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Galaxy Z Fold smartphones may be the most expensive of all Galaxy phones, but they aren't known for offering the most cutting-edge hardware specs. The under-display camera, and the fact that the screen can fold, are the only things that are impressive about the Galaxy Z Fold lineup.
The Ultra models in each year's Galaxy S lineup are what you get if you want the best overall specs on a Samsung phone. The camera setup in particular puts devices like the Galaxy S23 Ultra or Galaxy S24 Ultra head and shoulders above pretty much every other Samsung flagship, and it is one of the main reasons why I don't see myself using any of the existing Galaxy Z Folds as my primary device.
Unfortunately, current rumors suggest that the Galaxy Z Fold 6 will have a similar camera setup, so I don't see myself switching to a Fold this year, either. Well, scratch that: there is one upgrade the Galaxy Z Fold 6 could bring to make me reconsider, and that's a larger battery.
Except the Galaxy Z Fold 2, every Galaxy Z Fold smartphone has featured a 4,000 mAh battery. As Samsung exclusively uses Snapdragon chips for its foldable phones (which may or may not change this year), battery life has been solid on all models barring the Galaxy Z Fold 3.
But solid doesn't cut it when you pay $1800 for a smartphone. It's especially disappointing when you consider the non-folding flagship phones Samsung has launched in the last year or so.
Thanks to the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, which was an amazing chip, we got excellent battery life on all Galaxy S23 models, better than any of their predecessors. The Galaxy S24 series took it up a notch, with both Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 and Exynos 2400 variants offering stellar battery life.
The Galaxy Z Fold 5 benefited from the efficiency of the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 as well. But improved chip efficiency can only do so much to increase battery life without any upgrades in battery capacity to accompany it. Overall, battery life on the Fold series remains underwhelming, and I feel like it stops consumers from taking full advantage of the features and productivity that are enabled by the foldable form factor.
While I love the camera capabilities of the Galaxy S Ultras and would like to see them on the Fold lineup, I have come to realize that what I really want is a bigger battery. Unfortunately, Samsung doesn't seem to be addressing that with the Galaxy Z Fold 6, with rumors suggesting the new phone will have a 4,400 mAh battery like the Fold 5.
In fact, it's unclear exactly what improvements the Galaxy Z Fold 6 will bring. It will introduce a design that's similar to previous models but is sharper and flatter, but everything from the screen sizes and battery capacity to camera hardware is expected to remain mostly unchanged.
The latest Snapdragon chip, brighter displays, and newer software with AI capabilities (possibly some battery-enhancing AI features as well) may be the only big changes. Samsung does have an Ultra model in the works that could address some of the shortcomings of the standard model, but the Fold 6 Ultra could be exclusive to select markets (on top of being more expensive of course).
I understand Samsung has many factors to consider when it comes to increasing screen sizes and battery capacity or adding more or better cameras and can't just make major changes willy-nilly. It also has next to no competition outside China in the foldable segment, which lets it do the bare minimum each year and get away with it.
But it also means I won't be switching to a Galaxy Fold smartphone anytime soon, especially if everything we know about the Galaxy Z Fold 6 right now is accurate. I may change my mind once I use the Fold 6 after it goes official in early July, but I'm keeping my expectations as low as possible for the time being. Battery life is the biggest drawback on the Galaxy Z Fold series for me
Rumors suggest the Fold 6 will bring no battery capacity upgrades
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