 11, 2023. However, we’ll see this year’s Flip a bit earlier than usual.
On June 25, Samsung confirmed that its next Unpacked event will be held on July 10 in Paris, France, and will start at 9 a.m. ET/6 a.m. PT.
During this Galaxy Unpacked event, we can expect the Galaxy Z Flip 6, along with the Galaxy Z Fold 6 and the Galaxy Ring. There have also been rumors of an “Ultra” variant of the Z Fold 6, but details have been sparse. Samsung should also be launching the next iteration of watches with the Galaxy Watch 7 series, as well as a new Galaxy Watch Ultra.
Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 6: price
While the Galaxy Z Fold series has always been very expensive, the Z Flip devices have been a bit more affordable for most people. Currently, the Galaxy Z Flip 5 starts at $1,000 for the 256GB version, and the 512GB version costs $1,120. However, we may see a price increase this year.
A leak from GSMArena has spotted retail listings in Europe for the Galaxy Z Flip 6, and it starts at €1,340 for the 256GB model and €1,467 for the 512GB version. This converts to about $1,435 and $1,572, which is a significant jump. This appears to be only in Europe, though, so it’s not clear if there will be a price increase in the U.S.
Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 6: design
The overall look of the Galaxy Z Flip 6 is likely to be similar to the current Galaxy Z Flip 5, though some improvements will be made to its durability.
According to a report from the German site GalaxyClub, a patent filing from the Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO) under Samsung Display shows that the company is trying to trademark “Ironflex.”
There is not much known about Ironflex, aside from the fact that it’s related to a “foldable OLED display panel” and “foldable smartphone.” It’s likely to be a more durable foldable screen, and we do know that Samsung has been working on improving the dust resistance of its foldables.
There were also leaked renders from SmartPrix, in collaboration with OnLeaks, showing what the Galaxy Z Flip 6 would look like in a full 360-degree video and 5K renders.
The Galaxy Z Flip 6 looks similar to what we have right now, including the 6.7-inch main screen. The power button is on the right side and doubles as the fingerprint sensor, along with volume buttons. The USB-C port and speakers are also at the bottom, which is pretty standard.
The leaked render shows the back of the device with what appears to be a 3.4-inch cover display, which is currently on the Galaxy Z Flip 5. However, leaker Ross Young claims that the Z Flip 6 could have a larger cover display at 3.9 inches. It also looks like the Z Flip 6’s cover display is sticking with the folder-like shape Samsung introduced on the Flip 5 last year. The Z Flip 6 also appears a bit thicker than before. SmartPrix claims the phone’s depth has increased to 7.4mm from 6.9mm, potentially indicating there’s room for a larger battery this year.
As far as colors go, leaker Ross Young, who has a reputable track record, has a full list of the potential colors for the Galaxy Z Flip 6 posted on X (formerly Twitter). These colors include Light Blue, Mint, Silver Shadow, Yellow, Crafted Black, Peach, and White colors. He had previously said that colors would include Light Blue, Light Green, Silver, and Yellow, indicating that the Light Green is now Mint and Silver is Silver Shadow.
Previously said Z Flip 6 colors were:
Light Blue, Light Green, Silver and Yellow
They are still there but now Light Green is called Mint and Silver is called Silver Shadow.
New, lower volume colors are:
Crafted Black, Peach and White— Ross Young (@DSCCRoss) April 22, 2024
Ross also said that three colors would be “lower volume,” indicating that they may be exclusive colors, likely direct from Samsung.com. These exclusives would be Crafted Black, Peach, and White. The other colors would be considered standard.
9to5Google obtained photos of dummy units for both the Galaxy Z Fold 6 and Z Flip 6 from Sonny Dickson in June. For the Z Flip 6, the dummy unit appears identical to what we already have with the Z Flip 5. Unlike the sharp and flat edges of the Z Fold 6, the Z Flip 6 will still retain rounded corners from before. The camera setup also looks the same.
Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 6: specs
It’s very likely that the Galaxy Z Flip 6 will use the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 for Galaxy chip that is already in the S24 lineup. Based on our use of the Galaxy S24, Galaxy S24 Plus, and Galaxy S24 Ultra, performance and power efficiency should see a nice boost this year.
Samsung may be taking a different approach with the Galaxy Z Flip 6’s RAM this year, however. There have been multiple reports about a Galaxy Z Flip 6 surfacing on Geekbench results, but one had 8GB RAM, and the other had 12GB RAM. This was first discovered on SamMobile, which shows that Samsung was testing the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset with 12GB RAM rather than the newer Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 with 8GB RAM. This has come up because the Z Flip 6 (SM-F741U) has shown up in Geekbench‘s database with both of these configurations.
This would be a new approach from Samsung, which has typically used the latest chip in its annual phone releases. But it wouldn’t be too surprising. After all, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 is still a very capable chip that can run most of the Galaxy AI features and still has decent power efficiency. Plus, with 12GB RAM, it could be on par with a Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 with less RAM. If this report is accurate, it would also be the first time that the Z Flip would have more than 8GB RAM.
Another possibility is that Samsung is releasing two variants of the Galaxy Z Flip 6: one with 8GB RAM and another higher-end version with 12GB RAM (at least according to a report from Neowin), with both using Snapdragon 8 Gen 3. Typically, the Z Flip series has launched with two storage options but the same amount of RAM. This would be the first time that Samsung has offered two different RAM options for the Z Flip series.
That's great news! I'm glad to hear that the Flip 6 comes equipped with Snapdragon across the board, avoiding any critical issues seen in the Exynos 2400.
— kro (@kro_roe) May 12, 2024
There are also reports that there will be no chipset split with the Galaxy Z Flip 6, according to leaker @kro_roe on X. It looks like the Z Flip 6 will use Snapdragon across the board, though it could be between Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 or Gen 3; there will be no Exynos chip for different regions.
Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 6: cameras
Though it may feel like the Galaxy Z Flip 6 will be very similar to the current flip phone, that may not be true in the case of the Galaxy Z Flip 6 camera.
A report from GalaxyClub suggests that Samsung will be upgrading the dual camera system by bumping up the primary sensor to a 50MP main camera. This is a big jump from the current 12MP camera that is on the Galaxy Z Flip 5. The specs for the ultrawide camera are unknown, and again, it will lack a telephoto camera. We don’t expect the Z Flip 6 to be a camera powerhouse, but a new primary camera sensor is worth getting excited about.
Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 6: battery life
Again, from the leaked renders so far, the Galaxy Z Fold 6 could be slightly thicker than the current iteration. This would make it possible to have a slightly larger battery capacity.
Rumors suggest that the Galaxy Z Flip 6 might have a slight increase to a 4,000mAh battery, which would be an improvement over the Z Flip 5’s 3,700mAh battery. Combined with the new Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chip, which offers better power efficiency, the Z Flip 6 could deliver the battery life upgrades we’ve been waiting for.
Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 6: software and updates
Since the Galaxy Z Flip 6 will be announced in July, it likely won’t ship with Android 15. Instead, it will more than likely come with Android 14 and One UI 6.1. Based on Samsung’s latest commitment to software updates for the S24 series, we should also see about seven years of updates, assuming that the hardware itself holds up that long.
A major selling point for the S24 series is Galaxy AI, which is a suite of AI-powered tools integrated into the OS. Such tools include Live Translate, Chat Assist, Note Assist, Circle to Search, generative photo editing tools, and more. It’s likely that Galaxy AI will come to both the Z Flip 6 and Z Fold 6 devices this summer and continue Samsung’s move toward AI-powered smartphones.
