Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 6 vs. Flip 5: Should you upgrade?

With the Galaxy Z Flip 6, Samsung took what was already an excellent formula and gave it subtle refinement, including a brighter main screen, better main camera, larger battery, and a thermal cooling chamber for the first time in a Galaxy Flip phone. On top of these hardware upgrades, the Flip 6 also gains some useful AI features such as the new “Sketch to Image” which will remain exclusive to the Flip and Fold 6 series for a few months before rolling out to older Galaxy devices including the Flip 5.

So, is this enough to justify an upgrade? We’re talking about a few hardware improvements and first dibs on some software features. Let’s find out.

Hardware overview

Flip 5 (left) Flip 6 (right)

The Flip 6 and Flip 5 have almost the exact same dimensions and weight, so the in-hand feel is nearly identical, except that the newer Flip has flatter sides with a matte coating.

Flip 6 (left), Flip 5 (right)

The 6.7-inch 120Hz folding main screen and 60Hz 3.7-inch outside “Cover Display” remain the same in dimensions and resolution. The main OLED screen is still impressive today in 2024, but the outer screen has fallen behind the competition, which are offering larger panels with thinner bezels, plus higher resolution and refresh rate. You can just do more on the outside screen of a Motorola Razr+ 2024 or Xiaomi Mix Flip than either the Flip 6 or 5.

It is worth applauding that Samsung managed to keep the Flip 6 the same weight despite packing a slightly larger battery (4,000 mAh to 3,700 mAh) and the phone now has a vapor cooling chamber (the previous Flip had none).

The main camera has also been upgraded, from the 12MP, f/1.8 shooter in the past to a 50MP lens, still f/1.8. This 50MP sensor is the same used in the Samsung Galaxy Fold 6 and non-Ultra S24 phones, so while it is a very capable sensor, I’m not going to call it a flagship sensor because there are other phones, including from Samsung, using better hardware still.

Related

Galaxy Z Flip 6 review: The competition is getting too stiff for Samsung to play it this safe

Other than a few (long overdue) hardware upgrades, the Flip 6 this year seems to be banking on AI features and brand power as its appeal

Software and overall performance

New chip, new AI features

Both phones run Android 14, and by and large operate the exact same way. The only difference is that the Flip 6 has early access to the newest Galaxy AI features that launched with the 2024 foldables. There’s an improved interpreter mode that uses both the inner and outside screen to display two sets of languages, and Circle to Search, a feature I really like but many of my reviewer peers find frivolous or pointless.

Also, Sketch to Image allows you to scribble on an image of a Samsung Notes page, and turn that rough finger sketch into either a realistic looking part of a real life photo, or an illustration in various styles (pop art, sketch, 3D graphics, etc). I find Sketch to Image to be a fun and easy way to manipulate a real photo. For example, in the image below, the dog does not exist, I drew it on the Flip and Galaxy AI generated a pretty realistic-looking render of a dog.

Samsung AI’s Sketch to Image generating a dog

Whether you like Sketch to Image will depend on your tastes, but there’s no denying that the lack of S Pen support on the Flip 6 makes the experience more limiting than on the Fold 6, whose larger screen and stylus support really allowed me to do more complicated sketches. On the Flip 6, there’s only so much you can do with a stubby finger on a tight screen.

Otherwise, the software experience is the same. The Flip 5 already gained some of the older Galaxy AI features like Circle to Search and Writing Assist. So the only real difference for now is Sketch to Image.

The Flip 6 is obviously a more powerful phone with a newer Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chip. Benchmark numbers are higher across the board, but really the most notable improvement you’ll see if you’re jumping from Flip 5 to 6 is the slightly longer battery life, and that the phone keeps cooler when gaming, which then in turn keeps performance running more smoothly.

Cameras

A much needed upgrade

The Flip 6’s main camera got an upgrade to a 50MP, f/1.8 shooter — the same sensor used in the Fold 6 and non-Ultra Galaxy S24 phones. This is an upgrade over the 12MP main shooter in the Flip 5, and the results are clear during the day. The more pixel-dense shooter allows Samsung to use pixel-binning to grab more light information and dynamic range, and Samsung’s overall color science processing has improved too. In the shots below, we can compare photos by the Flip 6 on the left and the Flip 5 on the right, in comparison.

