this post was submitted on 22 Jul 2024

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Review: The Galaxy Z Flip 6 is an old phone in new clothes (9to5google.com)

submitted 4 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

14 comments fedilink hide all child comments

Foldables are still very much a new form factor in the smartphone industry. Manufacturers have been quick to make improvements year over year, but it feels like Samsung has somewhat stalled. The Galaxy Z Flip 6 is a good phone – that’s hard to deny – but it feels like little has changed.

top 14 comments

sorted by: hot top controversial new old

[–] [email protected] 12 points 4 months ago (3 children)

Yeah. Flip 3 owner here. When I buy a new phone it'll probably be a RAZR. Mainly b/c I'm sick of the Samsung bloatware, but also because I'm not seeing much innovation.

They solved any screen issues by this 3, maybe a tiny bit of improvement could be had at making the fold disappear, but TBH I don't even see it anymore. It's been robust. But what I really miss is the external screen being able to run normal apps, and not just specialized Samsung External Screen API apps. The newest RAZRs give us that.

I could also get apps on the external if I got a Fold, but I'm carrying a Flip for the small size, and the Fold is a step in the wrong direction for that.

[–] dingus 6 points 4 months ago (2 children)

I have the Flip 5 and I am able to run full apps on the cover screen, not just Samsung approved ones

The annoying thing is that this feature is just not enabled by default. You have to download an extra (free) app from Samsung that unlocks the full app support on the cover screen. It's called Good Lock and it's in Samsung's Galaxy Store instead of the Play Store.

Not sure why they do this...I guess because they don't want the average user to think that the cover screen will feel buggy if they try to run a non optimized app on it.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 4 months ago (1 children)

I'll check; there's a significant difference between the 5 and the 3, though. All I have for a front screen is a bar - it covers less than half of that side of the ... door? Section? Anyway, there isn't much real estate.

But I'll check for that app, thanks.

[–] dingus 3 points 4 months ago (1 children)

Sorry, I didn't mean you could run full apps on the cover screen of the 3. You can't really. I mean you technically can, but it doesn't work well at all because the screen is so tiny and usable.

What I mean was that on the Flip 5 and beyond, you are able to run full apps on the cover screen. It's not only the Razr that has this functionality.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 4 months ago (1 children)

But on the RAZR, the apps don't have to be custom built for the cover. In my Flip 3, they do.

You can run any app, from any store, on the Flip 5 cover?

[–] dingus 2 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago) (1 children)

Yes. The Flip 5 has a different cover screen than the 3. It's significantly larger. Just look up a a photo comparison of how significantly different they are. Yes, you can run literally any app or APK file from the cover screen on the Flip 5. The ones I use most are Discord, Spotify, YouTube, Google Messages, Voyager, my notes app, and Red Reader (Reddit).

Sometimes they can be a bit buggy or don't function very well (esp games), so I don't like using certain apps on the cover screen.

The only caveat is you need to install a free app by Samsung called Good Lock from the Galaxy Store first. Evidently it is not available in certain regions. In these regions, then yes, the cover screen functionality is locked down to only a few approved apps.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 4 months ago

OK.

Well, that's good. It's one of the things that frustrates me most about the 3, and it's good they addressed it.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 4 months ago

K, I just checked it. Any way to make sure I've got the right thing? It just looks like another store; I don't see anything that will let me run any app (like, a clock from f-droid) on the cover screen.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 4 months ago (1 children)

My last samsung phone was a s10 and I vowed never again after that.

Samsung doesn't have bloat, bloat has Samsung.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 4 months ago

🚀

[–] tigerjerusalem 4 points 4 months ago (1 children)

I dont know about bloat people keep talking about, I actually use Samsung apps since they're very good... And I dont see any dip in performance or battery, so I'd like to know where are you people coming from.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 4 months ago

I don't like the Samsung apps. I don't want them on my phone. I can't uninstall them; many, I can't disable, and several I can't turn off notifications.

That's bloat.

[–] normanwall 6 points 4 months ago (1 children)

Samsung weirdly glides by with premium prices for slightly worse specs than competitors, I don't get it

[–] [email protected] 4 points 4 months ago

It's the Apple of Android now in many countries. That is to say, people buy Samsung automatically because of brand loyalty without shopping around. I think part of the reason is probably that Apple is the default yet it doesn't offer any good value or affordable devices. You always pay a high cost. So when people look at alternatives, they often don't compare across all price ranges or think honestly about what they need in a phone. They just look for the closest competitor to Apple's flagships and that is Samsung. Despite the insane price, the Ultra series is still one of Samsung's best sellers because it competes directly with Apple's Pro Max series.