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Foldables are still very much a new form factor in the smartphone industry. Manufacturers have been quick to make improvements year over year, but it feels like Samsung has somewhat stalled. The Galaxy Z Flip 6 is a good phone – that’s hard to deny – but it feels like little has changed.The hardware is kind of, sort of new
As a whole, the Galaxy Z Flip 6 is built very well. It takes on a matte aluminum frame with very flat sides. this is a considerable improvement from the Flip 5, which has more rounded edges, which I’m not the biggest fan of. Because of the matte, sandblasted look along the aluminum rails, the phone takes on a very clean look. The added radial insert around each camera lens really contributes to that clean look. Even better, the lens accent matches whichever Flip 6 color you bought.
Even in my case, the plain Silver Shadow looks elegantly simple. The phone’s rear has a frosted Gorilla Glass Victus 2 panel, which completes the look. In any matte versus glossy battle, I’ll almost always take the matte side. Even the hinge cover, with a simple Samsung logo etched in, nails its execution.
Strictly, from a hardware perspective, I don’t think the Galaxy Z flip 6 could look any better. Every material choice fits together in harmony, and a closed Flip 6 on a table just looks great.
Open, it’s a little harder for Samsung to let design choices speak for themselves. The bezel around the inner display feels a little more raised than last year. That contributes to a near-minimal gap when the device is folded. The bezel acts somewhat like a railing around the display, ensuring contact when the phone is shut. As bezes go, it’s plenty thin enough that I can’t complain in any way.
The GalaxyZ Flip 6 is still a thin phone. It measures just 71.9mm wide, which is thinner than any other slab phone you’ll find. This takes a little getting used to, but it isn’t the end of the world in any way. it does tend to make typing a little harder. This is especially the case with the Samsung Keyboard – more on that later.
I’ve also noticed that the screen crease over a period of a few weeks is a little bit better in this model, compared to the Flip 5. it isn’t anywhere near perfect, and I think other manufacturers do a better job of handling the after-effects of bending glass. Overall, it’s completely livable. Dead on, you’ll never notice the crease created by the folding phone. From the side, though, is a little different.
Since the Z Flip 6 is a flip phone, it’ll often be closed. That’s its whole thing. When it’s in that shut position, you’ll see notiications and alerts through the external cover display, a display that’s essentially a gateway to the phone – the thing that gives first impressions of your super duper cool phone.
That’s why, for the life of me, I can’t fathom why Samsung decided to equip the $1,099 phone with a 720p cover display that only goes up to 60Hz. That is nuts.
If done properly, the cover display turns your phone into a dual-action unit. You can respond to messages from the front quickly and choose to open it for more demanding tasks that require more real estate.
