Galaxy Z Flip 6 isn't perfect, but packs enough punch to please all generations

Samsung Electronics' latest Galaxy Z Flip 6 is no longer an exclusive treat for the younger generation but appeals to the older generations as well, thanks to a significant upgrade to the camera spec.

The Galaxy Z Flip 6's camcorder mode allows for easier video filming. [JIN EUN-SOO]

[REVIEW]

Samsung Electronics' clamshell-type Z Flip series has been at the center of the Korean IT behemoth's attempt to attract younger users and overcome its smartphone brand Galaxy's image of being a "middle-aged man's phone."

So when this reporter got to try out the newest Galaxy Z Flip 6, she believed it would be nothing but eye candy packing a weak technological punch.

She was wrong, however.

With a substantially upgraded camera and some AI technology, the newest foldable is sure to please people of all ages.

Here's why.

The Auto Zoom feature in Galaxy Z Flip 6's camera adjusts the zooming by iteself to fit the subjects in the frame in the most optimized way. [SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS]

Compelling camera With a significant upgrade in the camera specs, the newest Flip offers plenty of new features infused with a pinch of AI.

Firstly, the main camera on the back has been boosted to 50MP from the previous version's 12MP and has a 10X digital zoom for better photo quality.

It also added a camcorder mode utilizing the folding lid.

Opening the lid only halfway, you can hold the smartphone like a camcorder, and the recording display automatically turns horizontal.

Various recording options appear on the right side of the display, with the recording monitor on the left. On the left top corner of the monitor, "standby" and "recording" indicators with matching green and red circles offer a retro vibe.

Younger vloggers should love this handy recording option for creating video content, but another demographic also records plenty of videos and takes lots of photos — parents.

As a mother of a toddler, this reporter felt uncomfortable holding bar-type smartphones horizontally to shoot videos. The camcorder mode of the Z Flip 6 solved this problem.

Moreover, when this reporter used a bar-type phone to take a photo of her child, the angle was always top-down, distorting her child's body proportions like an alien. She had to kneel down if she wanted to take a proper photo.

The Galaxy Z Flip 6's folding lid allows for photos to be taken from various angles, which is especially handy when taking photo of smaller subjects such as children. [JIN EUN-SOO]

However, like its predecessors, the Z Flip 6 enables users to take low-angle shots while standing up. In this reporter's case, she could produce a handful of quality photos that captured her child in proper proportion.

The AI-infused Auto Framing feature, which automatically recognizes subjects and adjusts the zoom to optimize the frame, was useful and unobtrusive. A new Super Steady feature minimizes camera shake.

Another AI perk was the Portrait Studio, which generates cartoonlike images based on photos in four styles: comic, 3-D cartoon, watercolor and sketch. Creating endless versions of Disney and Marvel-style characters based on you and your friends and family could prove a fun time-killer.

Portrait Studio is available in the Galaxy Z Fold 6 as well.

The Portrait Studio feature generates characters based on photos using AI [SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS]

So-so AI moments

The newest Z Flip 6 features enhanced AI features, which Samsung says have been optimized for foldables.

The dual-screen Interpreter mode, which has the screen serve as a prompter, is supposed to enable more natural communication between two people speaking different languages.

However, this appears to have been overambitious, at least for now.

The AI translator has the language skills but lacks the common sense to be fully helpful.

It cannot catch when speakers finish their lines, sometimes translating while the speaker is still speaking. Sometimes, it's the other way around, saying nothing even after the speaker is done.

The Galaxy Z Flip 6s are displayed at the ″Galaxy Experience Space″ in Tokyo, Japan on July 10, 2024. [UPI/YONHAP]

Typing reply messages through a keyboard on the cover screen has been possible since last year's Z Flip 5 when the cover display was enlarged to 86.1 millimeters.

The Z Flip 6, Samsung's first AI foldable, along with the Z Fold 6, allows AI to suggest replies from the cover screen based on an analysis of your previous responses.

The concept is helpful, but inaccuracy makes it unreliable.

The Note app also got a significant AI makeover by allowing audio-to-text. The app can also translate a PDF, including text on a graph or a photo, a technology that requires much more dexterity than translating word files, according to Samsung.

This feature is useful on the Z Fold 6 with its humongous 192.1 millimeter unfolded display, making it possible to take notes, decipher audio files and translate files simultaneously on a single app.

Qualcomm's latest Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 for Galaxy powers the new phone.

The price of the Z Flip 6 has risen by 85,500 won ($63) over the previous version, but the upgrade, especially on the hardware side, makes it all worth it.

The Z Flip 6 price starts from 1.49 million won for the basic 256GB storage option.

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 phone is displayed ahead of the Galaxy Unpacked event in Seoul on July 8, 2024. [EPA/YONHAP]

BY JIN EUN-SOO [jin.eunsoo@joongang.co.kr]