I put the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 vs OnePlus Open through a 7-round face-off — here’s the winner

The newly launched Galaxy Z Fold 6 is the most refined Samsung foldable phone yet, adding new AI features, trimming some weight and thickness from the body and hinge and upgrading the chipset and displays from the already impressive Galaxy Z Fold 5. All of this comes at the phone's literal cost, now a whopping $1,900.

The OnePlus Open is OnePlus' first and only foldable phone, but it got a lot right the first time. With a surprisingly low price, a striking design and powerful multitasking, it covers all the bases a foldable phone should. But it's almost a year old as the Galaxy Z Fold 6 launches, and that shows in some of the specs. 

To put all these factors into context, and to try and find a winner, we've compared the Galaxy Z Fold 6 vs the OnePlus Open across seven rounds. And once we've run down the specs comparison of these two foldables, we'll dive right in.

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 vs. OnePlus Open: Specs

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 vs. OnePlus Open: Price and availability

The Galaxy Z Fold 6 went on sale on July 24, 2024, with a basic price of $1,899 / £1,799. The OnePlus Open, which has been on sale since October 2023, is $200 cheaper at $1,699 / £1,599 (though you can get it for even less), and comes with double the default storage of the Galaxy Z Fold 6 to boot.

If you bought an equivalent 512GB Galaxy Z Fold 6, it would cost $2,019, a considerable $320 more than the OnePlus Open. Setting trade-in discounts or special promotions aside, the OnePlus Open is a better deal whichever way you slice it.

Winner: OnePlus Open

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 vs. OnePlus Open: Design

Foldable phones can't help but make a splash with their design, but the Galaxy Z Fold 6 is more on the subtle side. It's got some mean-looking camera surrounds on the back, and has some stylish right-angled front and back panels and flat side rails, but it's more understated than the OnePlus Open, which features a huge circular rear camera block and polished metal fixtures.

The two phones weigh almost the same, despite the Open being a wider device both open and closed. The Samsung claims points back by having IP48 dust/water resistance, with the OnePlus only offering IPx8 water resistance.

Winner: Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 vs. OnePlus Open: Displays

While neither phone is small when fully opened, the Galaxy Z Fold 6 has a slightly more petite 7.6-inch display to the OnePlus Open's 7.82-inch screen. However, because of its under-display inner camera, the Z Fold 6's screen is (arguably) unimpeded, while the Open features a more typical punch-hole notch for its inside camera.

Externally, both phones have a 6.3-inch display with punch-hole cameras. While the Open's screen has a higher resolution (2484 x 1116), the Z Fold 6 has a lower minimum refresh rate, which is ideal for saving battery when using an always-on display.

Our lab results show the main screen of the Samsung foldable is superior when it comes to color gamut coverage and peak brightness. The OnePlus does do better with color accuracy however, which just reinforces the point that these displays' distinct advantages and disadvantages mean we can't pick a winner.

Winner: Draw

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 vs. OnePlus Open: Cameras

On paper, the OnePlus Open's 48MP main/48MP ultrawide/64MP 3x zoom combination look to have the edge over the Galaxy Z Fold 6's 50MP main/12MP ultrawide/10MP 3x zoom rear cameras.

This looks even more the case when you see that the Open has a 20MP outer selfie camera and a 32MP inner one versus the 10MP outer and 4MP under-display inner of the Z Fold 6. But let's see how these actually compare in practice.

In this main camera shot of a crossroads in Beckenham, the OnePlus has offered up the brighter image, but to the point of overexposing the sky. The Galaxy's image is well balanced, and doesn't miss any detail due to bringing the overall brightness level down.

Moving to this ultrawide image of a knitted postbox topper (ah, England) in the shape of a cat and mice, we see much richer colors from the Z Fold 6. Everything's much flatter in the OnePlus Open shot, which drains the image of detail heavily unfortunately.

I used each phone's 3x telephoto camera to capture this sign. It's a bit dark through the Z Fold 6's lens, which means it misses out on some subtle highlights in the painted scroll that the OnePlus picks up. They're equally sharp though.

