The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 has arrived. With Samsung’s newest top-tier foldable, you get blazing-fast performance with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 for Galaxy chip, along with 12GB RAM and a ton of new Galaxy AI features to maximize your productivity. And with up to 1TB of storage, there’s plenty of space for all of your photos and video taken with the triple-lens rear camera system.
But as great as the new Galaxy Z Fold 6 sounds, there are a few reasons to hold off and wait for next year’s model, especially considering the expensive $1,900 price tag. Here are some reasons why waiting for the Galaxy Z Fold 7 might be a better idea.
The cameras barely changed
Before Samsung unveiled the Galaxy Fold 6, rumors circulated that the camera could be significantly upgraded this year — there were even whispers about a 200-megapixel main camera. Unfortunately, none of that came to fruition, and the cameras remain almost entirely unchanged.
This means that the Galaxy Z Fold 6 still has a triple camera system on the rear featuring a 50MP main camera, a 10MP telephoto camera with 3x optical zoom, and a 12MP ultrawide lens. The cover display selfie camera is 10MP, and the inner under-display camera is a measly 4MP. All of these specs are the same as its predecessor, the Galaxy Z Fold 5.
However, Samsung says that the sensor used for the ultrawide camera is new and technically an “upgrade” over last year’s model. Still, the numbers are the same, which is a big letdown if you were hoping for some bigger improvements. Hopefully, the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 will give us a better camera system. This one is getting long in the tooth.
It’s still a narrow cover screen
This is the sixth iteration of the Galaxy Z Fold series, and one thing has remained constant through the years: the tall and narrow cover display. This also means that the keyboard is smaller and a bit cramped compared to your typical glass slab smartphone.
This year, Samsung made some slight adjustments to the aspect ratio of the cover display, which helps provide a more natural viewing experience. However, it’s still quite narrow compared to other phones, so if you don’t care for that form factor, then this isn’t a particularly big improvement.
While nothing is confirmed, it’s certainly possible that Samsung could make some changes to the Galaxy Z Fold 7’s cover display, which could certainly make it worth waiting for if that’s the case. This one may be more wishful thinking than anything, but we can dream.
We’ve seen this design before
Sometimes, it feels like we’ve plateaued on overall smartphone design, and that applies heavily to the Galaxy Z Fold 6. Aside from having some flatter edges on the frame, the overall design aesthetic is the same as the Z Fold 5 — which was also very similar to the Z Fold 4 … and the Z Fold 3.
It feels like Samsung is going with the “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”strategy with the Galaxy Z Fold 6. After all, it has done well in the past few years, so why not continue with it? It’s a fair argument,
But on the other hand, if you’re not a fan of that tall and narrow cover display, or even the flat edges and boxy look, then waiting another year may be an option. After all, a lot can change in a year — or at least we hope.
The crease is still there
A common denominator with foldable phones is always the crease. For some people, the crease is a reason why they aren’t interested in a folding phone in the first place. After all, you want the main screen of your device to look good, with no imperfections. A crease can be mighty unsightly.
Samsung seems to have improved the crease on the Galaxy Z Flip 6 to be much less noticeable, which is a big leap forward from last year’s model. Unfortunately, the Galaxy Z Fold 6 didn’t get the same treatment. In fact, it appears that the crease on the Galaxy Z Fold 6 is the same as on last year’s Galaxy Z Fold 5, which was pretty prominent. If you didn’t like the crease on the previous generation, you definitely won’t like that nothing has changed this year.
Hopefully, Samsung will improve the crease on the Galaxy Z Fold 7 to match the “barely there” feeling of the Galaxy Z Flip 6. Something has to change sooner rather than later, and the Fold 7 seems like the time to finally make the crease disappear.
What about the Galaxy Z Fold Ultra?
This year was an interesting one for the Galaxy Z Fold 6, as there were rumors floating around that seemed to contradict one another. Some of these rumors pointed to the possibility of an “Ultra” version of the Galaxy Z Fold 6, but alas, that did not happen.
However, it could still happen, and maybe it will with the Galaxy Z Fold 7 series. Some of the rumors were pointing to the possibility of a much-improved 200MP main camera, similar to the Galaxy S24 Ultra, along with a higher price tag and a much slimmer design.
Either way, we did not get an Ultra variant of the Galaxy Z Fold 6, so it may have just been ahead of its time. We can only hope to see a Galaxy Z Fold 7 Ultra next year, which would make the wait well worth it — as long as you can afford it.