Foldable veteran or the new-ish kid on the block?

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  Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6

  Samsung’s latest foldable

  Samsung’s newest foldable brings incremental improvements over its predecessor and is the company’s most refined foldable to date. It is powered by Qualcomm’s flagship Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chip.

  Pros

  • Excellent performance
  • Software updates for seven years
  • Refined software

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  Google Pixel Fold

  The first Pixel foldable

  Google’s Pixel Fold smartphone attempts to offer the Pixel experience in a foldable form factor. It’s powered by the company’s Tensor G2 chip.

  Pros

  • Good camera performance
  • Frequently available at discounted pricing
  • Solid battery life

  Cons

  • Primary display lags behind the competition
  • Heavy

Samsung’s latest crop of foldable smartphones is here, and the new Galaxy Z Fold 6 packs durability improvements, some design tweaks, and Qualcomm’s latest flagship mobile processor. You also get new AI features and a promise of software updates for seven years. But how does all this stack up against the Pixel Fold, Google’s first-generation foldable that relies on the company’s Tensor G2 chip and has a wider design than the Fold 6? Let’s find out.

Price, availability, and specifications

Samsung has increased the price of the Z Fold 6 over its predecessor. The base 256GB model costs $1,900, while the 512GB and 1TB models cost $2,019 and $2,259, respectively. You can buy it from all major carriers, e-retailers, and physical stores, and also choose from five exciting colors, though two of which are, unfortunately, exclusive to the company’s official online store.

The Pixel Fold’s list price is $1,800 for the base 256GB model and $1,919 for the 512GB model. However, as it has been over a year since its launch and the Pixel 9 Pro Fold has now been announced, it’s often available at a discount, and the latest promos bring down the starting price to $1,300. Like the Fold 6, it’s also widely available via major carriers, online retailers, and physical stores, and you have two color options to choose from.

Here’s a quick look at the raw specifications of the two phones.

• 	Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6	Google Pixel Fold
  SoC	Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 for Galaxy	Google Tensor G2
  Display type	AMOLED, 120Hz	OLED, 120Hz
  Display dimensions	7.6” (main); 6.3” (cover)	7.6″ (main); 5.8″ (cover)
  Display resolution	2160 x 1856 (main); 2376 x 968 (cover)	2208 x 1840 (main); 2092 x 1080 (cover)
  RAM	12GB	12GB
  Storage	256GB, 512GB, or 1TB	256GB, 512GB
  Battery	4,400mAh	4,821mAh
  Charge speed	25W wired, 15W wireless	30W wired, 7.5W wireless with Pixel Stand, 5W Qi wireless
  Charge options	Wired, wireless, reverse wireless	USB-C wired, Qi wireless
  Ports	USB-C	USB-C
  SIM support	Nano-SIM and eSIM	Nano SIM and eSIM
  Operating System	Android 14 with One UI 6.1.1	Android 14
  Front camera	10 MP f/2.2 (cover); 4 MP f/1.8 (under main display)	8MP, f/2.0 (main); 9.5MP, f/2.2 (cover)
  Rear camera	50MP, f/1.8 main; 12MP, f/2.2 ultrawide; 10 MP, f/2.4 3x telephoto	48MP, f/1.7 main; 10.8MP, f/3.1 5x telephoto; 10.8MP, f/2.2 ultrawide
  Cellular connectivity	5G, LTE	5G (inc mmWave), LTE
  Wi-Fi connectivity	Wi-Fi 6E	Wi-Fi 6E
  Bluetooth	Bluetooth 5.3	Bluetooth 5.2
  Dimensions	68.1 x 153.5 x 12.1mm (folded); 132.6 x 153.5 x 5.6mm (unfolded)	139.7 x 79.5 x 12.1mm (folded); 139.7 x 158.7 x 5.8mm (unfolded)
  Weight	239g	283g
  IP Rating	IP48	IPX8
  Colors	Silver Shadow, Pink, Navy, Crafted Black, White	Obsidian, Porcelain
  Stylus	S Pen (not included)	No
  Price	From $1,899	From $1,799

Design and display

Despite their similar form factors, the Galaxy Z Fold 6 and the Pixel Fold boast distinct designs. The Z Fold 6’s narrower and taller frame sets it apart from the visibly wider Pixel Fold, offering a different aesthetic. While Samsung has made some improvements over the Fold 5, it’s clear that the Pixel Fold’s wider design provides a more comfortable experience with the cover display.

Additionally, the Samsung foldable has sharp corners, whereas the Pixel has rounder corners. Otherwise, both phones use an aluminum frame and a matte glass back.

