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The Galaxy Z Flip 6is the best flip phone you can buy from Samsung in 2024, butthe Galaxy S24offers similar specs at a more affordable price point. But is the foldable worth the premium this time around? Let’s find out.
Design and Durability
As we’ve come to expect from this form factor, the Galaxy Z Flip 6 is taller, broader, thinner, and heavier than the base Galaxy S24 when unfolded. When folded, it’s small enough to slide inside your pocket easily and doesn’t leave an air gap, protecting the fragile inner display.
What’s new this time is the IP48 rating on the Z Flip 6. We’re used to Samsung’s foldable phones being water-resistant, but it’s the first time we’ve seen an official rating for dust resistance. However, it’s not as good as the S24’s IP68 rating because it’s only protected from particles larger than 1mm in size.
Samsung has worked on making the crease less noticeable on the Flip 6, but it’s very likely to become substantial after a year of use. Conversely, the S24 can remain in near-mint condition for far longer. So, if you’re someonewho buys a new phone once every three to five years, the S24 will be more economical in the long run.
Like last year, the Galaxy S24 uses a faster and more reliable in-display ultrasonic fingerprint sensor whereas the Flip 6 uses a side-mounted capacitive sensor. Since your thumb naturally rests on the side of the phone, you could argue that a side-mounted sensor is faster because, by the time you take the device out of your pocket, it will already be unlocked, allowing you to skip past the Lock screen quickly.
Camera Hardware
You can’t go wrong with either of the devices when it comes to camera performance. However, both have their own pros and cons. With the Galaxy S24, you’re not skipping out on a rear telephoto camera, which many find essential for taking portrait shots.
That said, the FlexCam mode on the Galaxy Z Flip 6 allows you to use the main camera as a front camera andtake high-quality selfieswith details that the front camera of the S24 simply can’t achieve. Other than that, the camera performance is quite similar on both devices.
Display Differences
One of the biggest advantages the Flip 6 has over the S24 is its ability to stand upright when folded halfway. This allows you to use the cover screen to see yourself being recorded. If you’re a content creator, you know just how handy this feature can be.
Both devices are now brighter than their respective predecessors, with a peak brightness of 2600 nits, which is plenty for outdoor use. That said, thanks to its taller display, the Flip 6 is a more appropriate device for media consumption and social media scrolling as it can fit more content at a time.
Battery and Charging
Poor battery life is one of thereasons foldable phones aren’t mainstream yet. After all, there’s not much room left in the device’s housing after you fit the already bulky hinge.
Surprisingly, this time, Samsung managed to cram a respectable 4,000mAh cell on the Flip 6, making its battery life on par with the Galaxy S24—at least on paper. Both phones have identical charging and reverse wireless charging speeds.
Pricing, RAM, and Storage
Unfortunately, the base variant of the Galaxy S24 only comes with 128GB of storage, which is not enough if you’rebuying a high-end smartphone in 2024. The 256GB base storage on the Z Flip 6 is more respectable.
More importantly, the Galaxy S24 only has 8GB of RAM, whereas the Z Flip 6 offers 12GB on both storage variants. You will benefit from the extra RAM on the Z Flip 6 if you’re a power user who multitasks a ton. However, this difference may be insignificant if you only do basic tasks like scrolling social media, browsing your gallery, and taking photos.
When it comes to pricing, though, the S24 has the edge, starting at roughly $800. To get your hands on a Z Flip 6, you need to spend $300 more.
Knowing everything we do about these two devices, the Z Flip 6 doesn’t seem to have that many compromises. Sure, the inner display is still fragile, and there’s no telephoto camera, but those two are perhaps our only complaints. Sure, it’s more expensive than the S24, but it also offers more RAM and double the storage.
Overall, while the Z Flip 6 isn’t objectively better than the S24 in every aspect, I still highly recommend it if you want to shake things up a bit and try a new form factor.
