The Galaxy Z Flip 6 defeats its biggest rival in this camera test

Samsung’s latest folding smartphones are basically the same as the last models, right? Well, in the case of the Galaxy Z Flip 6, there are some interesting camera changes when you compare it directly with the Galaxy Z Flip 5, but how much have they improved the photos you take with the phone?

We’ve given the Galaxy Z Flip 6 a chance to prove itself in a camera test against the Z Flip 5 to once and for all confirm whether it really is a worthy successor.

Galaxy Z Flip 6 and Z Flip 5 camera specs

Before we go into the comparison itself, we have to establish exactly what has changed with the Galaxy Z Flip 6 this year. The Z Flip 6’s cameras now match the Galaxy S24 Plus, giving it a 50-megapixel main camera and a 12MP wide-angle camera — a step up from the dual 12MP cameras on the Galaxy Z Flip 5. There’s optical image stabilization and an “optical quality” 2x zoom, too, but interestingly, Samsung has not provided a 2x shortcut in the camera app. The front cameras both have 10MP, fixed focus, and an f/2.2 aperture, so no changes there.

Outside of the camera hardware, there are other changes that may make a greater difference. The Galaxy Z Flip 6 has the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 processor and Samsung’s ProVisual Engine working behind the scenes to optimize photos, while the Galaxy Z Flip 5 has Qualcomm’s last top chip inside, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2. There are various Galaxy AI modes for the camera on the Z Flip 6, but we’re not going to go into those in this test.

Both flip phones can use FlexCam mode with the Cover screen, so you can take hands-free selfies with the rear camera, and both support gesture control too. It’s worth noting that the Galaxy Z Flip 6’s cover screen is identical to the one on the Galaxy Z Flip 5 — including the resolution, refresh rate, and brightness. The stark difference in how the two cover screens look in the photo above is likely due to the difference in the main camera sensors.

All the following photos were taken over a series of days with the camera in auto. The photos have been examined on a monitor and resized for faster viewing online.

Main camera

The main camera on the Galaxy Z Flip 6 may be different from the one on the Galaxy Z Flip 5, but do not expect dramatic differences in the photos. In many conditions, the two cameras take extremely similar photos, but the more you look, the more you’ll see where Samsung has made improvements.

In the first photo of the street taken in the sunlight, you have to zoom in to see the additional detail in the Z Flip 6’s photo around the house’s chimney and less blurring around the hedges and trees, but the difference in the sky’s color is more noticeable. The photo is generally better balanced with more accurate contrast and exposure.

The second photo of the cafe interior shows how much less noise the Z Flip 6’s camera generates and, again, how much more detail it packs in. Zoom in on the books and tags in the background, and the text is more readable and less blurred in the Z Flip 6’s photo. The extra detail and stability of the image are also obvious in the wicker chairs, where the material is sharp and defined in the Z Flip 6’s image compared to the hazier, blurrier Z Flip 5 photo.

The Galaxy Z Flip 6 also improves on focus, as you can see in the third photo, where the Z Flip 5 can’t decide where to focus and ends up making a mess of the image. The Z Flip 6 intelligently made sure the items in the foreground were in focus, resulting in a more attractive photo. The colors and contrast are more natural in the Z Flip 6’s photo too.

Finally, in a photo taken in fading sunlight, you can see how the Galaxy Z Flip 6 has coped better with the environment, removing a lot of the noise generated by the Z Flip 5’s camera from the bodywork on both vehicles. However, this has come at the expense of noise in the sky and in certain parts of the background, so it doesn’t always go the new phone’s way. That said, the Z Flip 6’s main camera consistently shows improvements over the Z Flip 5’s main camera, and that’s what we were keen to see.

Winner: Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 6

Wide-angle camera

Observing obvious improvements in the Z Flip 6’s main camera performance was easy compared to the wide-angle camera, which does take different photos compared to the Z Flip 5, but they aren’t always better. The same improvements in contrast and color dynamics are there in wide-angle photos, as you can see from the sky and grass in the first photo of the church.