Another notable detail about the Pixel Fold design is its weight. The Google foldable is considerably heavier at 283 grams compared to the Fold 6’s 239 grams. Because of this heft, one-handed use is quite tricky for the Pixel Fold. Moreover, unlike the Samsung foldable, the Pixel Fold seems to have trouble unfurling completely flat.

Although the Z Fold 6’s predecessors didn’t come with any dust resistance, things have changed with the Z Fold 6 itself, which is rated IP48 for dust and water resistance, so particles thicker than 1mm won’t enter it. It’s not much, but it’s better than nothing. In comparison, you only get water resistance on the Pixel Fold.

In terms of displays, both foldables feature 7.6-inch 120Hz OLED panels as the primary flexible display; while pixel density is about the same, the Google foldable has much thicker bezels. Moreover, the Pixel Fold’s underlying OLED panel lacks additional coatings compared to the competition, making it quite reflective and hard to see in direct sunlight. The Fold 6 has no such issues, and is much brighter at 2600 nits versus the Pixel Fold’s 1450 nits.

The two phones also have OLED panels in their cover displays. While the Fold 6 houses a 6.3-inch 120Hz screen, the Pixel Fold has a 5.8-inch 120Hz panel. Although the Pixel Fold has a seemingly smaller cover screen, it’s much more usable because of its aspect ratio, which is much closer to traditional smartphones.

Software

The Galaxy Z Fold 6 and the Pixel Fold run on Android 14. While the Fold 6 comes with Android 14 installed, the Pixel Fold can be updated to the latest version. Samsung’s foldable experience shows in the software, as the Z Fold 6 has a better implementation of multi-app usage on the primary display. Although the Pixel Fold software was far from perfect at launch, things have improved significantly, and will only get better with Android 15.

The two phones also have several AI-infused features, many of which are only gimmicks, but there are still a few, such as Circle to Search, that may come in handy on occasion.

However, the Pixel Fold falls behind on the software updates front as Google is only promising Android updates till June 2026 and security updates till June 2028. In comparison, Samsung offers Android and security updates for the Fold 6 for seven years. So, if you plan to keep your foldable for a long time, either stick with the Samsung phone or wait for the Pixel Fold successor, which may also get updates for seven years.

Performance and battery

Samsung packed the Z Fold 6 with Qualcomm’s latest and greatest Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chip, and its power shows in the phone’s performance. It’s snappy and can easily handle anything you throw at it.

The Pixel Fold, on the other hand, relies on Google’s older, homegrown Tensor G2 chip. As such, it can’t go toe-to-toe with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 in raw performance, but you’ll get a lag-free and responsive experience for most tasks. The one big caveat is the chip’s tendency to run hot; the Pixel Fold can get warm to the touch pretty quickly and may even make things uncomfortable in hot weather.

The battery is one area where the Pixel Fold has a slight advantage over the Z Fold 6, though, due to its bigger battery. You can easily get through an entire day with the Pixel Fold. While you can do the same with the Z Fold 6, its battery performance is inconsistent. Neither phone offers particularly fast charging, either, with the Pixel Fold topping out at 21W, and the Z Fold 6 supporting up to 25W wired charging. There is also wireless charging support on both.

In other features, both smartphones offer Wi-Fi 6E for fast wireless connectivity, NFC for contactless payments, a side-mounted fingerprint sensor, and UWB support.

Cameras

Thanks to Google’s impressive computational photography chops, the Pixel Fold delivers a solid camera experience. While it’s not on the level of non-foldable Pixel phones like the Pixel 8 and 8 Pro, particularly in low-light photography, it’s still pretty good and among the best in the foldable space.

You’ll also be happy with the Pixel Fold’s photo capabilities if you’re a fan of Google’s post-processing, as the Pixel foldable can handle subjects in motion, and the telephoto shooter with 5x optical zoom is a welcome presence.

The Galaxy Z Fold 6 takes perfectly adequate shots, and you’ll be happy with most captures, but the Samsung foldable can sometimes struggle with motion. Otherwise, it’s a decent camera phone. That said, if camera performance is a crucial deciding factor between the two phones for you, the Pixel Fold is a better option.

Which should you buy?

Although the Pixel Fold has a few things going in its favor, the Galaxy Z Fold 6 is an all-around better device. It packs two excellent displays, a top-of-the-line chip, and software more suitable for a foldable experience. Plus, the phone will get software updates for seven years. Of course, it’s also more expensive.

The Pixel Fold is a good alternative to the Z Fold 6 if you want to save a decent chunk of change and still get an excellent foldable experience. The cover display on the Google foldable is much more usable, and you get a better battery and camera experience. The existing software is also good, and you can expect significant improvements with Android 15 — but at this point if you’re Team Pixel, you’re really better off waiting for the upgraded 9 Pro Fold.