Galaxy S25 Ultra vs Galaxy Z Fold 6: Dread it, run from it, the true flagship arrives all the same – Ultra-Sim

Intro

As 2025 is rapidly approaching, we’re already turning our heads to the next wave of phones. One of the first extremely exciting devices will be the Galaxy S25 Ultra, Samsung’s next flagship phone and heir apparent to the title of ultimate phone. 

At the end of the day, it’s more than certain that the Galaxy S25 Ultra will be among the most exciting and versatile traditional phones you will be able to get in early 2025. 

Samsung’s foldables are exceptional devices, and among those, it’s the Galaxy Z Fold 6 that’s the newest and most advanced device of its kind in Samsung’s portfolio, and while it may lag its rivals in many areas, it’s still a force to be reckoned with.

So, how exactly will the new flagship compare against the company’s best foldable phone for now?

Table of Contents:

Design and Size

Samsung’s finest, but the Galaxy S25 Ultra pulls ahead

We suppose this change could be a tough pill to swallow for Galaxy purists who have loved the strictly business and super-stylish appearance of previous Galaxy S Ultra flagships. I, for one, will miss the sharper lines, but will definitely give the newer design a chance to grow on me.

Aside from that, the Galaxy S25 Ultra will still employ a titanium frame, boast IP68 water and dust resistance, as well as an S Pen stylus, the inseparable writing accessory that brings a lot of functionality in tow. The Galaxy Z Fold 6 also supports its own S Pen stylus, but it sells separately, and the phone has no built-in slot to accommodate it. 

Meanwhile, with the Galaxy Z Fold 6, we get a foldable phone with an Armor Aluminum frame and Gorilla Glass Victus 2 protecting the large 7.6-inch inner screen, but no such a protective glass layer on the outer 6.3-inch screen. 

Size-wise, the two phones won’t actually differ that much. It sounds weird, but when you look at it, the difference between the two devices will boil down to the Galaxy Z Fold 6 being 4mm thicker and 20 grams heavier, which isn’t such a big difference in the grand scheme of things. On the other hand, the Galaxy S25 Ultra will be roughly 10mm taller.

Display Differences

The Galaxy S25 Ultra will feature a 6.8-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X display with a 1-120Hz dynamic refresh rate, exceptional HDR support, and the anti-reflective coating on top which will help eliminate screen reflections and boost legibility. 

One new feature that’s always in the cards is the possibly higher peak brightness on the Galaxy S25 Ultra. Samsung has been gradually increasing this metric over the years, with the latest Galaxy S24 Ultra topping 2,600 nits. The new phone will likely beat that, and paired with the anti-reflective screen, this will make for a superb experience in extreme lighting conditions, like checking your Instagram at high noon. 

The Galaxy Z Fold 6 has a 7.6-inch inner screen with a pretty squarish aspect ratio of 20.9:18. The outer screen is still a narrow 6.3-inch AMOLED with a 22.1:9 aspect ratio. Both panels feature a dynamic refresh rate of 1 to 120 Hz for the ultimate and smoothest viewing experience. 

While the outer screen has a punch-hole, the inner one has an under-display camera that is hidden beneath the panel, but can be easily spotted if you know where to look. 

Performance and Software

Welcome, 3nm

The Galaxy S25 Ultra will come with the Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset, which will be the first 3nm chip to power a high-profile device with international appeal. Initially, rumors pointed that we might get a MediaTek Dimensity chip on the Galaxy lineup, but Qualcomm’s offering seems too good to pass up. 

With the Snapdragon 8 Elite, we expect to see significant improvements to both performance and power efficiency, hopefully leading to better battery life and even better user experience.  However, it might not all be roses: 3nm chips tend to run slightly hotter than their older 4nm counterparts, so an exceptional thermal management system is always a must. 

Memory-wise, we expect up to 16GB of RAM in the Galaxy S25 Ultra, as well as 256GB, 512GB, and 1TB UFS 4.0 storage versions. The Galaxy Z Fold 6 offers the same storage variations, but with slightly less RAM (12GB). The benefit of more RAM will likely play an even bigger role with the increasing resource needs of on-device AI processing.

Both devices will be supported for seven years after their launch, outlasting the typical device lifespan for most users.  

Camera

It’s the Ultra that will be on top

No two opinions here: the Galaxy S25 Ultra will definitely have the better camera system in comparison with the Galaxy Z Fold 6

According to recent buzz, Samsung may upgrade just a single Galaxy S25 Ultra camera: the ultrawide one. Knowledgeable insider of all things Apple, IceUniverse, suggests that Samsung could replace the current 12MP ultrawide sensor with a more powerful 50MP one. 

We expect Samsung to use quad pixel-binning with this camera, so the resulting images will still be around 12MP, but with the added benefit of improved low-light performance. Thanks, quad pixel-binning!

The rest of the rear cameras are expected to stay unchanged, with a 200MP main, a 10MP short telephoto with 3X optical zoom, and a 50MP periscope lens offering 5X zoom completing the loadout. As for the front, don’t count on seeing any major upgrades to the existing 12MP selfie camera.

Granted, Samsung doesn’t necessarily need to make major changes to the camera setup: the Galaxy S24 Ultra is already among the Android phones with the best cameras available in the US. It’s unwise to change a winning team, so the new ultrawide camera is probably a sufficient intergenerational upgrade. 

How does the Galaxy Z Fold 6 measure in comparison?

Well, not that great. Samsung’s foldables have never boasted too great of a camera package, relying on a standard triple-camera setup, mostly the same one as on the previous foldables. We are talking about a 50MP main camera, a 10MP telephoto with 3X optical zoom, and finally, a 12MP ultrawide camera. 

There’s an under display inner selfie camera, but we don’t like the quality it delivers. The external one is miles better. 

Taken at face value, the Galaxy Z Fold 6 will do the job. It captures some lovely still photos and videos, but won’t necessarily “wow” you with anything.

Battery Life and Charging

The Galaxy S25 Ultra will most likely pull way ahead

Yet, paired with the fast Snapdragon 8 Elite, the 5,000mAh one will likely deliver exceptional battery life. 

Charging-wise, the Galaxy Z S25 Ultra will likely score 45W wired charging and possibly 25W Qi wireless charging with MagSafe-like capabilities. The Galaxy Z Fold 6 has 25W wired and 15W wireless charging. 

Specs Comparison

Here’s how the Galaxy S25 Ultra and Galaxy Z Fold 6 will likely fare in terms of specs:

* – All Galaxy S25 Ultra specs are preliminary and subject to change

Summary