The Z Flip 6’s photo does show more detail, but both photos include the same level of noise and distortion around the edges. However, as the Z Flip 5 has brightened the shaded areas more than the Z Flip 6, some people may prefer that look. The different treatment of the scene is also noticeable in the second set of photos, as the brighter, slightly more colorful Z Flip 5 photo pops more than the muted Z Flip 6’s photo.

It’s one of those situations where I’d like a mix of the two photos. The Z Flip 5’s photo has more noise and isn’t as sharp as the Z Flip 6’s wide-angle shot, but the contrast and colors are more visually pleasing. The differences never make the Z Flip 6’s wide-angle camera consistently better than the Z Flip 5’s camera, so this will be a draw.

Winner: Draw

2x zoom

Neither phone has an optical telephoto camera, and only the Galaxy Z Flip 6 mentions an “optical quality” zoom mode, so does it make any difference? Samsung claims a 2x zoom that returns optical quality shots on the Z Flip 6, and sure enough, the detail is considerably higher than the same zoom level on the Galaxy Z Flip 5.

There’s less noise in the Z Flip 6’s zoomed-in photo and less aggressive sharpening, too. This means the tiles on the spire have a natural look, and the brickwork is less pixelated. The sky is a deeper blue, and the clouds are a more natural white color. A 2x zoom may not offer much versatility, but if you’re going to use one, the Galaxy Z Flip 6 is the one to try out.

Winner: Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 6

Night mode

Night mode is another hard to judge category, as the Z Flip 5 holds up really well, and the Z Flip 6 stumbles where I think it should not. The first photo demonstrates this, as the surface of the bird table is less blurred than in the Z Flip 6’s photo, while the background is much more stable. This shows that the newer phone struggled with identifying the subject in the dark. The Z Flip 5 also nails the color of the wood.

The second photo shows how close the two perform in lowlight, with each returning a slightly different interpretation of the scene when it comes to color and texture, but neither outperforming the other in detail. However, there are times when the Z Flip 6 improves over the Z Flip 5, such as with the final photo of the alloy rim and tire.

There’s more depth of detail, more accurate blacks, and less smudging in the Z Flip 6’s photo, and it looks like it was taken in far more favorable conditions than it really was. The pair traded places throughout all the lowlight photos I took, with neither consistently beating the other. The Z Flip 6 can take great photos without much light, but so can the Z Flip 5.

Winner: Draw

Selfie camera

I’ve always liked the Galaxy Z Flip 5’s selfie camera, and the Galaxy Z Flip 6 takes all that I find appealing — sharp focus, pleasant skin tones, excellent portrait effect — and reduces the noise a little further while giving the colors a boost. I have no problem with either selfie, and it’s, again, very hard to pick a winner. I do like the noise reduction in the Z Flip 6’s photo, even if it is minimal, but I find the contrast in the Z Flip 5’s selfie to be preferable.

Winner: Draw

The Galaxy Z Flip 6 wins

The Galaxy Z Flip 6 has beaten the Galaxy Z Flip 5 in our camera comparison, taking a win in the main camera and the 2x zoom categories and then tying with the Z Flip 5 in the remainder. Even in the categories it didn’t win, there were clear improvements, just not enough to consistently beat the older phone. Crucially, at no point did it really perform any worse than the Z Flip 5.

It all adds up to the Galaxy Z Flip 6’s camera being an improvement over the Z Flip 5, with noise reduction standing out as being something visible in almost all scenarios. Beating the Z Flip 5 in a camera test was very important, as due to it being otherwise so close to the older phone in spec and style, it needed to show it does include some improvements. Its biggest rival was, therefore, always going to come from within, and it has shown that newer is better for the camera. But it’s still probably not enough to make you upgrade, especially as it’s a more expensive phone this year.