The Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra was impressive when it appeared earlier this year. But when the foldable phone arrives later this summer, will it be able to beat the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 vs. the Galaxy S24 Ultra?

After all, the Galaxy Z Fold 6 will be entering a more competitive market for foldable phones, which will put pressure on Samsung to offer a compelling upgrade. With a slimmer design in the planning stages and the possibility of new Galaxy AI features coming to the Fold, it is very likely that this upcoming model will replace the Galaxy S24 Ultra as the best Samsung phone.

As for what the Galaxy Z Fold 6 will bring, we can only speculate, as nothing has been officially announced about the upcoming Fold. However, we can get an idea from the rumors how the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 will compare to the Galaxy S24 Ultra once both models are released.

The Galaxy S24 Ultra was priced up this year, with the 256GB base model going for $1,299. This is one of the most expensive flagships you can buy - at least when it comes to the non-folding ones.

But when it comes to expensive phones, Samsung's foldable is usually at the top of the list. The current Galaxy Z Fold 5 starts at $1,799, and there is little indication that Samsung is planning a price cut. However, it is still too early to tell, and price rumors really won't come out until closer to the phone's launch date.

There is also talk that Samsung may announce a cheaper version of the Fold - the Galaxy Z Fold 6 FE. Since we are concentrating on Samsung's higher-end models, we will only see how the full-featured Galaxy Z Fold 6 compares to the S24 Ultra in this showdown.

As for release dates, Samsung typically releases its foldable phones in the second half of the year after the earlier Galaxy S models; the Galaxy S24 Ultra debuted in January 2024, which is unusually early for a Samsung flagship, and the Galaxy Z Fold 6 could itself appear earlier, as Samsung is trying to launch a foldable one before the start of the Paris Olympics, which begin on July 26.

Samsung has made considerable updates to the Galaxy S24 Ultra's design, switching from aluminum to the more durable titanium. It also ditched the classic Galaxy S curved screen for a completely flat 6.8-inch one, in an apparent move to make the included S Pen work better on its massive display.

The Galaxy Z Fold 6 may also see a design change; like the Galaxy S24 Ultra, it may have a titanium frame and be lighter. This is important because folding phones are cumbersome to carry.

A more significant change could be a thinner Galaxy Z Fold 6. (The Galaxy Z Fold 5 was 13.4 mm thick, while the Galaxy Z Fold 6 could be 5.6 mm thick, and the Galaxy S24 Ultra is 8.6 mm thick.

In addition to the thinner size, the Galaxy Z Fold 6 could have a different outer display, with Samsung shifting to a wider aspect ratio. The internal 7.6" panel will remain unchanged and offer a much larger screen area than the Galaxy S24 Ultra.

Early renderings of the Galaxy Z Fold 6 do not show Samsung adding a place to store the S Pen on the phone; the Galaxy S24 Ultra has a built-in slot for the included stylus, which gives the Galaxy S24 Ultra The Galaxy S24 Ultra has a built-in slot for the included stylus.

Currently, the S24 Ultra is available in seven colors: green, blue, orange, violet, yellow, black, and gray. Color rumors suggest that the Galaxy Z Fold 6 will include light pink, dark blue, and silver options; it is unclear if they will be added to the Galaxy Z Fold 5's black, cream, gray, and two blue colors.

The biggest camera change on the Galaxy S24 Ultra is the telephoto lens, with one of the previous model's 10MP sensors replaced by a 50MP sensor. The S24 Ultra's telephoto lens has 3x and 5x optical zoom, instead of the 3x and 10x of the previous model.

Still, the S24 Ultra remains one of the best camera phones, thanks to its 200MP main camera augmented by larger pixels.

Folding phones are not necessarily known for their cameras, but Samsung has been working hard to improve the optics of the main folding system in recent Galaxy Z fold models. However, rumors suggest that we are unlikely to see many changes in the Galaxy Z Fold 6, with the upcoming model said to retain the 50MP main lens, 12MP ultra-wide angle lens, and 10MP telephoto lens found on the exterior of the previous model, even the camera under the Z Fold's display, not likely to be upgraded.

If the Galaxy Z Fold 6 proves to have no camera improvements, the Galaxy S24 Ultra should remain the first choice of photo-focused smartphone buyers.

Samsung's Galaxy S24 Ultra is powered by Qualcomm's Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, built with AI in mind. Our Galaxy S24 Ultra benchmarks show that the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 delivers significant power gains and even outperforms Apple's silicon in some tests.

The Galaxy Z Fold 5 was powered by the same Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 as the Galaxy S23 lineup. Therefore, it is only natural that the Galaxy Z Fold 6 would be upgraded to the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 as well. However, Samsung could also opt for the recently released Snapdragon 8s Gen 3. Leaked information suggests that the foldable will have 12GB or 16GB of memory, compared to the Galaxy S24 Ultra's 12GB.

Battery life has been a struggle for foldable phones, but the Galaxy Z Fold 5 has made some progress in this regard, improving by one hour in our battery tests. Still, the Galaxy S24 Ultra boasts the best battery life of any major flagship, lasting 16 hours and 45 minutes in our tests. This is nearly six hours longer than the Z Fold 5. [If the Galaxy Z Fold 6 wants to match the battery life of the Galaxy S24 Ultra, the Galaxy Z Fold 6 will have its work cut out for it. Frankly, we'd be happy just to see the Fold benefit from the power management features of the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 and improve on the previous model's results.

The Galaxy S24 lineup, including the Ultra, introduced us to Galaxy AI features such as Circle to Search, Live Translation, and AI-powered photo editing tools. These features have since made their way to other recent Galaxy flagships, including the Galaxy Z Fold 5, thanks to the OneUI 6.1 update.

So it is safe to assume that the Galaxy Z Fold 6 will rival the AI capabilities of the S24 Ultra. The question is whether Samsung will add more Galaxy AI tools and whether they will be tailored to the Galaxy Z Fold's foldable shape and multitasking capabilities.

Another question for the Galaxy Z Fold 6 is whether it will follow the Galaxy S24 lineup and receive seven years of software and security updates. The Galaxy Z Fold 5 will receive another year of security updates in addition to four years of software support.

There are a few more months until the Galaxy Z Fold 6 arrives. The answer will depend on how much you appreciate the foldable screen and the multitasking capabilities it supports.

If you prefer the camera as a top smartphone feature, the Galaxy S24 Ultra seems like a better choice given the rumored lack of changes to the Z Fold 6's camera settings. On the other hand, there is no need to think that only the Galaxy S24 Ultra can experience the Galaxy AI feature. That's because Samsung is quite generous in offering the feature on its other models, which are likely to include the Galaxy Z Fold 6.