New foldables: Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 and Flip 6 on the way

Samsung presented its new Galaxy products at the Unpacked event. The two folding smartphones Galaxy Z Flip 6 and Fold 6 take center stage. Samsung has upgraded the small foldable in particular.

The Galaxy Z Flip 6 makes a significant technical leap forward. The new processor, a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, now has 12 GB of RAM instead of eight. For the first time, Samsung has also equipped the small foldable with a vapor chamber to cool the SoC. The smallest storage variant for the Flip 6 is 256 GB, whereas Samsung still offered 128 GB for its predecessors, the Fold 5 and Flip 5. 512 GB are also available.

Samsung has also made changes to the camera. The main camera of the Galaxy Z Flip 6 now has a 50-megapixel sensor, previously it was only 12. However, like most smartphones, the Flip still outputs 12-megapixel photos as standard. Samsung needs the higher resolution for a new AI feature, the flexible zoom, among other things. The smartphone automatically determines the appropriate image section based on the content. To do this, Samsung crops out the relevant area from the full resolution.

AI also plays a role in other areas of both foldables, both the local functions developed by Samsung itself and cloud AI, which is implemented together with Google and Microsoft. New in the Galaxy AI is a dialog translator that uses both displays of the Foldables to show visual translations during a conversation. Samsung hides this function in the quick start icons.

The inner, flexible display of the Galaxy Z Flip 6 measures 6.7 inches diagonally. There is a 3.4-inch screen at the front. This is designed for a quick glance and ensures that you don't have to keep opening the smartphone. This also saves the 4000 mAh battery.

More cooling for the Fold

Samsung has also made the frame of the Galaxy Z Fold 6 matt and slightly more angular, but little has changed overall. The Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 is also inside, which is cooled by a significantly larger vapor chamber. The narrow front display measures 6.3 inches, while the almost square inner screen measures 7.6 inches. Both OLEDs support adaptive frame rates of up to 120 Hz. The Fold comes with a total of five cameras: A triple cam with 50 MP main camera, 12 MP ultra-wide angle and 10 MP triple zoom, a selfie camera with 10 megapixels on the front and another selfie camera with 4 megapixels on the inside, hidden under the display panel. A 4400 mAh battery should ensure sufficient endurance.

Like the Flip, Samsung will provide the Fold with security patches and new Android versions for seven years. Thanks to IPX8, the devices can also withstand a water bath, but it is better to keep dust and dirt at bay.

Both foldables and all other new Samsung devices are available to order now and the manufacturer plans to start shipping them on July 24. The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 6 costs 1199 euros with 12/256 GB of memory, and 1319 euros with 12/512 GB. For the larger Galaxy Z Flod 6, Samsung charges 1999 euros for the 12/256 GByte version and 2119 euros for the 512 GByte version. The larger version of the Fold 6 also has 12 GB of RAM, but 1 TB of internal memory and costs 2359 euros. It is only available in Samsung's online store. There are also two exclusive color variants for the Fold: white and carbon look.

New smartwatches and headphones

The Galaxy Watch Ultra is Samsung's first foray into the field of "Ultra" smartwatches, which are particularly geared towards outdoor and sports. The Watch Ultra has a case that is partly made of titanium and is protected to IP68 and MIL-STD 810H. The watch can withstand temperatures between -20 and +55 degrees Celsius and is water-resistant to a depth of 100 meters. According to the manufacturer, the 1.5-inch display reaches a maximum of 3000 cd/m² and should be bright enough in all situations. The new Galaxy Watch is powered by an Exynos 1000W, a processor specially designed for wearables, which is manufactured in a 3 nm design.

Samsung relies on Google's Wear OS as the operating system for its smartwatches. The Watch Ultra is sold in Germany exclusively with LTE via eSIM. The 590 mAh battery is said to enable runtimes of up to four days, at least in energy-saving mode. Samsung has come up with a new clip-on fastening system for the wristbands of the 700 euro watch, which initially excludes inexpensive wristbands from third-party providers. In addition to numerous sports and workouts, the Watch Ultra can also monitor sleep, even with sleep apnea monitoring.

The Samsung Galaxy Watch 7 comes in a classic watch design and costs between 319 and 399 euros, depending on size (40 or 44 millimetres) and connectivity (with or without LTE). It looks very similar to the Galaxy Watch 6, the classic version of which remains in the range, as Samsung has not reissued this version. The Galaxy Watch 7 has a 1.3 or 1.5 inches OLED display, records all kinds of body values and determines the position with dual-band GPS.

Finally, there are the two in-ear headphones, Galaxy Buds 3 and Buds 3 Pro. The Buds 3 are open headphones made of hard plastic that does not block the ear canal, while the Pro earbuds have a silicone tip and therefore provide a tighter seal. Both headphones have active noise cancellation (ANC), which works more effectively on the Buds 3 Pro due to their design. The Samsung Galaxy Buds 3 cost 179 euros, the Buds 3 Pro are available for 249 euros.

(sht)