Main camera, Flip 6 (left) and Flip 5 (right)

In the above shot, notice the Flip 5’s shot is overexposed overall, with the sky slightly blown out. The Flip 6 keeps the shadows looking like shadows, while maintaining details too. If we zoom into the shots at 100%, we can see the Flip 5 has that noisy, over-processed look.

Main camera, 100% crop, Flip 6 (left) and Flip 5 (right)

Below is another shot with the main camera, shot with both flips in Flex Mode. Again, the Flip 6’s colors are more accurate, and the shot is just more pleasing with more contrast.

Main camera, 100% crop, Flip 6 (left) and Flip 5 (right)

Zooming in, same story: the Flip 5’s image is softer and noisier.

The Flip 6’s main camera is also faster to focus. In both shots below, there is clearly a subject in the foreground much closer to the camera, but the Flip 5 chose to focus on the background instead, missing the subject that’s clearly front and center.

Moving to low light scenarios, the Flip 6’s superior processing is still present, with more natural colors and proper exposure, but neither shot can be called great. The 50MP shooter in the Flip 6, with a 1/1.56-inch sensor size, is merely “pretty good” by 2024 standards, nothing amazing at all. Samsung merely upgraded the Flip’s main camera from average to above average.

Main camera, Flip 6 (left) and Flip 5 (right)

The Flip 6’s ultra-wide camera and front-facing camera remain completely unchanged from the Flip 5, but the more sophisticated processing is there, so it produces a slightly better shot.

Ultra-wide, Flip 6 (left) and Flip 5 (right)

Overall, the Flip 6’s better main camera will come in very handy because it can easily double as a selfie camera too, so it might be used nearly twice as much as a conventional phone’s main camera. The Flip 6’s camera system can be considered pretty good in 2024, something I could not say about the Flip 5’s cameras last year.

Should you upgrade to the Galaxy Z Flip 6?

The Galaxy Z Flip 6 is a very polished flip phone, but I can’t recommend the upgrade if you already have the Flip 5. Sure, the main camera is better, and battery life is longer, but neither of the areas improved enough that they drastically elevate your day to day usage.

To be honest, if you’re someone who’s been using Samsung’s Flip phones without feeling frustrated by the camera or battery life, then the marginal improvements won’t really matter to you. I am someone who’s very picky about camera performance, so I have never been able to make a flip phone my main phone. So in my view, you’re probably either someone who is totally fine with the performance compromises of a Flip, or you’re not, and the Flip 6 doesn’t change things enough to sway anyone in either camp.

If you’re on the Flip 4 or older, then sure, upgrading to the Flip 6 will get you a much better outside screen and a tangible performance boost.

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 6

The Galaxy Z Flip 6 is the latest iteration of Samsung’s unique clamshell-style smartphones. It’s not a major redesign compared to last year’s model, but packs a newer Snapdragon chip, up to 12GB of RAM, and new Galaxy AI features as part of its OneUI Android interface.

SoC

Qualcomm Snapdragon Gen 3 for Galaxy

Display

6.7-inch AMOLED main screen with 120Hz adaptive refresh rate, 3.4-inch AMOLED cover display

RAM

12GB

Storage

256GB

Micro SD card support

No

Rear camera

12MP ultra-wide, f/2.2, 50MP main camera with autofocus, f/1.8

Front camera

10MP, f/2.2

Battery

4000mAh non-removable

Charge speed

25W Wired, 15W wireless, Wireless PowerShare

Ports

USB-C

Connectivity

5G, 4G LTE, 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax 2.4GHz+5GHz+6GHz Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 5.3, NFC

Dimensions

Open: 165.1 x 71.9 x 6.9mm; Closed: 85.1 x 71.9 x 14.9mm

Weight

6.6 oz

IP Rating

IP48

Colors

Blue, Silver, Yellow, Green, Black, White, Pink

Operating System

Android 14 / One UI 6.1.1

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