My first experience with a Fold6 after a week of use

[smiley]

I guess i have been very close in the past to buying a fold 5 or 6 over the past year or more... but my own anxiety about the hardware reliability has always stopped me from making the jump to a foldable. 

With the opportunity to trial a Galaxy Fold 6 as a part of our members stars group, I jumped at the chance to use one. I have been using the Fold 6 for around a week as a trial unit. Thanks to@Lucy C and@SocietyGirl for this opportunity. 

There are hundreds of reviews circulating on YouTube and by our favourite reviewers, so this review is purely going to focus on MY OWN typical use cases. I am not going to talk about specs... but just my own experiences during week1. 

For context I own already an S25 ultra and which I am very happy with... but this phone is a completely different concept. 

Video and media

I like to watch some streams... netflix... nowTV... Disney... amongst others. There are a number of ways to watch content with the fold. From an open 7.6" screen, partially folded 'flex mode,' and also in 'tent mode'. All of these methods have their own conveniences. 

The full screen is subjective, and although you can zoom and dabble with the aspect ratio a little, unless you want to lose some of the cinematic ratio then you will find considerable black bars. In fact the actual screen size of the 7.6" screen is not much bigger in viewable area than the S25 ultra. 

Video format unfolded

'Tent mode' adds a convenient way of table viewing and although on the smaller outer display, this gives a good experience and way of watching. 

Tent mode

To use the internal display in a 90 degree 'flex' mode also is a convenient way to watch... and with some apps like YouTube also providing playback buttons on the other half of the display.

Partially folded flex mode

Youtube with playback controls

Reading books and magazines (kindle style)

I enjoy reading magazines on Readly... and also occasionally books on a kindle reader. 

This fold format sets up very well to achieve this without the need for a separate device. I have found this experience really good for my magazines and kindle reading !! 

Readly magazine

Kindle teader

Gaming with controller

I have done previous posts of gaming with my S25 ultra and kishi, but the additional screen 'real estate' with the fold 6 takes this up another level !

I did see a few drops in performance of the SD chip in the fold as it is not as powerful as the elite in the S25u... but in the gameplay it was magnificent as a handheld ! 

Tombraider remastered on GeforceNow... and Indiana Jones and golden circle on Xbox game pass. Much easier to play with a screen this size ! 

Tombraider on GeforceNow

Indy !! 

Social Media and website browsing

Like many... I spend quite a lot of time with content... and there is no better way to do this in the evening than with a 7.6' unfolded screen. So much better to see, create, type, surf, enjoy. A few examples of use cases below. With two handed typing this is so much easier. 

Youtube .media view

FB

Ebay selling

Camera (unfolded)

With the new OneUI7 interface and the larger screen it is great for the cameras unfolded. 

This is not a comparisons with the S25u... and clearly will not be as good in the end result.

I am not going to talk about photo quality as I haven't taken enough shots yet...but rather the interface in the unfolded format. 

The interface has all the usual modes for expert Raw, pro, and others. When using the more advanced settings, the adjustment sliders appear just under the left thumb area... so this makes it really convenient to adjust zoom, focus and other settings. 

You can also enter a viewing mode with the recent pictures appearing aside the view display, which is a great view to use. 

Modes

Left Thumb controls 

Recent photo view

Photo and video editing

The editing is so easy with a large display... it truly is. Lightroom tweaking of Raw image format, lumafusion editing and collaboration of media is a joy to work with. 

Additionally scrolling through gallery albums with such a large screen is fantastic. 

Lightroom

Lumafusion

Gallery navigating

Week1 summary

In a nutshell... I LOVE❤️ LOVE❤️ LOVE❤️ THIS PHONE. 

I never thought i would enjoy this so much. My S25 ultra is an amazing phone, but right now I am yearning for the fold phone when I am out and about without it.

There is a 'Cool kid' aspect to having this in my hand. I also expect i an riding a wave of 'novelty value' right now, but even so I feel i may be anew convert to the concept of folding phones that also work well as a tablet.

With a week of use, I now feel less anxious about the hardware reliability and more keen to make a switch. With the fold 7 release upcoming and the rumours about taking the already great fold6 and improving on it, I think perhaps July might be an expensive month for me ! 

Hope you enjoyed this usage review from my Stars🌟 trial unit. 

Smiley. 

[Obsydian]

I want to get your thoughts on longer use and what I call the sphincter issue, major stress about dropping, it failing 🙏

[smiley]

For those of us tech lovers... the loan units are a clever way of opening new sales 😉

I did very nearly buy one of the fold 6 upon its release last year... In fact ordered one and sent it back when I found that the retailer had sourced it outside of the UK.

This loan just reinforces my original desire and now that I have had more than a few hours with one in my hands.

I dont want to turn into someone that carries a number of different handsets everywhere... but if a 200mp camera, a form factor that matches normal closed sizes of a plus or ultra, and a combined thickness of 9mm or so is all valid information... I see it certainly as being just the best all around device.

My only concern with thinner, is how much that might compromise the integrity of the mechanics and hinge.

I have a healthy tech budget... but need to get that savings fund started for a £2000 beast of a fold phone.

Thankfully a work bonus last week certainly helps in that department.

[smiley]

I hold an anxiety about the fold longevity and fragility. I guess as we are on this forum a lot... we generally also see the worst of the issues posted here.

I would absolutely have accidental damage cover if I owned one of these... to help with that... and especially as it will be a £2000 piece of tech.

I do see myself as a fairly careful owner... but even so... the risk / reward factor would make that insurance a necessity.

I love the way this fold 6 feels in hand without cases, so that might be another question i ask myself. Case... or... naked.

[Obsydian]

Timely my son took his ZFLIP6 out of his case to try and shoehorn it into a new pouch, proper sphincter clinch moment he dropped it, fornately was barely 6 inches onto a table mat, but the luck on his face said "Dad new phone please"

[Chappell101]

How well does Lumafusion run. It's really good price on the Samsung Store at the moment with a voucher. I want an editor that can import 8k footage in log preferably to pan crop as need. I'd expect them to support the new APV video codec quite soon I'd hope. I've been using VN video editor in phone or Davinci resolve on my computer.

[smiley]

I will be honest. I am learning using it, but it seems quite buggy. I have had crashes of the software... occasional errors... and sometimes the sound and video goes out of sync.

So i wouldn't say a great experience ( at least for me).

I did buy it for a cheap price... some £8 or so if I remember. I did it as an introduction to VLOG collaborating. Whenever it does have an issue then to exit and re-enter the software and it resolves it... at least for a while until it happens again.

So.unfortunately not the best review or experience. I do know lumafusion originally came from IOS and maybe it just has compatability issues still with android. Perhaps a future update might fix it. 🤷 🤞

[Chappell101]

Thanks. You're not the first person to tell me Lumafusion isn't that stable on Andriod why I asked, it's a shame as it's an amazing offer at just a few pounds not a subscription though. I used a older version of it on an older iPad years ago and it was great there, Maybe you're right it will get better in time. I will keep an eye if they update it later this year. Just after something similar with good colour grading.