People try out the new Galaxy ZFold6 smartphone at the Galaxy Unpacked 2024 event at the Carrousel du Louvre in Paris on Wednesday. (Samsung Electronics)
Samsung Electronics’ latest folding phones, the Galaxy Z Flip 6 and Z Fold 6, were unveiled at the summer edition of the Galaxy Unpacked 2024 event in Paris on Wednesday, wowing crowds with their slimmer and lighter designs.
The Korea Herald had a chance to try out the new foldable lineup the day after its launch event in South Korea.
The tech giant’s first artificial intelligence-enabled flip phone is not only comfortable to hold and fun to play with, but its intelligent features become more prominent the more you use it.
Overall, the most important features of the new foldable phone were those related to AI-powered translation and customization.
When the Z Flip6 or Z Fold6 smartphone is in Flex mode with both the internal and external screens enabled, real-time speech transcription and translation becomes possible. The smartphone records the original audio on the bottom of the internal screen and displays the translated version on the top and external screens, enabling real-time conversation across language barriers.
Another interesting new feature is PDF overlay translation: you can now translate the entire text of a PDF document almost instantly, regardless of the length of the document.
Additionally, special AI features exclusive to the Z Flip6 phone make it quick and easy to respond to text messages. The Outer Window feature allows you to reply to KakaoTalk or regular text messages without using a keyboard or unfolding the device. Users can choose from suggested responses generated by on-device Galaxy AI by analyzing the content of the conversation and the user’s conversation history.
I also found it very interesting that you can place multiple widgets on the cover screen to express your daily mood and personality.
Galaxy Z Flip6 (Samsung Electronics)
The vertically folding Galaxy Z Flip6 weighs 187 grams and is 14.9mm thick when folded, making it thinner than its predecessor. The Z Flip5 weighs the same but is 15.1mm thick. The edges have been changed from the previous curved design to a straight line design for a cleaner look.
Camera quality and battery life have improved significantly. In the past, foldable phones have been criticized for not being as good as the photos taken with the company’s flagship phones, but the series now includes a 50MP wide-angle camera and a 12MP ultra-wide-angle camera, putting them on par with the latest flagship Galaxy S24.
The device comes with a 4,000mAh battery compared to 3,700mAh on its predecessor.
Galaxy Z Fold6 (Samsung Electronics)
The Galaxy Z Fold6’s horizontal folding feature makes it even more portable: It’s just 12.1mm thick when folded, 1.3mm thinner than its predecessor, and weighs 253g, just 7g heavier than the Galaxy S24 Ultra.
The Galaxy Z Flip 6 and Z Fold 6 will be available in South Korea on July 24, with pre-orders starting this Friday.
Prices for the Z Flip6 range from 1.49 million won ($1,075) to 1.64 million won depending on storage capacity, while the Z Fold6 is priced between 2.23 million won and 2.7 million won.
