Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 6 vs Z Flip 5: what's the flippin' difference?

There's been a stack of speculation in the run-up to the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 6's reveal ahead of Samsung's Galaxy Unpacked event. But, for once, the leaks were not entirely correct – and I've seen the new flip phone to verify, which is how I can bring you this definitive comparison against its Z Flip 5 predecessor. 

As the best folding phones up their spec game, you might wonder what the flippin' difference is between the Z Flip 6 and Z Flip 5 – because the cover display remains one and the same on both devices. Well, let me tell you: with a notable main camera upgrade and larger battery capacity, this year's flip phone is a progressive update rather than a major overhaul. 

The differences don't stop there, though, so if you're curious as to the finer details of how the Galaxy Z Flip 6 differs from the Z Flip 5 then let me take you on a deeper-dive journey below – noting that I've used both devices, so am speaking from a position of hands-on experience, not just grabbing specs without fuller context. 

Galaxy Z Flip 6 v Z Flip 5: Design

From a physical footprint perspective there's zero difference between the Z Flip 6 and Z Flip 5. They even weigh the same – which is impressive, given the new model ups the battery capacity and adds a vapour chamber cooling too. 

The two models do look slightly different though: as you can see from my Z Flip 6 pictures, the rims of the camera lenses add a coloured accent that's in line with the colour choice of the main device. It's a subtle but fun look – even if it reminds me of a mini-Minion of sorts.

Speaking of colours, the Z Flip 6 comes in so-called Silver Shadow, Blue, Mint or Yellow; there are also exclusive Samsung.com colours of so-called Crafted Black, White, and Peach. No Lavender special option, as per the Z Flip 5, and personally I'm not sure what's going on with the new shade of yellow – it's just looks a bit 'off' to my eyes.

While I've not lobbed the Z Flip 6 about or rolled it in sand, the phone also a little more robust: the Armor Aluminum frame is said to be 10% stronger than before, while an official IP48 rating means there's resistance to objects wider than 1mm – the older Z Flip 5 offers IPX8, meaning no official dust-resistant rating– and both devices are able to survive in 1.5m of water for 30 minutes. 

Galaxy Z Flip 6 v Z Flip 5: Displays

Here's where the rumours got it big-time wrong: the Z Flip 6 doesn't feature the new rumoured 3.9-inch cover display – which would make it closer in design to the Motorola Razr 50 Ultra (or Razr Plus 2024, as it's known in the States) – but maintains the 3.4-inch panel.

It's identical, too, with the same 60Hz refresh rate, same resolution, and same brightness (far as I understand – I've not seen the two side-by-side as yet, only tested them individually, so will be seeking further clarification on this). 

Flip the Z Flip 6 open and... you might be mistaken for thinking it's a Z Flip 5. That's because, as per the cover display, the internal display is one and the same also. A 22:9 aspect ratio at 6.7-inches across the diagonal, this folding OLED display is decent – thanks to adaptive refresh rate (1-120Hz) – but there's no change year-on-year.  

Galaxy Z Flip 6 v Z Flip 5: Cameras

The biggest change to be seen is in the cameras department. And not just because the Z Flip 6 has fancy new colour accents around the lenses. Nope, the change is that the main lens here is now a 50-megapixel snapper – the very same sensor as you'll find in the Samsung Galaxy S24 series (albeit not the Ultra, which has a 200MP one).

That's a big change not only because it's far more resolute than the outgoing Z Flip 5's 12MP main camera, but because it's also physically larger – which helps to offset the resolution increase without adding excessive pressure to processing. It's said to offer better HDR (high dynamic range) too, given the sensor type.

Both Z Flip 6 and 5 offer optical image stabilisation (OIS) and the aperture is f/1.8 in both cases too. The wide-angle and selfie cameras are a direct repeat of one another, so also no changes there – only for the main camera. 

Galaxy Z Flip 6 v Z Flip 5: Key spec

I've already mentioned it, but at the heart of the Z Flip 6 there are some big changes that you can't see: Samsung has crammed in just over an 8% battery capacity increase, while making room for a vapour chamber for cooling purposes. No other flip phone has the latter feature. 

I suspect that'll mean the best battery life of a flip phone overall – although I'm yet to test it thoroughly – especially with the benefits of a new Qualcomm processor ('designed for Samsung' – so it's overclocked, in effect) and more recent Android software. The charging speed hasn't improved, though, remaining at just 25W wired for both devices. 

There's a lot of talk around Samsung's Galaxy AI at the moment, which also features. Those artificial intelligence demands mean the Z Flip 6 comes with a 50% RAM increase across the board – so it's 12GB, irrelevant of which storage capacity model you pick (256GB or 512GB max). 

Galaxy Z Flip 6 v Z Flip 5: Conclusion

So there we have it: to look at the Z Flip 6 is an echo of the Z Flip 5, save for some colour accents around the camera lenses. 

There are upgrades, of course, with a higher-resolution main camera, more battery capacity, a new vapour chamber for cooling, plus newer processor and more RAM. Oh, and there's more AI too – if you're into modes that can transcribe, translate and suggest edits for you, then you'll have those benefits from the off (though they may come to the older model via software update, TBC).

However, with the day-one on-sale starting price remaining fixed year-on-year, I think that Motorola is going to garner a lot of attention for hitting its £999 asking price with the Razr 50 Ultra – a full £50 less than the Samsung. Being over the four-figure mark seems like a no-no in flip phone land right now, especially with increasing competition offering even more. 

All in all, the Galaxy Z Flip 6 is a subtle improvement rather than the cover display rework that was rumoured and half expected. It's still a great flip phone design, thanks to that great-feeling hinge mechanism, and Samsung's latest is undoubtedly desirable – but if the earlier rumours were to land in its follow-up come 2025 then maybe that's the one to wait on...