I used the Galaxy S23 Ultra since its release and it’s served me very well. It’s a great device with plenty of power and more camera features than I know what to do with. While I was initially wowed by this year’s Galaxy S24 Ultra, I couldn’t really justify the upgrade based on my individual use case, so I figured it was best to sit back and see if the Galaxy Z Fold 6 would pique my interest.
For the past few years, I’ve been torn between the Galaxy Z Fold and Galaxy S Ultra models. I’m not particularly committed to sticking to just one series. I choose to look at each model on its own merits and compare them to my use case, and only buy the one that ticks all the boxes for me. This time, the latest foldable smartphone has won the round, which is why I’ve already pre-ordered my Galaxy Z Fold 6.
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Screen Brightness
The Galaxy S23 Ultra’s display was exceptional when it first came out, and I loved every minute of using it. While I acknowledge that its successor has significantly increased the brightness, there were no other changes beyond that, and I felt that an upgrade wouldn’t be that necessary if I stuck with the same format.
My decision to Pre-order the Galaxy Z Fold 6 is based on the fact that its 7.6-inch internal screen reaches a maximum brightness of 2,600 nits compared to 1,750 nits for the Galaxy S23 Ultra in HDR mode. That’s a huge increase that will make a big difference when using the phone outdoors in sunny conditions. The increased screen real estate is always a welcome change, too.
Faster onboard memory
At first glance, both the Galaxy S23 Ultra and Galaxy Z Fold 6 appear to have similar LPDDR5X onboard memory. Like most people, I bought the standard variant of the Galaxy S23 Ultra which had 8GB of RAM. The Galaxy Z Fold 6 comes with 12GB of RAM as standard, which is a nice little upgrade, but that’s not all.
It also has a higher clock speed, 4800MHz compared to the Galaxy S23 Ultra’s 4200MHz. While this may seem like a negligible difference, a higher RAM clock speed means that the memory is able to process more data per second and thus offers a noticeable performance boost. Given that I tend to squeeze the maximum performance out of my primary device due to the nature of my work, this upgrade is well worth the cost of the upgrade for me.
Patterned color finish
Last but certainly not least, the main reason I chose to switch is not performance-related, but rather looks-related. I find the Crafted Black colorway that the new foldable phone is coming in incredibly appealing. It’s an online exclusive and you can only get it if you Pre-order the Galaxy Z Fold 6 from Samsung.
It’s unlike anything we’ve had on a Samsung foldable phone before. It gives a carbon fiber-like look to the device, and you have to admit that this black-on-black look is a whole different vibe. I find the usual color options to be a bit boring, and the Crafted Black is anything but boring, and it’s worth opening my wallet for.
Finally, one of the main reasons why the upgrade made sense is the fact that Samsung is offering $800 as a trade-in value for the Galaxy S23 Ultra. Being able to trade in the phone after using it for over a year and a half at such a decent price was too good a deal to pass up. Samsung is only offering these high trade-in values until the end of Galaxy Z Fold 6 pre-orders, so it’s best to get your pre-orders in before July 24 so you can get the most bang for your buck as well.