Before we open the foldables up, our last stop is the outer selfie camera. Me and the leafy background are nicely lit in the Samsung image, but the flatter coloring of the OnePlus shot is equally appealing to my eye. This is a portrait shot however, and the Z Fold 6 gets the cutout around my glasses right while the OnePlus does not.

Our final test, the inner selfie camera, is where the Galaxy Z Fold 6 is at its greatest disadvantage, with its low-res 4MP camera also having to peer through the display pixels rather than a clear lens. The outcome is a very smooth image which is brighter than the OnePlus, but the depth and detail of the Open's shot is far better.

The Galaxy Z Fold 6 is not going to be winning photography awards any time soon, at least not compared to the best camera phones. But it does prove to be a little more consistent than the OnePlus Open, as capable a camera phone as that proves in some circumstances.

For a more in-depth look at both cameras, check out our 200-photo shootout between the Galaxy Z Fold 6 and OnePlus Open.

Winner: Galaxy Z Fold 6

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 vs. OnePlus Open: Performance

The Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chip inside the OnePlus Open was the best an Android phone could get when it launched, but now the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 is here. That's the chip that the Galaxy Z Fold 6 uses, except the Samsung foldable also uses the special "for Galaxy" version that increases the performance further.

The benchmark results above prove this. Even though the OnePlus Open isn't too far behind graphically, on the Geekbench CPU test and our "real-life" Adobe Premiere Rush test, it's a way behind Samsung and its newer silicon.

Winner: Galaxy Z Fold 6

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 vs. OnePlus Open: Battery and charging

With the OnePlus Open achieving a TG battery test time of 11 hours 31 minutes to the Galaxy Z Fold 6's 10 hours 15 minutes in Adaptive refresh rate mode, it's clear which phone's going to last you longer in regular use. This makes sense when you see that the actual battery sizes - a total of 4,400 mAh in the Z Fold 6 compared to 4,805 in the Open.

The OnePlus Open also has a charging speed advantage, using its included 67W SuperVOOC standard to power up to 85% in 30 minutes. The Galaxy Z Fold 6 can only reach 56% in the same time, using a sold-separately 25W charger. However, the Samsung does offer up to 15W of wireless charging, while the OnePlus Open doesn't support any wireless standard.

Winner: OnePlus Open

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 vs. OnePlus Open: Software and special features

Although the OnePlus Open debuted with Android 13 when it arrived, it can be upgraded to Android 14 just like the Galaxy Z Fold 6, albeit with an OxygenOS skin rather than Samsung's One UI.

More important than the precise version of Android these phones use is how many more versions they'll get. Samsung has promised seven full years of updates for the Galaxy Z Fold 6, while OnePlus is only committed to four years, plus an extra fifth year of security updates.

The two foldables go in different directions with their unique software features. Samsung is all about Galaxy AI, using on-device and cloud processing to help the user translate, summarize and create text or images. There's also Sketch to Image, a new feature that lets you turn your simple doodles into more artistic versions. This works brilliantly with the S Pen stylus, an optional accessory but one that Samsung can wield over the stylus-less OnePlus Open.

OnePlus is instead more invested in multitasking with its Open Canvas system, which lets you shift apps on and off screen similar to a proper PC or laptop. This is the most flexible way to work from multiple windows on a foldable, and can prove powerful if you need to use a combination of apps without crushing them into a single frame like the Samsung does. 

Winner: Draw

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 vs. OnePlus Open: Verdict

This comparison came out closer than expected, but by doing much better in its strongest categories, the OnePlus Open manages to eke out the win.

So the OnePlus Open remains a better pick if you're after a foldable, especially if you're put off by the high price these phones typically command, or want the best available charging and battery specs. But if you need that foldable to have a long update schedule, above-average cameras and a more resilient design, the Galaxy Z Fold 6 may be the more appealing, despite its increased price.

You can read more about our top picks for flexible devices in our best foldable phones guide.

More from Tom's Guide

• OnePlus Open 2 just tipped for a massive upgrade that beats Galaxy Z Fold 6
• Fortnite banned from Samsung phones due to sideloading restrictions — but Epic Games has a solution
• Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra buyer finds major hardware flaw — should you be worried?