Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 vs Galaxy Z Flip 6: Which one should you go with?
Confused between the Galaxy Z Flip 5 and the newly launched Galaxy Z Flip 6? Here's an in-depth guide that will help you decide if you should spend your money on the older flip phone or spend a bit more and go with the latest and greatest.
Is the new Galaxy Z Flip 6 a huge upgrade over its predecessor? Read on to know the full picture. (Express Photo)
At the recently concluded Galaxy Unpacked event, Samsung unveiled the Galaxy Z Flip 6, its latest clam-shell foldable device. The latest from the South Korean phone maker packs a new chipset and a better camera setup, but is it a considerable upgrade over the Galaxy Z Flip 5? From design to software, here’s a quick comparison between the two that will help you decide if you should buy the latest and greatest or stick to the older version.
Galaxy Z Flip 5 vs Galaxy Z Flip 6: Design and display
In terms of design, nothing much has changed. Both the Galaxy Z Flip 5 and the Galaxy Z Flip 6 have the same design language, weigh exactly the same and share the same 3.4-inch cover display and 6.7-inch main screen. Samsung’s latest foldable phone is slightly thinner when in folded state. (14.9mm vs 15.1mm), even though they have the same dimensions and thickness when unfolded.
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While the Galaxy Z Flip 5 has pretty good outdoor legibility with its 1,750 nits brightness, Samsung seems to have bumped up the main and cover screen brightness on the Galaxy Z Flip 6 to a whopping 2,600 nits, making them even more usable under direct sunlight.
Another notable change is that the Galaxy Z Flip 6 features what Samsung calls an “Enhanced armor aluminium frame” and offers IP48 water resistance instead of IPX8 water resistance. However, there is virtually no difference between the two as both phones can only up to 1,5 metres underwater for 30 minutes.
Galaxy Z Flip 5 vs Galaxy Z Flip 6: Hardware differences
As one would expect from a 2024 flagship, the Galaxy Z Flip 6 is powered by the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, Qualcomm’s fastest mobile chipset to date. However, the Galaxy Z Flip 5, featuring last year’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 is no slouch as both phones offer a fluid and lag-free experience when multitasking, playing games or browsing the internet.
But on paper, Qualcomm claims that the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3’s new architecture makes it around 30 per cent and 25 per cent in terms of CPU and GPU when compared to its predecessor. The new chipset also offers double the NPU performance, which helps with AI tasks and enables on-device generative AI processing.
Compared to the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, the new chipset is said to be 40 per cent more power efficient, meaning that the Galaxy Z Flip 6 may be finally able to last a whole day on a single charge, but we will have to wait for the full review to get the full picture. Also, the base variant of the newer clamshell phone comes with 12GB RAM compared to the 8GB RAM you get on the Galaxy Z Flip 5.
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Galaxy Z Flip 5 vs Galaxy Z Flip 6: Camera
One of the biggest differences between the Galaxy Z Flip 5 and the Galaxy Z Flip 6 is that the latter features an upgraded camera setup. From a measly 12MP primary shooter, Samsung has finally opted for a 50MP primary camera found on the Galaxy S24 and Galaxy S24 Plus.
Both phones share the same 12MP ultrawide lens and the new phone still misses on a dedicated telephoto lens, which is a bummer. If you often take photos or shoot videos, the Galaxy Z Flip 6 is a clear upgrade over its predecessor.
Galaxy Z Flip 5 vs Galaxy Z Flip 6: Battery
Samsung has also made some changes to the Galaxy Z Flip 6’s battery capacity. Compared to the Galaxy Z Flip 5, which has a 3,700mAh battery, the Galaxy Z Flip 6 packs a 4,000mAh battery. When combined with the new more power-efficient chipset, this might be a game changer and make these flip-style phones mainstream. However, wired and wireless charging speeds are still capped at 25W and 15W respectively.
The new phone has some AI tricks up its sleeve. (Image Source: Samsung)
Galaxy Z Flip 5 vs Galaxy Z Flip 6: Software
One thing to note here is that while both devices are running on One UI 6.1.1 based on Android 14 out of the box, the Galaxy Z Flip 6 will get one more software update compared to its predecessor. Also, the Galaxy Z Flip 6 comes with the newly announced Galaxy AI features, which might be available on the Galaxy Z Flip 5 sometime later, so if you are itching to try out the new AI-assisted functionalities, the Galaxy Z Flip 6 has the edge, at least for now.
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Galaxy Z Flip 5 vs Galaxy Z Flip 6: Is the new foldable worth buying?
If you like flip phones and aren’t satisfied with the Galaxy Z Flip 5’s battery and camera capabilities, the Galaxy Z Flip 6 is a great phone to check out. However, those who don’t mind the slightly old processor and weaker camera setup can still go with the Galaxy Z Flip 5. On the official Samsung website, the Galaxy Z Flip 5 is currently priced at Rs 99,999 while the Galaxy Z Flip 6 can be pre-ordered for Rs 1,09,999. So, if you are willing to spend a bit more, buy the Galaxy Z Flip 6 as it is worth the extra money. However, if you can find the Galaxy Z Flip 5 (review) at a much lower price and don’t care about cameras and the latest chipset, we recommend purchasing the older flip phone.
Anurag Chawake is a Senior Sub-Editor at indianexpress.com. His fascination with technology and computers goes back to the days of Windows 98. Since then, he has been tinkering with various operating systems, mobile phones, and other things. Anurag usually writes on a wide range of topics including Android, gaming, and PC hardware among other things related to consumer tech. His Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn user name is antechx. ... Read More
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