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Underwhelming
I’ll be upfront in my dislike of the Galaxy Z Fold 6; Samsung just didn’t enough to differentiate the device against its predecessor, or even the Z Fold 4. It has the same basic design, the battery life hasn’t received any meaningful attention, it charges at 25W, and the cameras are the same as last year. There is IP48 ingress protection, a lighter chassis, and the phone will get seven Android OS updates, but given what it costs, I’m not convinced you should actually buy the Z Fold 6 — if you’re interested in a foldable and won’t consider another brand, you should just get the Z Fold 5 instead.
For
- Lighter than Z Fold 5
- IP48 dust and water resistance
- Great hardware
- Good cameras
- Long-term software updates
Against
- Cover panel is still too narrow
- Not many changes over predecessor
- Significantly costlier
- Base model has 256GB storage
Unbelievably good
The Open launched nearly a year ago, but unlike Samsung, OnePlus didn’t see the need to roll out a new model just for the sake of it. The phone still has a lot to offer; the design is one of the best in this segment, the hinge has a better articulation, and the crease isn’t as noticeable as the Z Fold 6. You also get a cover screen that’s better to use, bigger battery that lasts longer, better cameras at the back, 67W charging, and a slate of custom software features that make multitasking a breeze. The foldable has its own set of issues; the foldable only has IPX4 water resistance, and it will receive just three Android updates. But as an overall device, the Open has the definite edge over the Z Fold 6.
For
- Better design with less visible crease
- Great AMOLED panels both inside and out
- Versatile cameras
- Bigger battery and fast 67W charging tech
- Custom software extras
Against
- No long-term Android updates
- IPX4 water resistance
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 vs. OnePlus Open: Design and displays
Samsung has proven that it doesn’t like changing the designs of its flagships, and the Galaxy Z Fold 6 looks nearly identical to its predecessor. Samsung increased the width of the cover panel to make it less annoying to use, but it still ends up being too narrow.
Outside of that tweak, the Z Fold 6 doesn’t have any meaningful design changes. Samsung was able to bring down the weight by 14g, and coming in at 239g, the foldable is easier to hold and use. That said, the hinge isn’t as smooth as the best foldables, and the crease is still immediately noticeable. There are areas that Samsung needed to address, but it decided to not bother.
Coming to the Open, OnePlus managed to deliver one of the best-looking designs in this segment, and the leather back looks elegant next to the oversized camera housing. The foldable has ideal dimensions, and the cover panel is much better to use — most of the time, I don’t feel the need to unfold the device at all.
While I like the design of the Open a lot better, the foldable misses out on water resistance; with just an IPX4 rating, it can only withstand splashes of water. The Z Fold 6, meanwhile, has IP48 dust and water resistance, and it can be easily submerged in up to a meter of water without any issues.
Where the Open takes the lead is the displays; the 6.31-inch OLED cover screen has exquisite colors and gets bright enough in outdoor use, and the sizing is just right. The 7.82-inch inner AMOLED panel is noticeably larger than what Samsung is offering, and it also has standout colors. Both panels get 120Hz dynamic refresh, and get a smidgen brighter than the Z Fold 6 in HDR content.
Samsung has a 6.3-inch cover panel and 7.6-inch inner screen, and both have 120Hz dynamic refresh and good visibility outdoors. My main issue is that the cover panel is still too limiting to use, and that inhibits the device’s potential.
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 vs. OnePlus Open: Hardware
The Galaxy Z Fold 6 is powered by Qualcomm’s latest Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, while the Open comes with last year’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 2. Having used dozens of devices powered by both chipsets, the only difference that’s noticeable in daily use is efficiency; the 8 Gen 3 is able to deliver equivalent levels of performance as the 8 Gen 2 while consuming less power.
That said, that’s nullified in this scenario as the Open has a larger battery. The 4805mAh battery on the foldable easily lasts a day, and even with heavy use, I wasn’t anxious about the battery running out. The Z Fold 6 also manages to last a day consistently, but if you push the device too much, you will need to plug it in before the day’s out.
