Comparing Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 and Z Flip 6 - Is It Worth the Upgrade?

Key Takeaways

• The Galaxy Z Flip 6 has a new matte finish and body-colored accents around the camera lenses. It comes in new colors, including Yellow, Silver Shadow, Mint, and Blue.
• The Flip 6 is more durable than the Flip 5 with an enhanced Armor Aluminum frame and an IP48 dust and water resistance rating.
• The Flip 6 has a bigger battery (4000 mAh) compared to the Flip 5 (3700 mAh) and an upgraded 50MP primary camera.

It’s the time of year when Samsung reveals its new foldables, and people wonder about whether to upgrade or stick with their hardly-a-year-old smartphone. To ease the process, here’s a detailed comparison of the brand-new Galaxy Z Flip 6 and last year’s Galaxy Z Flip 5.

Price & Availability

The Galaxy Z Flip 6 and the Galaxy Z Flip 5 come in two storage variants. This year, Samsung has decided to hike the price of both the baseline and best configuration by $100. While the 256GB Flip 6 costs $1,099.99, the Flip 5 with the exact same storage cost $999.99 at launch.

Similarly, the 512GB Flip 6 costs $1,219.99, $100 more than the 512GB Flip 5, which costs $1,119.99. While the Galaxy Z Flip 6 is up for pre-orders until July 24, 2024, the Galaxy Z Flip 5 is readily available at Samsung and other retail stores, such as Amazon, Walmart, BestBuy, etc.

Interestingly, the Galaxy Z Flip 5, with 256GB of storage, was available at $579.99 during the Amazon Prime Days 2024 sale, which, in my opinion, was a steal of a deal. However, such a discount likely won’t be available on the Galaxy Z Flip 6 in the near future, but you should keep an eye out for deals.

Galaxy Z Flip 6 Features New Colors and Camera Accents

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Holding the Galaxy Z Flip 6 and Flip 5 side by side, you might not be able to differentiate between them, and that’s because the phones look very similar. Even the Flex Window (a fancy term for the cover screen) measures the same on both models. However, things like the matte finish or the body-colored accents around the camera lenses set the Flip 6 apart.

Like every year, Samsung is luring customers by providing more color options with the Flip 6. These include Yellow, Silver Shadow, Mint, and Blue as the regular finishes and White, Crafted Black, or Peach as the online-exclusive colors (only available on Samsung’s website). The Galaxy Z Flip 5 , on the other hand, was launched in eight different colorways, including Lavender, Mint, Graphite, and Cream as the regular colors and Gray, Green, Blue, or Yellow as the Samsung-exclusive colors.

For those wondering about the dimensions, the Flip 6 measures 165.1 x 71.9 x 6.9 mm when unfolded (similar to the Flip 5). In its folded state, the Z Flip 6 measures 85.1 x 71.9 x 14.9 mm, only a hair thinner than the Z Flip 5 (0.2mm). That shouldn’t feel like a major difference when holding the phone or placing it in a pocket. Adding to the similarities, both the foldables weigh 187 grams.

Flip 6 Is More Durable Than Ever

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Both the foldables feature Corning Gorilla Glass Victus 2 on the cover screen and the glass back. Improving upon the Armor Aluminum frame on the Flip 5, the Flip 6 features an enhanced version, which, in theory, should be more durable than the one on its predecessor. Samsung also says that the main screen is made of “enhanced layers” that make the crease less visible while maintaining strength. However, whether the layers add to the structural integrity of the Flip 6’s inner screen isn’t out in the open yet.

One of the most notable upgrades, however, happens to be in the department of IP ratings. Remember how the Flip 5 had an IPX8 water resistance rating, implying that it could only withstand water ingress at up to 1.5 meters (up to 30 meters)? Well, the Flip 6 (and the Fold 6) carries an IP48 dust and water resistance rating ; the phone can now prevent dust ingress of particles larger than 1mm. While finer particles can still enter the Flip 6’s chassis, the better IP rating suggests that Samsung has worked on the phone’s durability, which is good news anyway.

Both Phones Feature The Same Screens

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Adding to the list of similarities, both the Flip 6 and the Flip 5 feature the same 3.4-inch cover screen that supports a 60Hz refresh rate and a peak brightness of 1,600 nits. The inner screen is still a 6.7-inch LTPO screen that supports an adaptive refresh rate of up to 120Hz, though the panel on the Flip 6 can achieve a peak brightness of 2,600 nits instead of the 1,750 nits screen on the Flip 5.

Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 Offers a Significant Performance Upgrade

Under its matte exterior, the Flip 6 features the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 SoC (4nm) . We’ve seen this chipset do exceptionally well on flagships like the Galaxy S24 Ultra or the OnePlus 12 , and there’s no reason why the processor would work any differently on the Flip 6. Compared to the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 SoC (4nm), the new chipset performs significantly better on benchmarks; we’re talking about a 34% better performance on Antutu 10 and around 38% better score on Geekbench 6’s multicore test.

