In light of brand new rumours that Samsung is potentially cueing up a Galaxy Z Fold 6 Ultra model – expected to be a 'flagship of flagships' foldable, beyond the base Z Fold 6 – it's got me thinking about the prospect of the ultimate foldable phone.
These rumours began at Mobile World Congress 2024 – a major mobile show that takes place annually in Barcelona, Spain, which T3's team, including myself, attended and picked out MWC 2024's Best-in-Show products for Awards – and turned on its head the original idea that there might be a budget Z Fold 6a model.
I've been reviewing many of the best folding phones in recent years, including the best of the lot for 2024, the OnePlus Open, which Samsung must have in its sights to target and ultimately beat. Well, if the Galaxy Z Fold 6 Ultra were to be real, I think these three killer features would make it an unbeatable prospect...
1. Screen and hinge advancements
This is a two-fold point (there's a pun in there somewhere): first, Samsung has been delivering a less wide-format cover screen than many other competitors; second, Samsung's hinge technology, while impressive, isn't the very best at negating the 'crease' associated with folding phones' main displays (the winner there, right now, is the aforementioned OnePlus).
I think people are in the market for a foldable with a wider cover display than what you'll find on the Z Fold 5. So long as it's done correctly though: the Google Pixel Fold, for example, wasn't enough to convince me – it had too much bezel surround, but was also of a format that made me rarely want to open the device in full (not that it could open truly flat anyway, something Samsung is way ahead of in design terms).
What I think the Z Fold 6 Ultra needs to do is deliver a slimmer overall device, akin to Honor Magic V2 (that's 4.8mm unfolded, not 6.1mm like the Samsung), with a larger cover display (6.5-inch?), and a new hinge mechanism that can compete with the OnePlus Open to deliver a 'snap-open' style interior display (circa 8-inch) without really any visible crease at all. It might sound like I'm asking for the world, but it's fun to dream – and I know Samsung can do it.
2. Cameras to rule them all
Another feature the OnePlus Open wasn't afraid to go all-in on was its camera arrangement. That did bring with it a camera bump so huge that I had colleagues point and gasp at it, but if you want the best cameras in the best Android phones then you need to assign the physical space. It's here I think the Galaxy Z Fold 6 Ultra could go full Galaxy S24 Ultra style.
I highly doubt that we'll see Samsung go for the giant circular camera enclosure design that's a mainstay of all the Chinese brands. After all, its trio of cameras on the Galaxy S24 series has become iconic (looking much the same as S23 and S22 before). It would allow for a point of distinction and, yes, a whacking great camera protrusion – but I'm here for it if it means the best cameras.
Taking a leaf out of the S24 Ultra's book would be no bad thing either: a Galaxy Z Fold 6 Ultra with 200-megapixel main camera, 50-megapixel 5x zoom lens, and another high-resolution wide-angle would be great. Adding the 3x zoom 'in-between' would be a bonus too – although I'd want this to be better than the 10-megapixel current standard. Again, though, Samsung has the know-how to give the Ultra the ultimate camera setup for a foldable.
3. Integrated stylus action
Speaking of the Galaxy S24 Ultra, that non-foldable phone has one major feature that helps it stand apart from the crowd: an integrated stylus. Sure, the current Z Fold 5 has support for the S Pen – but you'll need to source one separately (and then find somewhere to store it while on the go).
This, for me, sounds like a massive opportunity for the Z Fold 6 Ultra: if the device is bigger overall then, just maybe, it could make use of some of that additional footprint to have an integrated stylus housing. An S Pen included in the box, yet stowable in the phone, sounds like the perfect match – and a great way to bring unity to the range of foldables and standard Android flagships.
A folding phone in its full unfolded position seems like an obvious stylus beneficiary to me, and with Samsung so ahead of the implementation of software and features it sounds like a no-brainer addition for a supposed Z Fold 6 Ultra model. Probably an engineering headache, too, I'm sure – but an amazing boast-worthy feature dream nonetheless.
