A foldable for business users

The cover display on the Galaxy Z Fold6 is more practical than ever before. (Image credit: Nandagopal Rajan/The Indian Express)

Holding the folded phone in my hands it just felt a little thicker than regular phones, but not much heavier than some of the larger smartphones I have used recently. Compared to the Fold5, the Fold6 is thinner and lighter.

The Z Fold6 is lighter and thinner than its predecessor. (Image credit: Nandagopal Rajan/The Indian Express)

What is also different from the Galaxy Fold5 (review) and older versions is that there is hardly any daylight visible between the two sides when the phone is folded. And when you open it, the crease has now become even more muted than before. And this is where a person upgrading from an earlier Fold, any Fold, will see a difference; though I don’t think those with the Fold5 have a good enough hardware reason to consider this jump.

Another aspect that will hit you if you are moving from an older generation Fold is the stunning 7.6-inch Dynamic LTPO AMOLED 2X display and the slightly larger 6.3-inch front screen, both brighter than any on a Fold till now. Creating great displays is something that comes naturally to Samsung. So what is exceptional here is how well it has managed the hinge and fold this time.

Multi-tasking is a breeze on the Galaxy Z Fold6. (Image credit: Nandagopal Rajan/The Indian Express)

I have always considered Samsung’s Fold phones the successor of the Note series and hence aimed at business users who need the extra screen space to access spreadsheets and verify documents along with consuming content when they are on the move. From that aspect, the Fold6 too is a phone that is at the top of the food chain especially since the processor inside is now a newer Snapdragon 8 Gen3 SM8650-AC. This is powerful enough for you to be able to work on a spreadsheet as you search the web and listen to music on YouTube at the same time. And for the Google Sheet, you can of course use the S-Pen too if you are going to buy that separately and invest in a cover that holds it for you close to the phone.

With the Fold phones, Samsung had long back ensured that there weren’t any compromises on the camera. While the Fold6 is almost the same camera as the earlier version, it is one clicker that does everything regular users are expecting from it, except for maybe the ability to do a 100x digital zoom like the S24. I found the camera to be Samsung quality under most circumstances, offering results that look good even on the larger screen of the phone.

This time around, it’s more boxier and has an improved IP rating. (Image credit: Nandagopal Rajan/The Indian Express)

However, there is some AI-led magic that can take this camera to a whole new level. Once you have clicked a photo, you can remove or even move subjects around, even resize stuff. For instance, I got my 65-inch TV to look like a 100-incher with some assistance from the AI button. Also, the ability to get a slow-mo version of any video by long-pressing on it is a neat feature to have. But I don’t believe these are features regular users will need to use regularly, but anyway these are good to have in your armoury.

Image edited using the Galaxy AI. (Image credit: Nandagopal Rajan/The Indian Express)

In contrast, the other AI features like automatic transcription from audio recording, translations across different apps, and the ability to summarise any text are great for the business community in general and could be more useful than camera enhancers. There is a lot of AI-driven personalisation also in the phone with themes and home screen images created out of thin air. I loved the photo ambient mode where I could use my photos on the home screen to change with the weather around me.

Low light camera sample 1. (Image credit: Nandagopal Rajan/The Indian Express)
Low light camera sample 2. (Image credit: Nandagopal Rajan/The Indian Express)
Macro image shot on Galaxy Z Fold6. (Image credit: Nandagopal Rajan/The Indian Express)
Day-light picture shot on the Galaxy Z Fold6. (Image credit: Nandagopal Rajan/The Indian Express)

The battery lasts a day easily whatever you do and that is not something you need to worry about. However, if you use the unfolded screen all the time, then the chances are you will be looking for a charger by the time it is evening. I could easily juice up the phone using the wireless charger on my desk.

Should you buy the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold6?

A refined folding smartphones. (Image credit: Nandagopal Rajan/The Indian Express)

Despite all the AI, I still think most people opt for the Samsung Fold series for the flawless large screen and extra-ordinarily performance. On that front, Samsung has kept the Fold6 ahead of the competition, also because this is the only one that works with a stylus. The AI features are great additions, but I would have been happier if Samsung could have used the AI to bring significant improvements to the UI understanding of the context and personality of its user. Still, even with all the competition that’s come into the segment, the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold6 shows that it has the advantage of having made foldables for more years than any of the competition. I wonder why Samsung does not push this more as a business phone, the successor to the Note series and maybe even the BlackBerry. Yes, is a smaller audience to tap, but it might be a more appreciative audience for this phone.