Although synthetic benchmark scores aren’t an indicator of a device’s real-life performance, they give us a fair idea of its peak performance. Besides a more powerful chipset, the Galaxy Z Flip 6 ships with 12GB of RAM as opposed to 8GB of RAM on Flip 5. To maintain optimum performance, Samsung equips the newer flip-style model with a vapor chamber , a first for a Z Flip model. With the more capable chipset, additional memory to execute tasks, and a functional vapor chamber, the Z Flip 6 is a clear choice, especially for hardcore users.

One UI 6.1.1. Unlocks New Galaxy AI Features

Samsung

Out of the box, the Galaxy Z Flip 6 features One UI 6.1.1, with a suite of GenAI features called the Galaxy AI . These include features for everyday use, such as Note Assist on Samsung Notes, PDF translation, Composer on Samsung keyboard, Conversation Mode in Interpreter, etc. Then, there are tools for clicking and editing pictures, like the new Auto Zoom feature for FlexCam, which keeps the subject in the center while clicking a picture.

Samsung has also integrated the powerful AI chatbot Gemini into Google Assistant on Flip 6 (and Fold 6). In fact, some of the Galaxy AI features are also accessible on the Flex Window (without unfolding the smartphone). However, these features won’t be exclusive to the Flip 6. Most of them rely on cloud-based processing, and Samsung (and is rumored to) can release them for older models, like the Flip 5. There’s a chance that the company could keep some features for its latest flip-style foldable or release them later.

As for software support, Samsung has promised seven major Android updates (and seven security patches) for the Galaxy Z Flip 6, which shows the brand’s commitment to the model. At launch, the foldable runs on One UI 6.1.1 based on Android 14, and it should be good till Android 21. On the flip side, the Z Flip 5 promised four generations of OS upgrades (and five years of security patches). Given that Samsung has already pushed the Android 14 package earlier this year, the Z Flip 5 has three more OS upgrades to come.

Flip 6 Gets an Upgraded 50MP Primary Camera

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Besides newer finishes, better performance, and longer software support, there’s another reason to upgrade to the Z Flip 6: the new primary camera. This year, Samsung has swapped the 12MP (1/.8) primary sensor on the Flip 5 for a 50MP (f/1.8) shooter on the Flip 6, resulting in crisper, sharper images with plenty of details. Like the regular iPhone 15 , you can also use the sensor’s resolution to click 2x images without any apparent loss of quality. The 12MP (f/2.2) ultrawide camera and the 10MP (f/2.2) selfie shooter, however, remain unchanged.

Flip 6 Has a Larger Battery

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Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 showing unsupported apps being run on the cover display using a Good Lock module.

Battery life has always been a concern for Galaxy Flip users. Given its compact form factor and the fact that it folds in half, equipping the Z Flip with a larger battery is a bit challenging. This is why the Flip 3 shipped with a 3,300 mAh battery, and both the Flip 4 and Flip 5 were stuck with a 3,700 mAh battery.

Fortunately, the company has managed to pack in a 4,000 mAh cell on Galaxy Z Flip 6, which should improve the overall screen on time. To give some numbers, the Flip 6 is rated to last for up to 23 hours of video playback, which is three hours more than the rated capacity of the Flip 5. The charging speed is still stuck at 25W, though.

Which Is Right for You?

That depends on the phone you’re currently using. If you own an older Galaxy Z Flip model, like the Flip 3 or the Flip 4, then the Flip 6 would bring you loads of new features, performance, a better camera, and a longer battery life. Look out for the trade-in offers on the Samsung website; that way, you can upgrade to the latest model without spending too much.

If you’re a Flip 5 user, upgrading to the Flip 6 might not be the best decision. However, if you still want the latest and greatest from Samsung, exchanging your device for the new model would be the way to go.

Now, if you aren’t already using a Flip phone and you’re considering giving the Flip series a shot (granted your budget allows), you can’t go wrong with the Flip 6; it’s the best flip-style foldable Samsung offers.

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Overall Winner

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The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 6 is a sleek, foldable smartphone with a dynamic AMOLED 6.7-inch internal display and a robust hinge mechanism. Powered by the latest Snapdragon processor, it offers exceptional performance, a greatly improved dual-camera system, and Flex Mode for hands-free selfies and video calls.

$1100 at Samsung See at Amazon See at Best Buy

Runner Up

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5

$750 $1000 Save $250

The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 is a flip-fold style foldable with a big outside display and a small compact size.

$750 at Amazon See at Samsung See at Best Buy