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The 3 best Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 6 features sold me on flip phones
At its Galaxy Unpacked July 2024 event on Wednesday, Samsung unveiled its newest and hottest tech, including the latest iterations of its foldable phones -- the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 6 and Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6.
Upon first glance, the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 6 looks pretty similar to its predecessor with its signature clamshell form factor, bright colors, and same-size FlexWindow, but Samsung has made several hardware and software revisions with the new version, including around durability, battery longevity, and AI.
Also: How to watch Samsung Unpacked July 2024
If you've been on the fence about purchasing a foldable phone, these features on the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 6 might change your mind.
Improved Durability
One of the biggest issues with foldable phones is their durability. The folding form factor comes with a host of obvious ways where things can go wrong, and even if you don't drop it, the phone still has to contend with repeated stress on the hinge and screen from opening and closing the device.
Also: The best Galaxy Z Fold 5 cases to protect your phone
Samsung has built the Galaxy Z Flip 6 to be more durable than its previous models: the dual rail hinge structure is supported by a strengthened folding edge, which Samsung claims will help better distribute the shock of external impacts. Whether these changes positively impact the phone's durability can only be determined by a wear test, which we will include in our forthcoming ZDNET review.
Additionally, the foldable has enhanced Armor Aluminum incorporated into its frame and hinge housing while keeping the Corning Gorilla Glass Victus 2, found on last year's Galaxy Z Fold 5 and Galaxy Z Flip 5.
Improved Camera
If you prioritize a smartphone with a good camera, you'll be happy to hear that the Galaxy Z Flip 6 upgrades should significantly improve the quality of your photos. The camera was upgraded to a 50MP main lens from last year's 12MP, matching the sensor in the Galaxy S24 series. There's also a 2x optical zoom, and you can use AI for zooming up to 10x.
The Galaxy Z Flip 6 also sports new features to improve your photo-taking experience, including Auto Zoom, which allows the FlexCam to detect the subjects in your shot and automatically frame them for the best photo. Auto Zoom pans in and out to detect elements of your background that you may want to keep in your shot.
Also: Motorola's new Razr Plus made the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip feel outdated
This experience allows you to go entirely hands-free without sacrificing the quality of the shot. ZDNET Review Editor Kerry Wan went hands-on with the feature, calling it "the most fascinating camera improvement." Lastly, Samsung enhanced the "nightography" with video HDR to let you capture better-quality videos even in dim lighting.
Embedded AI
The new Galaxy Z series is equipped with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 Mobile Platform for Galaxy, which is optimized for AI processing and overall better performance. This is especially necessary to support the foldable's plethora of new AI features, such as the Auto Zoom feature mentioned above.
Additionally, Google's Gemini app is integrated into the Galaxy Z series to provide you with an AI-powered assistant, which you can access by swiping the corner of the screen or simply saying, "Hey Google." The Gemini overlay will help you use the AI assistant for whatever is on your screen, such as writing an email or planning a trip. You can also ask specific questions about what is on your screen, or activate Circle to Search to highlight elements on your screen to get search results.
Galaxy AI will also be present on the Galaxy Z Flip, with many of the AI features also available on the smartphone's FlexWindow. These include a Photo Ambient feature, which applies weather and temperature filters to your wallpaper in real-time; Generative Wallpaper, which lets you create new wallpapers from words; Suggest Replies, which suggests replies based on your conversation's context and your texting style; and Interpreter Mode for live translation between two languages.