On that note, Samsung is still sticking to 25W charging tech, and that just isn’t enough in 2024. In a similar vein, you don’t get a charger in the box. The Open doesn’t have these shortcomings; it charges at 67W, and the battery takes 44 minutes to fully charge. And unlike Samsung, OnePlus bundles a 67W charger in the box.
Just like the Pixel 9 Pro Fold, the Galaxy Z Fold 6 comes with 256GB of storage on the base model, and you’ll need to shell out an additional $120 to get the 512GB model. The Open has 16GB of RAM and 512GB of storage on the base version, and there’s a new 2024 edition of the device that has 1TB of storage.
Both phones are fluid in daily use, and they hold up just as well in demanding games. They tend to throttle earlier than regular flagships, but you don’t notice any visible jitter, and there isn’t much in the way of overheating.
Switching over to the cameras, Samsung hasn’t made any changes to the hardware, and as such the Z Fold 6 has the same sensors as last year: a 50MP main camera, 10MP 3x zoom lens, and 12MP wide-angle lens. Samsung is instead turning to tweaks in its camera algorithms to deliver better photos, and the foldable manages to do a marginally better job than its predecessor in this regard.
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That said, it still doesn’t measure up to what the Open is offering. The foldable has a 48MP main camera, 64MP 3x zoom lens, and another 48MP wide-angle lens, and outside of the Pixel 9 Pro Fold, it takes the best photos and videos in this category.
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 vs. OnePlus Open: Software
Samsung has a distinct edge on the software, and that’s purely because it offers seven Android OS updates to the Z Fold 6. By contrast, the Open will pick up just three OS updates, and that isn’t anywhere close to being enough. I’d say that OnePlus needs to change its stance, but the Chinese manufacturer made it abundantly clear that long-term updates just isn’t something it is interested in offering.
And when it comes to the software itself, the Z Fold 6 runs One UI 6.1.1 based on Android 14 out of the box, and just like the Galaxy S24 devices, it comes with Galaxy AI, a suite of utilities that rely on AI to streamline daily tasks. My issue with Galaxy AI is that it is predominantly limited to Samsung’s own apps; I don’t use Samsung Internet or Samsung Keyboard, and outside of the image-editing features, I don’t get much utility out of Galaxy AI.
The Open also has AI-assisted utilities, but they’re not as extensive as what Samsung is offering — that’s a good thing. The image editing feature is similar to Google’s offering on the Pixels, and audio transcribing gets a decent amount of usage. What I actually like is the multitasking-focused software features; the Open makes it effortlessly easy to pull up windows side-by-side to maximize real estate, and it gets a lot right in this regard.
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 vs. OnePlus Open: Which should you buy?
The biggest thing that changed with the Galaxy Z Fold 6 is the price; the foldable costs $100 more than its predecessor, and I’m not really sure why that is the case. Samsung isn’t really offering any meaningful upgrades, and while the Z Fold 6 is lighter and has a marginally wider cover panel, there isn’t a good enough reason to pick it up over last year’s Z Fold 5.
The Open, on the other hand, is an easier recommendation. It has a better design, two screens that you’ll actually end up using, better software features, and it lasts longer in daily use. You also get one of the best camera packages on a foldable, and there’s 67W charging.
The best part is that the Open doesn’t cost anywhere as much as the Z Fold 6; the 16GB/512GB edition costs $1,399 in the U.S., and the new 1TB model can be bought for as low as $1,599, and you get the terrific Keyboard 81 Pro bundled with the package. The Z Fold 6, meanwhile, costs an absurd $2,019, and it just isn’t worth it.
Underwhelming
Samsung didn’t make many changes to the Z Fold 6, and as a result, it doesn’t stand out from last year’s model. If you need a Samsung foldable, you should consider getting the Galaxy Z Fold 5.
Unbelievably good
I used the Open extensively over the course of 2024, and it continues to be phenomenal. There isn’t much missing on the hardware side of things, and you get amazing cameras, great battery life, and unique software extras.
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